Dhalgren

'You okay?' Glass asked. 'Can you stand up?'

'Is it all right… now?' Ernestine Throckmorton asked.

Kid turned to tell her just to go away—

But she was ten feet off, and talking to Nightmare, who said: 'Yeah, it's okay. Just forget it, huh? Yeah, it's all right.'

And other people were walking.

Kid's senses had grown amphetamine bright. Listening, however, words blurred back to normal incoherence.

'I didn't do—!' shrieked in his ear again as Dollar tried to wedge between Kid and Glass

Tarzan said: 'Oh, man, I'm not gonna hurt you!' He looked at Kid. 'But if he's gonna go around callin' people 'nigger' he's gonna get his head broke.'

'Yeah!' from the hirsute Raven, behind Tarzan's left shoulder.

'Huh?' Kid asked.

And, 'Yeah, I'm gonna break his fuckin' head!' from the Ripper, behind his right.

'I didn't do nothin'!' Dollar pulled on Kid's arm and stumbled back against Glass who caught him up. 'You all do it all the time! You all say it, why can't I say it!'

'Aw, come on, man!' Kid said. 'You all must be putting me on!'

'He's gonna call the wrong nigger 'nigger' and he's gonna have to pick his head up off the ground and screw it back on!' D-t said.

'All right,' Kid told Dollar. 'Who you calling names?'

'Me, God-damn it!' Tarzan said. 'And if that psycho little bastard's gonna—'

'Aw, shit!' D-t said. 'What he gonna call you 'nigger' for? He was bad-mouthin' the Ripper, and the Ripper don't like it. I don't like it either.'

'Oh,' Tarzan said. 'I thought he was talking to me… He was looking at me when he said it.'

D-t grunted. 'God-damn, nigger, the Ripper was standing just behind your shoulder!' He pointed across the garden.

Several people stepped aside from the line his finger projected over the lawn.

Tarzan said, 'Oh.'

'I told him to say he was sorry,' the Ripper said. 'I didn't want to start no trouble, here at the God-damn party. If he'd a' said he was sorry, I wouldn't of done nothing.'

'Okay,' Kid told Dollar. 'Tell him you're sorry.'

'No!' Dollar lurched in Glass' grip. Glass' vinyl vest swung back from the crossed scar poking over his belt, then flapped to again.

'You say you're sorry.' Kid held the back of Dollar's neck with one hand and put the orchid points against the lower right quadrant of his belly; the dirty flesh jerked. Dollar's chains jingled. 'Say you're sorry, or I'll take your appendix out, right here, and we'll spread everything you got all over the God-damn ground—'

'Nooooo!' Dollar whined and twisted. 'Please don't kill me!'

Talk had stopped again.

'Say you're sorry.'

'I'm sorry!'

'Okay.' Kid let his bladed hand drop and looked at the Ripper. 'He's said he's sorry. Okay?'

'He didn't have to say it.' The Ripper looked sullenly around the circle. 'I already got my licks in.'

But other guests had begun to talk once more.

'Okay,' Kid said. 'Then let's break it up. WILL YOU PLEASE BREAK IT UP GOD-DAMN IT!' He pushed Dollar forward by the head. Glass came with them.

Nightmare said: 'Come on you guys, will you? You heard the Kid. Break it up! Get out of here! Go on!'

Somebody asked: 'What happened?'

Somebody else: 'What did he do?'

'I didn't see. Did you see what happened? Is it all right now?'

'No, I just came in. I guess it's all right…?'

'Hey, Kid?'

That was Bill.

'When you got a chance, can I…' but somebody moved between them.

Which was just as well.

Kid held Dollar by one arm. Glass held him by the other. Kid dug a finger into Dollar's armpit. 'Didn't I tell you if something went wrong, you come to me?'

'I didn't get no chance,' Dollar said. 'I told 'em, I told 'em just like you said, if they messed with me, I was gonna tell the Kid? Just like you said.' He looked over his smudged shoulder at Glass. 'Were you there? Did you hear me tell 'em?'

Glass's head-shake showed more frustration than anything else.

'But I didn't get no chance to, you know? Them colored guys was all over me.'

Frank leaned over the rail and called down. 'Hey, Kid, is everything all—?'

Glass glanced up. Kid didn't

'I just don't think them guys—' Dollar's voice took on an echo beneath the bridge—'you know? — like me too much. I guess, you know, some people just don't like other people.'

'I don't exactly love you,' Kid said.

'I just wish—' Dollar rolled his head forward and spoke down at his chest—'somebody would tell me what to do.'

'You don't have it too easy, huh?' Glass said, and didn't even bother to glance at Kid.

'Oh, man!' Dollar said. 'Oh, man, I just don't know, sometimes, you know? I'm half sick all the God-damn time. I can hardly eat the fucking food. Because of my stomach, you know? I can't drink nothin' except wine, or I get sick. I don't get drunk, I just get sick. Unless it's wine. I mean half them God-damn niggers are—' he looked at Glass—'the colored guys…' Then he looked at Kid. 'Well, that's what they say, I mean —'

'Say your thing,' Glass said.

'…half the God-damn colored guys are drunk already. That's why they jumped me, I bet. They wouldn't of jumped me if they wasn't drunk. They're nice guys; even the girls. I was just kiddin' anyway… I wasn't drunk. I didn't drink nothing here except some wine, 'cause I didn't want to get sick at your party. I just wish somebody would tell me what to do.'

They came from beneath the bridge.

The path bent like a boomerang into the rocks.

'You know? If somebody would just tell me…'

'Why don't you just keep from bothering people who're gonna beat you up?' Glass said.

'Now that's what I mean,' Dollar said. 'Everybody's always tellin' me what not to do. Keep away from this. Get out of that. Don't bother the other. If somebody would just tell me what I should do, I'd work my fuckin' ass off.'

'Right now you would,' Glass said, ' 'cause somebody just scared the shit out of you.'

'I would,' Dollar said. 'I really would.'

'You just come on with me,' Glass said. 'All right?'

By the edge of a black railing above, among small trees, Copperhead, Spitt, and the girl in maroon levis waited.

Dollar blinked at Kid and rubbed at the flaking corner of his mouth with his thumb. He looked sad and scared.

'We ain't gonna hurt you,' Glass said. 'We already got our licks in, too. All we gonna do is make sure you don't get in no more trouble here at the Kid's party.'

Kid, doubting, let go of Dollar's arm.

'I just wish somebody would tell me what I was supposed to do.'

'Go on with them,' Kid said.