Song of Susannah (The Dark Tower #6)(46)
"Looks well-kept," Eddie said. Mostly to be sayingsomething.
"Oh, ayuh," John said. "I do caretakin, camp-checkin, some rough carpenterin. Wouldn't look good f'business if I had a fallin-down boathouse, would it?"
Eddie smiled. "Suppose not."
"My place is about half a mile back from the water. Name's John Cullum." He held out his right hand to Roland, continuing to steer a straight course away from the rising pillar of smoke and toward the boathouse with the other.
Roland took the hand, which was pleasantly rough. "I'm Roland Deschain, of Gilead. Long days and pleasant nights, John."
Eddie put out his own hand in turn. "Eddie Dean, from Brooklyn. Nice to meet you."
John shook with him easily enough but his eyes studied Eddie closely. When their hands parted, he said: "Young fella, did somethin just happen? It did, didn't it?"
"I don't know," Eddie said. Not with complete honesty.
"You ain't been to Brooklyn for a long time, son, have you?"
"Ain't been to Morehouse or tono house," Eddie Dean said, and then quickly, before he could lose it: "Mia's locked Susannah away. Locked her away in the year of '99. Suze can get to the Dogan, but going there's no good. Mia's locked off the controls. There's nothing Suze can do. She's kidnapped. She...she..."
He stopped. For a moment everything had been soclear, like a dream upon the instant of waking. Then, as so often happens with dreams, it faded. He didn't even know if it had been a real message from Susannah, or pure imagination.
Young fella, did somethin just happen?
So Cullum had felt it, too. Not imagination, then. Some form of the touch seemed more likely.
John waited, and when there was no more from Eddie, turned to Roland. "Does your pal come over funny that way often?"
"Not often, no. Sai...Mister,I mean. Mister Cullum, I thank you for helping us when we needed help. I thank ya big-big. It would be monstrous impudent of us to ask for more, but - "
"But you're gonna. Ayuh, figgered." John made a minute course correction toward the little boathouse with its square open mouth. Roland estimated they'd be there in five minutes. That was fine by him. He had no objection to riding in this tight little motor-powered boat (even though it rode rather low in the water with the weight of three grown men inside), but Keywadin Pond was far too exposed for his taste. If Jack Andolini (or his successor, should Jack be replaced) asked enough of those shore-gawkers, he would eventually find a few who remembered the little skiff with the three men in it. And the boathouse with the neat green trim.John Cullum's bwut-huss, may it do ya fine, these witnesses would say. Best they should be farther along the Beam before that happened, with John Cullum packed off to somewhere safe. Roland judged "safe" in this case to be perhaps three looks to the horizon-line, or about a hundred wheels. He had no doubt that Cullum, a total stranger, had saved their lives by stepping in decisively at the right moment. The last thing he wanted was for the man to lose his own as a result.
"Well, I'll do what I can for ya, already made up m'mind to that, but I got to ask you somethin now, while I got the chance."
Eddie and Roland exchanged a brief look. Roland said, "We'll answer if we can. Which is to say, John of East Stoneham, if we judge that the answer won't cause you harm."
John nodded. He seemed to gather himself. "I know you're not ghosts, because we all saw you back at the store and I just now touched you to shake hands. I can see the shadders you cast." He pointed at where they lay across the side of the boat. "Real as real. So my question is this: are you walk-ins?"
"Walk-ins," Eddie said. He looked at Roland, but Roland's face was completely blank. Eddie looked back at John Cullum, sitting in the stern of the boat and steering them toward the boathouse. "I'm sorry, but I don't..."
"Been a lot of em around here, last few years," John said. "Waterford, Stoneham, East Stoneham, Lovell, Sweden...even over in Bridgton and Denmark." This last township name came outDenmaa-aaak.
He saw they were still puzzled.
"Walk-ins're people who justappear, " he said. "Sometimes they're dressed in old-fashioned clothes, as if they came from...ago,I guess you'd say. One was nekkid as a jay-bird, walkin right up the middle of Route 5. Junior Angstrom seen im. Last November this was. Sometimes they talk other languages. One came to Don Russert's house over in Waterford. Sat right there in the kitchen! Donnie's a retired history professor from Vanderbilt College and he taped the fella. Fella jabbered quite awhile, then went into the laundry room. Donnie figured he must'a taken it for the bathroom and went after him to turn him around, but the fella was already gone. No door for him to go out of, but gone he was.
"Donnie played that tape of his for just about everyone in the Vandy Languages Department (Depaaa-aatment), and wasn't none of em recognized it. One said it must be a completely made-up language, like Esperanto. Do you sabby Esperanto, boys?"
Roland shook his head. Eddie said (cautiously), "I've heard of it, but I don't really know what it i - "
"And sometimes," John said, his voice lowering as they glided into the shadows of the boathouse, "sometimes they're hurt. Or disfigured. Roont."
Roland started so suddenly and so hard that the boat rocked. For a moment they were actually in danger of being tipped out. "What? What do you say? Speak again, John, for I would hear it very well."