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Show page 93 and leaving in the dust long imprints of his arm and elbow. He f e l l several times but always struggled to his feet. He made i t to the row of dim l i g h t s , to the last light he sought, the one near Ruby's Mullet Heaven. There he f e l l again, and struggled to r i s e but could not. He s t a r t e d crawling on a l l fours, calling Ruby's name. Ruby, cleaning her g r i l l prior to closing, rushed out, s e t t l e d him to the ground and cradled his head in her lap. She mumbled ancient t r a g i c words and wiped dark blood from h i s lips, and wiped dust of t he s t r e e t from his face with her colorful skirt. She swayed back and forth with his head in her lap, crooning from her favorite hymn of the Rocky Anne Sanctified church,. When They Ring Those Golden Bells, u n t i l passers-by gathered. Some members of the gathering crowd joined Ruby in song: There's a land beyond the river that we c a l l the sweet forever and we only reach that shore by f a i t h ' s decree. One by one we gain the p o r t a l s , there to dwell xiith the immortals. . . . Fad, over the r i s i n g sympathy of grief, in one last moment of awareness, opened h i s eyes and recognized Ruby. "I'm Charles Stillman," he whispered. "I come by my name too l a t e ." Ruby held him t o her, limply, u n t i l someone in the growing crowd began t o pull her to her feet. "He's dead, Mrs. Chain," several voices said. Six men in the crowd, including Durango's a s s i s t a n ts Spooky, Moldy, and Pete, l i f t e d Fad and started with him along the dimly l i t unpaved s t r e e t to Durango's funeral parlor. They carried Fad, three men t o each side, as they would have carried |
