第11章 What the Steps Gave Back

The steps gave back the water on the morning of the third, at nine eleven, and Tamar was on the flat when it came, and she had gone out with Ruan, and Ruan had not wanted to go out, and Ruan had gone out anyway, and Ruan had put the boat in the water, and the water had been low, and the flat had been dry, and the church had been there, and the tower had been there, and the bell had been in the tower, and the bell had not rung, and they had driven the boat out, on the dry flat, on the wheels of the hull, on the sand, and Ruan had put her down at the ninth step, and Ruan had motored back, and Ruan had not looked back. She stood on the ninth step, at the narrows, at the datum line, and she looked down the line of stones, and the stones were there, and the stones were nine, and the stones were the steps, and the steps were the walk, and the walk was the datum, and the datum was the bell, and the bell was in the tower, and the tower was in the church, and the church was on the flat, and the flat was dry, and the air was still, and the sun was up, and the water was out, and the walk was walking, and nobody was walking it, and she stood at the bottom of the walk, and she did not go up. She stood there for an hour. At ten eleven, the water came. It came from the north, from the sea, at the speed of a foot a second, and it came up the ninth step, and the ninth step was where the narrows was, and the narrows was where the datum was, and the datum was where the child had stood, and the child had not remembered, and the water came up the ninth step, and the water came up the eighth, and the water came up the seventh, and the water came up the sixth, and the water came up the fifth, and the water came up the fourth, and the water came up the third, and the third was where the church was, and the church was there, and the tower was there, and the bell was in the tower, and the bell did not ring, and the water came up the second, and the water came up the first, and the first was where the flat began, and the flat was dry, and the air was still, and the sun was up, and the water came on, and the water came on, and the water came on. She stood at the ninth step, and she did not go up, and she did not go down, and she stood there, and the water came up to her ankles, and she stood there, and the water came up to her knees, and she stood there, and the water came up to her thighs, and she stood there, and the water came up to her waist, and she stood there, and she did not move. Ruan was on the boat, at the dock, and he was watching, and he did not come in, and he did not call, and he sat in the boat, and he watched, and the water came on, and Tamar stood at the ninth step, and the water came on, and the flat was under, and the church was under, and the tower was under, and the bell was under, and the bell did not ring, and the water came on, and the tide table said the tide would go to minus two point seven, and the tide went to minus two point one, and the model said the tide would go to minus one point nine, and the datum said the tide would go to minus one point nine, and the water went to minus two point one, and the water did not go to minus two point seven, and the bell did not ring, and the bell had rung, and the bell had rung at seventy-eight hertz, and the bell had rung at one minute and twelve seconds, and the bell had rung for three days, and the bell had rung since the fourteenth, and the bell had rung since eighty-four, and the bell had rung since thirty-two, and the bell had rung since the child walked, and the child had not remembered, and the walk was up, and the datum was up, and the report was up, and the scheme was up. At eleven forty, the water stopped rising. At eleven forty-one, the water stopped moving. At eleven forty-two, the bell rang. It rang at seventy-eight hertz, and the second tone at one hundred and fifty-six, and the interval held, and the amplitude held, and Tamar heard it, and the sound came out of the water, and the sound came out of the tower, and the sound came out of the church, and the sound came out of the flat, and the sound came out of the bay, and the sound came out of the datum, and the sound came out of the walk, and the sound came out of the child, and the child did not remember, and the walk was up, and the datum was up, and the report was up, and the scheme was up. She heard it. She heard it, and she stood at the ninth step, and the water was at her waist, and the bell was ringing, and the bell was under the water, and the bell was in the tower, and the tower was in the church, and the church was on the flat, and the flat was under, and the bay was there, and the air was still, and the sun was up, and the sound came out of the water, and the sound was at seventy-eight hertz, and the sound was the bell, and the bell was the datum, and the datum was the walk, and the walk was the child, and the child was the walk, and the walk was up, and the datum was up, and the report was up, and the scheme was up. She did not move. At twelve o'clock, the water began to go out. At twelve eleven, the flat was dry. At twelve twelve, the church was dry. At twelve thirteen, the tower was dry. At twelve fourteen, the bell was dry. At twelve fifteen, the bell did not ring. She stood at the ninth step, and the walk was walking, and nobody was walking it, and the walk was the datum, and the datum was the walk, and the walk was up, and the datum was up, and the report was up, and the scheme was up, and she did not move, and she did not go up, and she did not go down, and she stood at the ninth step, and the water went out, and the bay was flat, and the sun was up, and the air was still, and the walk was walking, and nobody was walking it, and she did not move, and she did not move, and she did not move. At one o'clock, Ruan was at her side, on the ninth step, and the boat had driven in, on the sand, and Ruan had come up, and Ruan stood at her side, and Ruan did not say anything, and Tamar did not say anything, and they stood at the ninth step, and the walk was walking, and nobody was walking it, and the walk was up, and the datum was up, and the report was up, and the scheme was up. "It walked," Tamar said. "It walked." "It gave the datum back." "It gave the datum back." "Ruan. How long has it been walking." "Since the child." "Since eighty-four." "Since the child. The child is eighty-four. The child walked in eighty- four. The walk has been walking since. The walk is walking now. The walk will walk again, in eighteen months. The walk will walk, and the datum will be given, and the datum will be the same, and the model will be wrong, and the bell will ring, and the bell will be at seventy-eight hertz, and the bell will be at one minute and twelve seconds, and the bell will ring for three days, and the bell will ring, and the scheme will go ahead, and the barrage will be built, and the bell will be under the barrage, and the bell will stop ringing, and nobody will hear it, and nobody will miss it, and the walk will be up, and the datum will be up, and the report will be up, and the scheme will be up." "We're not letting them build it." "We're not." "Then we walk it." "No. We're not walking it." "Then we put the datum in the report." "We're not putting the datum in the report." "Then what are we doing." "We're filing the observations section." "That's putting the datum in the report." "That's filing the observations section." "There's a difference." "There isn't." "There is. The observations section is where the thing goes that isn't in the report. The datum isn't in the report. The datum is in the observations section. The bell isn't in the report. The bell is in the observations section. The walk isn't in the report. The walk is in the observations section. The child isn't in the report. The child is in the observations section. The observations section is the report. The observations section is where the truth lives. The report is where they win." "Then we file the observations section." "We file the observations section." "At the hearing." "At the hearing." "Who's at the hearing." "Everybody. Ellerby. Cragmere. The Authority. The ministers. The whole of the committee. The whole of the village. Me. You. Ruan. Lowri. Deveril. Everybody." "Then we say it at the hearing." "We say it at the hearing." "What do we say." "We say the datum is wrong by one point nine metres." "We say that." "We say the model is wrong by one point nine metres." "We say that." "We say the consent is invalid." "We say that." "We say the report is invalid." "We say that." "We say the scheme is not viable." "We say that." "We say the bell is ringing." "We say that." "We say the walk is walking." "We say that." "We say the child is the datum." "We say that." "We say the datum is the walk." "We say that." "We say the walk is up." "We say that." "We say the scheme is up." "We say that." "We say the barrage is not built." "We say that." "We say it, and then they build the barrage." "We say it, and then they build the barrage." "Then we don't say it." "We don't say it." "Then what do we do." "We walk it." Tamar looked at the ninth step, and the ninth step was where the narrows was, and the narrows was where the datum was, and the datum was where the child had stood, and the child had not remembered, and the walk was up, and the datum was up, and the report was up, and the scheme was up. She did not walk it. She did not walk it, and she did not say it, and she did not file it, and she did not sign it, and she stood at the ninth step, and the water was out, and the bay was flat, and the sun was up, and the air was still, and the walk was walking, and nobody was walking it, and the walk was up, and the datum was up, and the report was up, and the scheme was up, and she stood there, and she did not move, and she did not move, and she did not move. ---