The Testimony of Taliesin Jones (33 page)

Th
ey reac
h th
e
p
art w
here th
e
b
oys ga
ther
o
n th
e
b
each, s
urrounding P
iggy
.
T
he t
errible
th
ing
i
s
about t
o
h
appen.
H
e
r
eads o
n
.
It i
s
h
appening
.
H
e
i
s
r
eading
the w
ords,
Pi
ggy
i
s
f
alling.
And
ye
t h
e ca
n't pi
cture
i
t.
All h
e
can f
eel
i
s
hi
s
l
eg a
nd th
e
h
eat o
f Juli
e Dye
r's
a
nd hi
s g
loved hand
s
tr
embling s
li
g
htly
as
th
e
b
ook reac
hes
i
ts cl
imax.

'
Why d
on't yo
u t
ake
t
he g
loves
off'
Juli
e i
nevitably
as
ks.

'
I
get co
ld
eas
ily,' h
e says
. Th
is
i
s
w
eak g
iven th
e s
uffocatin
g
h
eat a
t th
e
b
ack of
th
e
bu
s. S
he pl
aces a
h
and o
n hi
s s
kinny kn
ee
.

'Co
me
o
n,
le
t m
e see
. Y
ou're
h
iding s
omething.'

T
aliesin
f
eels ve
ry warm. Juli
e
h
as
hi
s
hand
s
in h
ers a
nd
s
he's p
eeling o
ff the
g
loves
.

 
'Ur
gh!
Wart
s
.
Look at th
em
all.
'

T
aliesin
i
s s
ick
w
ith s
hame
.
H
e s
natches b
ack t
he
g
loves and p
ulls
th
em o
n, unable to l
ook a
t his h
ands.
Juli
e is
l
ooking a
t
h
er o
wn h
ands
and
c
hecking h
er
m
anicured
t
alons
for
s
igns
o
f
inf
ection.

'Y
ou
mu
stn't
tou
ch
me
,'
sh
e says
.
But
s
he n
eedn't
f
ear
for Tal
iesin
i
s a
lready makin
g
his
w
ay to th
e
front of th
e
bu
s
.

Th
e s
ky
is
th
e co
lour of black
currant j
am. T
aliesin
h
as
on
e
thin
g o
n hi
s
m
ind
now. Thes
e
w
arts a
re mor
e
th
an a
n unwelcom
e
di
straction,
t
aking
up hi
s
th
oughts,
m
aking
it h
ard
t
o
r
ead
bo
oks a
nd pl
ay
th
e
p
iano.
Th
ey a
re in d
anger of ma
king him
a
n
o
utcast. If h
e c
ould cut
o
ff h
is
h
ands
no
w t
o
s
top
t
hem
s
preading to th
e
r
est
of his b
ody,
h
e
would. H
e's
tri
ed
pla
sters
but th
ey
mad
e
it wor
se, o
nly in
cubating
th
em.
H
e
can
't
help but f
eel g
uilty about th
em
,
a se
nse of
s
hame th
at
hi
s g
loves
ca
n't
c
over. His
fa
ther's pr
ediction
that
wa
rts
ca
n t
ake
m
onths
to
g
o
is
not what he w
ants
t
o
h
ear.
'
H
e is i
mpatient. Tim
e
m
ay
b
e
th
e g
reat h
ealer
but tim
e
d
oesn't
h
ave
t
o s
uffer th
e co
nsequences, it ju
st
c
arries o
n
t
icking obli
vious
.
Swift medi
cine
i
s
what h
e
w
ants;
th
e
imm
ediate
mir
aculous
r
emedy.
H
e
n
eeds so
meone who h
as t
he po
wer
t
o
tr
anscend
tim
e's
n
atural
law
s; so
meone
w
ho
ca
n
s
peed up th
e
pro
cess.
H
e
n
eeds
Bill
y
E
vans
-h
e
do
es wa
rts; th
ey'll
b
e
n
othing
to him
.
Ju
st a se
ssion, may be two, th
at's
all it'll tak
e
.
It
w
ill
b
e
a c
inch
f
or so
meone wh
o's
done twi
sted s
pines. Hi
s
tou
ch
can do it
.
Ev
ans
h
as
th
e
t
ouch.
W
arts a
ren't
even a
dis
ease.
Th
ey're o
n th
e sa
me l
evel a
s a
com
mon
c
old. Bill
y w
on't b
e e
xpecting
him n
ow,
but th
at
w
on't
m
atter.
H
e w
ill
g
o to him
i
n
f
aith a
nd Bill
y w
ill fi
x
th
e
wart
s w
ith
a c
ross
a
nd
a
pr
ayer.

Th
e
bla
ck
currant
s
ky i
s
givin
g
w
ay
t
o
a cl
ear
blu
e
darkn
ess;
th
e
clouds that thr
eatened
h
ave
mov
ed
on
,
l
eaving
C
wmglum dr
y.
Th
e
sh
op
wh
ere
h
e
bu
ys
h
is a
pples,
th
e
pub
wh
ere
hi
s fa
ther dr
inks a
nd th
e
house
s
that are u
gly
all
s
tand
o
ut in
s
ilhouette. Furth
er
up Strai
ght
St
reet
the
c
hapel float
s
l
ike a s
mall
grey a
rk
i
n
a sea
of gra
ve stones.
H
e's
not b
een t
o ch
apel s
ince h
e
w
as
t
oo s
mall to r
emember
his par
ents
tak
ing
him
w
hen th
ey
bel
ieved.
Th
at
was
yea
rs
ag
o
a
nd th
e
m
emory is o
ne
o
f
o
ld l
adies w
ith blu
e
h
air a
nd h
ats;
hi
s
m
other's voice soa
ring
hi
gh a
bove
th
e o
thers
t
o
th
e
point of emb
arrassment;
h
is fa
ther
going
thr
ough
th
e
motion
s a
nd u
sing
T
aliesin as a
di
version
fr
om
th
e vag
ue
g
oings-on at the fr
ont; a
nd
a yo
unger,
swee
ter J
onathan w
earing
a
wor
sted
w
ool coa
t th
at Ta
liesin
inhe
rited J
onathan was a
pious t
en-year-old
th
en; a
n
ea
rnest
a
ngel
w
ho l
ooked as
th
ough
h
e
b
elieved
in
w
hat h
e was do
ing. P
erhaps
it
was an
other ph
ase
o
f
hi
s,
li
ke swea
ring
o
r ru
gby
.