98: The Long Walk
The escort south took sixteen days.
It took longer than the planned fifteen by the small specific accumulating reading at the column's accumulating careful walking pace, which was — by the small specific reading at the past three weeks' accumulating *running-out* — at perhaps the small accumulating two-thirds of an ordinary peasant column's accumulating walking pace. The *forty* held the column at the small accumulating *guard* shape at every night's camp. At the dawn of every day, the *forty's* runner Sun Erlin and a small accumulating two-man-eye-team scouted ahead. At the dusk of every day, the lame brother Tie-zhu walked the small accumulating *perimeter* at the camp's accumulating careful arrangement.
By the small specific accumulating reading at the past three days' walking, two of the column's accumulating sick — by Ah Chou's accumulating saying — had died at the small accumulating *too-far-gone* shape of bodies that had been at the *running-out* for too long before the *forty's* accumulating arrival.
The two were:
A small accumulating old woman of perhaps seventy, who had been at the column's third household. She died at the dusk of the eighth day at the camp. Her accumulating son's accumulating wife — perhaps thirty — had laid her at the small accumulating shape of a small accumulating *sleeping* at the dusk's small banked fire. The body had — by the small specific reading at the dusk's accumulating quiet of the column — been still at the morning. Ah Chou had laid the small accumulating *examination*. Ah Chou had said in the small low voice: *brothers. The Da-niang was at the small accumulating *too-far-gone* of perhaps the past two days. Her accumulating *sleeping* at the dusk was — by the small specific reading I am giving — at the small accumulating *peace*.*
The column had, at the dawn of the ninth day, buried her at the small accumulating *eastern slope* of the night's camp. The small accumulating son's wife had laid one piece of the Da-niang's accumulating thin grey hair into the small folded square of her accumulating coat at the small accumulating *carrying-forward* shape. The column had walked on.
The second was a small accumulating boy of perhaps three. The boy was — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past two days — the small accumulating *only* child of a small accumulating young woman of the column's seventh household. The young woman's accumulating husband had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past three weeks — been at the small accumulating canal in Da-ye eleven and had not returned. The young woman had been at the small accumulating *running-out* with the boy at her accumulating side. The boy had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past three weeks — taken to the small accumulating *quiet* shape of small accumulating children at the *running-out*. He had — at the small accumulating *forty's accumulating arrival* of five days ago — taken food. He had eaten the small accumulating reduced portion. By the small specific accumulating reading at the dusk of the eleventh day's camp, the boy's small accumulating *thin* shape had begun to — by Ah Chou's accumulating reading — accept the food in the small accumulating *eat-and-keep* way.
By the small specific accumulating reading at the dawn of the twelfth day, the boy did not wake.
Ah Chou laid the small accumulating *examination*.
He said in the small low voice: *brothers. The boy was — by the small specific reading I am giving — at the small accumulating *too-far-gone-before-the-feeding*. The body that had been at the small accumulating *three-week-running-out* at the boy's accumulating age cannot, by the small specific reading I am giving, always come back. The food held the boy's small accumulating *days* at the past five but did not — by the small specific reading I am giving — hold the small accumulating *body's accumulating reaching back*. He died, by the small specific reading I am giving, in his accumulating sleep without pain.*
The young woman did not — at the dawn of the twelfth day — speak.
She held the small accumulating boy at her accumulating lap for a long beat.
She allowed Heizi and Ah Chou to take the small accumulating boy from her at the small accumulating moment of the burial.
The column buried the boy at the small accumulating *eastern slope* of the twelfth day's camp.
The young woman walked the rest of the day at the column's accumulating *behind* without speaking. Heizi at the small accumulating *staff-officer's eye* on her — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past two days' walking — laid one hand once on her accumulating shoulder at the dusk of the twelfth day's camp.
He said in the small low voice: *Da-niang. By the small specific reading at this dusk — I am sorry.*
The young woman did not — at the small banked fire — speak.
She nodded, very small.
Heizi filed it.
He filed the small accumulating *boy* at the small accumulating *unnamed thousand* — but he laid, by the small specific accumulating reading at the small accumulating *staff-officer's accumulating personal dark catalog*, the small accumulating *boy* at the small accumulating *named*: *the boy of the seventh household, ~three, son of the canal-widow, dead at the dawn of the twelfth day of the third moon of the twelfth year, on the road south to Liyang's accumulating refugee-receiving sub-camp.*
He did not, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past nine years and ten months, weep.
He filed.
By the dusk of the sixteenth day of the column's walking, the column came in sight of Liyang's accumulating outer-edge.
The Liyang accumulating Wagang gate-sentries came out at the small accumulating *first-sighting* and met the column at perhaps a *li* before the gate.
Heizi at the small accumulating *peddler-and-staff-officer-of-the-bottlenecking* shape stepped forward.
He said in the small low voice: *brothers. By the small specific reading at this dusk — Heizi-zhang of the *forty* of the past southern command, with a small accumulating refugee column of one hundred and twelve — the count had been one hundred and fourteen at the northern fold; two have died on the road. We are coming to the small accumulating *refugee-receiving* sub-camp at Liyang.*
The senior gate-sentry — the same man who had received Heizi at the past ninth moon — looked at the column.
He nodded, slowly.
He said in the small low voice: *Heizi-zhang. By the small specific reading at the past four months — Liyang's accumulating refugee-receiving sub-camp has, by the small specific reading I am giving, been at the small accumulating *real* shape that the past peddler-saying laid. Two hundred and seventy refugees at the past three months have been received. Sixty more from a small accumulating *eastern column* are at the small accumulating new shape of being received this week. The column of one hundred and twelve will, by the small specific reading I am giving, be received at the small specific accumulating *seventh-cluster* of the sub-camp's accumulating arrangement.*
He paused.
"And the *forty*."
"Yes, brother."
"By the small specific reading I am giving — the *forty* will, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past four months' Wagang reorganization, also be — by the small specific accumulating reading I am giving at this dusk — *received*. By the small specific reading I am giving — Li Mi has, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past two months' accumulating saying, set the small accumulating *welcome* of the cold-spring camp's accumulating *forty* at any small accumulating moment of the lad's accumulating arrival. By the small specific reading I am giving — the *forty* will, at this dusk, be at the small accumulating *Liyang sub-camp's accumulating *forty-officer's tent*."
Heizi nodded.
He said in the small low voice: *brother. Thank you. The column first. The *forty* after.*
The senior gate-sentry nodded.
He said: *yes, Heizi-zhang.*
The column went into Liyang's accumulating refugee sub-camp at the small specific accumulating *seventh-cluster* arrangement. Ah Chou — by the small specific reading I am giving — went with the column at the small accumulating *medical eye* role for the small accumulating *first day's accumulating settling*. The boy An Ashi went with the column at the small specific accumulating *quartermaster's hand-off* role for the small accumulating *food and arrangement* hand-off.
The remaining brothers — Wang Er, Tie-zhu, Lu Jingzhi, Yan Shaozhong, Sun Erlin — and Heizi went with the *forty* to the *forty-officer's tent* at Liyang's accumulating Wagang sub-camp.
That night at the *forty-officer's tent's* small banked fire, Heizi sat with the brothers.
He said in the small low voice: *brothers. By the small specific reading at this dusk — the column has been received at the small accumulating *real* refugee-receiving sub-camp. Liyang's accumulating sub-camp will, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past four months' Wagang reorganization, hold them through the small accumulating *next year* at the small accumulating *resettlement* shape that the boy An Ashi will, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past four days' careful saying with the gate-sentries, lay in his accumulating *political-eye ledger*.*
He paused.
"And — by the small specific reading I am giving at this dusk — the *forty* is, at this dusk, at Liyang's accumulating Wagang sub-camp. We are — by the small specific reading I am giving — back at the small accumulating *Wagang* shape of the past year. Not by the small accumulating *commitment* of having gone east at the past second moon's accumulating call. But by the small accumulating *escorting* of the column, by the master's accumulating *the lad will decide*."
He paused once more.
"By the small specific reading I am giving at this dusk — Li Mi will, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past four months' accumulating *not-yet*, perhaps now consider the small accumulating *escorting* as the lad's accumulating *not-yet's* accumulating *next move*. By the small specific reading I am giving — the small accumulating *meeting Li Mi* at the new headquarters is, by the small specific accumulating reading at this dusk, perhaps two weeks away."
The brothers were quiet.
Lu Jingzhi at the small accumulating *political-voice* position said in the small low voice: *yes, big brother. By the small specific reading at the past two weeks' walking and the past sixteen days' arrival — the small accumulating *escorting* is, by the small specific reading I am giving, at the small accumulating *correct* shape of the lad's accumulating *not-yet*. Li Mi will, by the small specific reading I am giving, recognize the shape and will, by the small specific reading I am giving, lay the small accumulating *meeting* in the next two weeks at the new headquarters.*
Heizi nodded.
He filed it.
That night at his watch at the small banked fire of the *forty-officer's tent* at Liyang's Wagang sub-camp, Heizi sat.
He listened.
The shape of the silence on this watch was — by the small specific reading at this evening — the shape of a small specific *staff-officer* whose accumulating *forty* had — by the past sixteen days' walking — escorted a hundred and twelve refugees from the upper-hills' northern fold to the Wagang sub-camp at Liyang, with the small accumulating cost of two dead at the road.
He filed it.
In the small lighter catalog of moments, beside the small specific dusk of the column's first feeding at the northern fold, he set: *the small specific dusk of the sixteenth day of the third moon's accumulating walking, when the column was received at Liyang's accumulating refugee-receiving sub-camp.*
The lighter catalog stood at perhaps seventy-six items.
The dark catalog stood at twenty-one named names (the boy of the seventh household added) plus the *unnamed thousand*.
He sat his watch through.