Barking Man Read Online Free

described before: the yellowing stubble of an autumnal field. And not far past, a thicket of fruit trees of some kind. From among them I can hear the ripple of water—clean, uncontaminated water. I can taste the scent of barely overripe windfall fruit, tumbled into the maze of grass which we must soon be entering.
    For the door to our cell is open .
    Li hops down from the wheel and rocks back on his haunches, forepaws bunched before him, gazing at that amazing barless square. Wu, risen from the chips that still cling here and there to his unkempt fur, is similarly transfixed. Surely their hearts must be pounding as desperately as mine. But now is the moment when I must govern myself. And try to govern them as well.
    “Li.”
    He hears me now; he’s shuffling round my way.
    “Wu.”
    And Wu’s responding. He sits up, at attention. As they both turn toward me, I see that their eyes are clear and comprehending, though certainly very tired. Already the influence of the drug must be beginning to dissolve, we can all feel it now. One good sleep would restore us. I want to weep with gratitude, though I know I must be firm.
    “I have taken the oracle for the day, as follows:
    “The wind blows low over the mountain:
    The image of Decay .
    Thus the superior mouse stirs up the people
    And strengthens their spirit.”
    A brief pause, for effect. Li’s eyes are locked on mine. Wu’s lower a little. Guiltily?
    “I need hardly remind you that we have just passed through what I heartily hope will prove to be the most terribly degrading experience of any of our lives. We have been close, perilously close, to the Void.”
    With a certain satisfaction, I notice Wu’s head drooping a little more.
    “But never mind that now. What we have done is simply to provide ourselves with an example to avoid. We shall rise again, recivilize ourselves, surpass even what we were formerly, before this late catastrophe. We shall regain our self-esteem, and our regard for one another too. For we shall urgently require both as we strive to meet the challenges that lie ahead.
    “Perhaps I don’t need to recall for you that the second meaning of Decay is Work on What Has Been Spoiled . And—
“Work on what has been spoiled has supreme success.
    “Are you ready now to undertake that work? Both of you?”
    Li’s eyes slide over for a glance at Wu, whose gaze remains lowered to my knees. After a breathless moment, Wu answers with, a barely perceptible bow, and I relax as I see Li follow suit.
    “Good. Very good. It furthers one to cross the great water . But one more thing before we begin. A matter concerning Wu. There is just one thing you have to do. You must complete what you’ve begun. I must ask you”—here I find I have to clear a lump out of my throat—“ to bite off my tail .”
    His shock and distress are quite unmistakable, the emotion rocks him back on his haunches. It’s hard to rattle a Samurai mouse, though of course our ordeal has affected him.
    “Yes. No further questions, please.” I raise my paw. “It’s absolutely necessary … for health reasons. You must do it.”
    This time Wu’s bow is low, profound, ceremonious. He takes a step or so toward me, and for a moment I see his whole body framed in that intoxicating open doorway. Even as he bares his teeth, I see sincere repentance in his eyes.
    “As near the base as possible, of course.”
    Wu answers with a nod and a widening of his jaws. Yes, I can repose my faith in him, he’ll do what’s necessary. And Li will not attempt to interfere, though I can see the anguish on his face. And I, I will not cry out. So each of us will take our proper part, though little enough in our recent past has prepared us for this freedom.

BLACK AND TAN
    U P UNTIL HIS FAMILY died out from under him, Peter Jackson used to grow tobacco. His place was a long ways out from town, up on the hillside above Keyhole Lake—you had a nice view of the lake from up there. It was forty or fifty acres