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THEY WERE ABLE TO use the wheelchair longer than Roland had expected The firs of this forest were very old, and their spreading branches had created a deep carpet of needles which discouraged er than Eddie&039;s, although Roland did not think that would be trueeasily over the level, shady forest floor When they came to one of the trees the bear had pushed over, Roland lifted her out of the chair and Eddie boosted it over the obstacle
From behind them, only a little deadened by distance, the bear told them, at the top of itsnuclear subcell was now negligible
"I hope you keep that da eunslinger
Roland agreed, but less than fifteen an to slope doard and this old section of the forest began to be invaded with ser trees: birch, alder, and a few stunted rimly in the soil for purchase The carpet of needles thinned and the wheels of Susannah&039;s chair began to catch in the low, tough bushes which grew in the alleys between the trees Their thin branches boinged and rattled in the stainless steel spokes Eddie threw his weight against the handles and they were able to go on for another quarter of a row round underfoot beca-back, lady," Roland said
"Let&039;s try the chair a little longer, what do you say? Going et easier - "
Roland shook his head "If you try that hill, you&039;ll what did you call it, Eddie?do a dugout?"
Eddie shook his head, grinning "It&039;s called doing a doughnut, Roland A ter days"
"Whatever you call it, iton your head Co a cripple," Susannah said crossly, but allowed Eddie to hoist her out of the chair and worked with him to seat herself firmly in the harness Roland wore on his back Once she was in place, she touched the butt of Roland&039;s pistol "Y&039;all want this baby?" she asked Eddie
He shook his head "You&039;re faster And you know it, too"
She grunted and adjusted the belt, settling the gunbutt so it was easily accessible to her right hand "I&039; you boys down and I know that but if we ever ood old two-lane blacktop, I&039;ll leave the both of you kneelin in the blocks"
"I don&039;t doubt it," Roland said and then cocked his head The woods had fallen silent
"Br&039;er Bear has finally given up," Susannah said "Praise God"
"I thought it still had seven o," Eddie said
Roland adjusted the straps of the harness "Its clockthe last five or six hundred years"
"You really think it was that old, Roland?"
Roland nodded "At least And now it&039;s passed the last of the Twelve Guardians, for all we know"
"Yeah, ask hed
"Are you comfortable?" Roland asked her
"No My butt hurts already, but go on Just try not to drop me"
Roland nodded and started down the slope Eddie followed, pushing the e it too badly on the rocks which had begun to jut out of the ground like big white knuckles Now that the bear had finally shut up, he thought the forest seemed much too quiet - it almost le iant apes
23
THE BEAR&039;S BACKTRAIL WAS easy to find but tougher to follow Five h a low, boggy area that was not quite a swaan to rise and firain, Roland&039;s faded jeans were soaked to the knees and he was breathing in long, steady rasps Still, he was in slightly better shape than Eddie, who had found wrestling Susannah&039;s wheelchair through the
"Ti," Roland said
"Oh boy, gimme eats," Eddie puffed He helped Susannah out of the harness and set her down on the bole of a fallen tree with claw-rooves Then he half-sat, half-collapsed next to her
"You got my wheelchair pretty oan be in my repote"
He cocked an eyebrow at her "Next care cohOkay?"
She sot a date, handsome"
Eddie had one of Roland&039;s waterskins cinched around his waist He tapped it "Okay?"
"Yes," Roland said "Not too ain That way no one takes a crale Scout of Oz," Eddie said, and giggled as he unslung the waterskin
"What is this Oz?"
"A make-believe place in a movie," Susannah said
"Oz was a lot more than that My brother Henry used to read me the stories once in a while I&039;ll tell you one sounslinger replied seriously "I ary to know more of your world"
"Oz isn&039;t our world, though Like Susannah said, it&039;s a make-believe place - "
Roland handed them chunks of meat which had been wrapped in broad leaves of some sort "The quickest way to learn about a new place is to knohat it dreams of I would hear of this Oz"
"Okay, that&039;s a date, too Suze can tell you the one about Dorothy and Toto and the Tin Woodman, and I&039;ll tell you all the rest" He bit into his piece of ly It had taken the flavor of the leaves in which it had been rolled, and was delicious Eddie wolfed his ration, sto his breath back, he felt good - great, in fact His body was growing a solid sheath of muscle, and every part of it felt at peace with every other part
Don&039;t worry, he thought Everything will be arguing again by tonight I think he&039;s gonna push on until I&039;m ready to drop inevery second or third bite with a little sip of water, turning thefroht," she invited Roland "You said you thought you understood these conflicting memories of yours"
Roland nodded "Yes I think both memories are true One is a little truer than the other, but that does not negate the truth of that other"
"Makes no sense to me," Eddie said "Either this boy Jake was at the way station or he wasn&039;t, Roland"
"It is a paradox - so that is and isn&039;t at the same time Until it&039;s resolved, I will continue divided That&039;s bad enough, but the basic split is widening I can feel that happening It isunspeakable"
"What do you think caused it?" Susannah asked