The Testimony of Taliesin Jones (8 page)

'Sir. '

'
Jones
,
Willi
am?'

'
He re
S
ir.'

'Lew
is?'

'Si
r. '

'
Morgan?
..
.
M
organ?
Wh
ere
'
s
M
organ?'

'
H
e's d
ead
, Sir
.'

'
H
e's
s
unbathing, Sir.
'

'
All
ri
ght, a
ll r
ight.
Pu
gh?'
 

'
Yup
.'

'Y
up? Wh
at i
s
"
Yup"? Y
ou're
n
ot a
d
og.'

'Woof…woof
'

'
Yup
y
up'

'R
uff ru
ff
'

'
All
r
i
gh
t, th
at
'
s e
nough. Pu
gh!
'

'
Yes
Sir, so
rry
Si
r.'

'
Roll
ey?
'

'I'm ri
ght
h
ere, S
ir. '

'
J
ust
an
swe
r th
e
questi
on
,
R
olley
.'

'
I d
id, Si
r.'

'
Tann
e
r?'

'
Mr
Da
v
ies, pl
ease,
Si
r, ca
n
yo
u t
ell
H
ooper
t
o sto
p fli
c
king my ea
rs?'

'
You' r
e
d
ead,'
H
ooper
s
ays.

'
Ri
g
ht
,
q
uiet
eve
ryone. Qui
et!
Pl
ease
.'

Des
pite t
hese
protest
ations
t
he
n
oise
co
ntinues
to
bubbl
e
.
Mr
D
avies
i
s
t
oo
nice
,
he strik
es
n
o
f
ear. E
veryone h
as
a sof
t
spo
t
for
hi
s c
hubby
face
, f
at
lip
s a
nd th
ick
buffl
ehead
o
f h
air
th
at
s
i
t
s
in th
e
mid
dle
of
hi
s
h
ead
li
ke a
br
own
cl
oud.
H
e
i
s
li
ke a
ba
tty uncl
e w
ho
wa
s
b
orn
t
o
b
e
r
idiculed a
nd l
ov
e
d
.

H
ooper
b
elts
T
anner ove
r th
e
b
ack of
h
is
h
ead
.

'
H
oo
pe
r
! H
ere
.
'
Mr D
avies g
rimaces
a
t
th
e so
und of hi
s
own s
houting. H
e
i
sn't
built
fo
r
s
houting. H
ooper
m
oves
c
as
uall
y to
th
e f
ront, clin
ging
t
o
hi
s
cl
ass-tough s
tatus
,
d
efiant
lik
e
th
at
Sp
artacus.
H
e
parti
ally
con
ceals a co
mpass in h
is
h
and. Ta
liesin m
arvels a
t Ho
oper's co
nfidence; n
othing see
ms t
o scare
him
.

'
I am
ge
tting t
ired of
puni
shing yo
u
,
Hooper. It
see
ms th
at yo
u n
ever
l
earn.
Puni
shing y
ou i
s
punishin
g
m
e
.
I
j
ust d
on't
kn
ow
if th
er
e
's a
ny p
oint in
pu
nishing y
ou
a
nymore
.
Wh
at a
m I
go
ing t
o
d
o w
ith
y
ou?'

'I n
ever
did n
othing.'
H
ooper
d
oesn't
ev
en
b
other w
ith
a 'S
ir'
.

'
You n
ever
did n
othing?
'

'
Never!'

'
Hooper, pl
ease,
I'm n
ot
blind
.
I
saw y
ou hit T
anner.
Y
ou
h
it
him
a
m
inute
ago
.'

‘I n
ever.'

H
ooper
h
as
del
iberately fa
iled
to
do hi
s
ti
e
up
and
h
is
t
rousers a
re d
efinitely
n
ot
reg
ulation
g
rey.
H
ow
l
ong ca
n
h
e
k
eep
up
lik
e
thi
s? T
he
troubl
e i
s he
'll
u
se
up hi
s
r
ebelliousness
t
oo
ea
rly
a
nd
e
n
d up b
eing
n
ormal w
hen h
e's
a G
rown-Up. H
e
'll
prob
ably wo
rk
in
a
b
ank a
t
Pres
celli.

Mr D
avies
look
s
impl
oringly a
t th
e
cla
ss.
N
o one da
res
im
plicate H
oop
Th
e
M
ental.

'
I d
on't wa
nt
to g
ive
yo
u mor
e
l
ines,
Ho
oper.
Y
ou ca
n d
o so
mething u
seful, s
omething con
structive
.'
Mr D
avie
s
turn
s
t
o
th
e
cl
ass aga
in
.
'
What pun
ishment s
hall I
g
ive H
ooper?'

N
o o
ne
says a
th
ing.

'
Come o
n. You d
ecide,
I'm fed up with di
shing
out
puni
shments,
yo
u d
ecide.'

T
here
a
re
a
f
ew
furti
ve g
iggles. It
's a
good id
ea
,
but th
ere a
re r
isks,
th
ere a
re
co
nsequences, futur
e
retribut
ion
.

'G
ive
'm
lun
ch
dut
y,
Sir
,'
T
anner say
s,
s
till
so
re.
'O
r h
e co
uld cl
ean
th
e gra
ffiti
.'

Th
e class are si
lently thinkin
g o
f
wo
rse. Th
ere
'
s
t
orture,
th
ere's
burni
ng a
t
th
e s
take, th
ere
's
firin
g sq
uad
.
Tan
ner w
ould
r
eally
lik
e
Hoop
er
to be
st
rapped
in
a c
hair
a
nd h
ave
h
is ea
rs fli
cked
b
y
the
w
hole
s
chool. If onl
y
th
ey co
uld b
e s
ure th
at
H
ooper
wouldn
't s
urvive
.
Of c
ourse,
h
e'd co
me b
ack
li
ke
th
ose
irr
epressible
kill
ers
th
at
n
ever
d
ie
in
fi
lms. H
ooper
l
ooks o
n with his arm
s
fold
ed,
d
aring a
nyone to suggest
a
nything mor
e.

Th
en
Tali
esin s
ees Hooper
's
mutil
ated
h
and
.

'Give
him
C
lass A
ssembly,'
h
e says
.
'
He
ca
n
te
ll u
s
h
ow
h
e
l
ost
h
is
fin
ger
in that tr
actor
ac
cident.'
T
aliesin
think
s
that thi
s
i
sn't a
b
ad c
ompromise for Hoop
er.
It'
s a
lu
sh i
dea.

H
ooper
t
enses a
nd
bor
es
two hol
es
in
th
e
b
a
ck
of Tali
esin's
br
ain w
ith hi
s s
tare.
Hoop
er wo
uld r
ather
d
o
b
ook c
ollection
f
or a
t
erm
.
T
elling a s
tory
w
ould b
e
di
fficult;
it mi
ght s
how
h
im
up
.

'I'll
k
ill yo
u, W
orm.
I'll
put thi
s
thr
ough
yo
ur
n
ose
.'
H
ooper po
ints th
e c
ompass
a
t
him
a
nd m
akes
th
e a
ppropriate
ges
tures
w
ith
t
he
instrument
.

Ju
st
f
or a f
raction
Tali
esin
think
s
th
at
H
ooper
looks
vuln
era
ble
.
H
e
l
ooks
l
ike
he h
as a
mother
a
nd
fa
ther
w
ho l
ove
h
im,
ki
ss
h
im goo
d n
ight
and
a
llow him
to
k
eep
th
e
l
anding
li
ght o
n.

'All
ri
ght
, a
ll
r
ight. Quiet
.
H
ooper, y
ou
w
ill
t
ell yo
ur
s
tory
fo
r
the nex
t
C
l
ass
Assembl
y.'

H
ooper's
m
outh
i
s
beginnin
g
t
o
qui
ver. '
But
Si
r.
'
(
It's
'
Sir' n
ow .)

'
No
arg
uing
.'

H
o
oper s
kulks
back t
o
hi
s
d
esk
think
ing
o
f
r
evenge
.
W
ith foc
used
s
kill h
e
b
egins
to st
encil so
mething
int
o
h
is
d
esk.

T
here i
s
sl
ight
trepidati
on i
n
th
e class
. Alth
ough
D
avid
ha
s
su
bdu
e
d
G
oliath,
someon
e
h
as
t
o
p
ay
.
Co
nspiratorial
w
hisper sp
ass a
round
th
e roo
m
.

'
Hoop i
s g
oing
to go m
ental.'

'
It
was
n't m
y
idea
.'

'
No, m
ine
n
either.'

'
It
was
Worm
's
ide
a.'

'
Worm i
s
in f
or
it now
.'

'
Yeah, Worm i
s
in
the
s
hit
.
'

Mr Davi
es
picks up the tatty registration book and holds it to his
ch
est.
'Wait
here for Mrs Philips.'

As soon a
s
the teacher is out of the door Hooper strides o
ver
to Tali
esin
and locks him in
a half-nelson.

'Sn
eak.
Worm. "Tell a story
.
.. tell a story
.
.."
You littl
e
worm
.'
Hoop
er's g
rip tighten
s.

'I
was only tryin' to help
.
It's better than
writ
ing
"I must not flick Tanner'
s e
ar" one hundred times
.'
Hooper sla
ckens
hi
s s
tranglehold a little
.

'You Worm
.'

'
But it'
s
ea
sy
Hoop. You c
an
tell
us about
y
our fin
ger.
It will be
ace.'

'Ther
e's
nothin' to tell.'

'
Yeah th
ere
is
.
Mak
e
it up
.
No one will know.' Hoop
er
contemplate
s
this
s
uggestion
.
Embellishment
shouldn
't
b
e
a
problem for him. L
ying co
mes easy to Hoop.
'Just say what happen
ed
and add som
e e
xtra stuff
.
.
. I don't know
..
. m
ention
blood
.
.
. that
's
interesting,
'
Talie
sin
go
es
on
.
Hooper
a
lmost smil
es
at
th
e
mention of blood
.
'Tell u
s
about
y
our
s
creaming.
Lo
ads o
f scr
eaming
.
T
ell
us about
screamin
g.'

Hoop
er
l
ets
go of
hi
s c
aptive's shirt altogether. T
aliesin
rub
s
his
n
eck a
nd
co
ntinues
to
e
ncourage. 'You
c
ould
draw a picture
o
n th
e
bla
ckboard,
explaining how it happen
ed
.
'

By
wrigglin
g
from the
g
rip
of the bull
y,
Worm is li
ving
up to hi
s
name
-
on
e
of
it
s
meanings at least
.
And the bully, bamboozled b
y
brain
,
l
ollops
back
to his desk
,
lost
i
n
r
are
thought
,
lo
oking a
t hi
s
fin
ger-that-was
and rememb
ering
blood
.

Durin
g
Bi
ology
T
aliesin a
sks Mr
s
Philips why peopl
e g
et w
arts
.

'
From
as
king
too many questions
,'
is her very unsci
entific
an
swer.
The
biology t
extbook
sheds no light on the
a
nswer eith
er.
Th
e
s
ection
on di
sease
talks about Beriberi, Malaria, Smallpo
x
and Yellow Fe
ver
and
where you can catch them if
y
ou want th
em
.
During
Geography
,
Talie
sin
a
sks
Mr Gle
ason
about Indian Summer
a
nd how long it
will la
st.

'
Strictly speaking an
Indian Summ
er
start
s
in October. But thi
s
w
eather
won
't
last,' he adds
.
'
There's rain in th
e
air.' And th
e
geography teacher
sniffs it
.
The
class draw atoll
s,
l
agoons a
nd the formation of volcano
es
while Talie
sin
picks his
ow
n
a
toll at the end of his
fin
ger.