Please refer to previous Go West stories for background.
Jer had enjoyed a peaceful 3 days, nobody was in trouble, and he was actually beginning to feel like he was full, his ribs no longer stuck out. Snake told them that they would be moving that day, that the Reverend's work was done here. He told them to wait until he and the Reverend came back from a final visit to town, and they could help take down the big tent. In the meanwhile, they should break camp, load the wagons, and make sure the horses were fed and watered. With that he left.
The kids worked quickly, and had everything done by noontime, which left them time for a cooling swim in the river. April mentioned to Jer that his bottom was no longer red, and they all laughed about that. The big kid, Ed, told them that he wanted to surprise Snake, to get on his good side. He decided he was going to take down the tent himself! He asked if anyone wanted to help, but was met with silence, each of the others seeing danger in not doing exactly what Snake had ordered. Laughing at their fear, Ed went about dropping the tent. He hooked up a team of horses, one on each side, to bear the weight of the fabric, as they slowly pulled on a series of pulleys. Jer was fascinated by the mechanics of the operation, and was tempted to go help Ed, when they heard a terrible ripping sound, and the fabric fell in two big heaps. Ed, had apparently had the horses pull too much, and the whole thing ripped in half. Ed stood and stared, as the rest of the kids quickly dived in the river, to hide. As luck would have it, Snake rode up just as the dust settled. He was screaming at Ed and shoved the boy down into the dirt. He looked around for the others, who feigned not noticing, as they splashed in the water. He yelled for them to come and help. Soon everyone was pulling the heavy canvas, and spending the afternoon sewing it back together.
Finally, they were able to get the canvas together, and had loaded it into a wagon. Snake then had them sit down, and asked them exactly what had happened. Ed, who was not highly intelligent, told Snake how he had decided to take the tent down, because he wanted to please Snake, and thought he knew how to do it, having watched Snake directing the horses before. Snake turned to the others, but before he could ask, Ed told him that everything that happened was his doing (something that endeared him to the other kids.) The large center poles of the tent were still standing, as were the block and tackle. A gleam came into Snake's beady eyes. He told Ed that he was going to be punished like no other kid in the history of punishment! Ed's lower lip quivered, but he did not say anything, knowing in his own mind that he "deserved" it.
Snake had him strip, and then took him to an area between the two large tent poles. He then pulled down the ends of the pulleys and tackle. He had Ed lay on the dirt on his back, and had him lift one leg at a time, as he wrapped a rope around the boy's ankles, over and over, finally fastening both rope ends to a tackle which went to the top of both poles. Ed, who might not have been the brightest kid on the block, knew enough to be scared. Going to the end of one of the poles, he grabbed the line which would normally be fastened to a horse, and pulled on it. In seconds, the line around Ed's left leg tightened, and was pulled until his left leg was pulled up off of the ground, and out to the side, toward the tent pole. He then went to the other side, and repeated his actions, the result was Ed was now laying on the ground on his back, with both legs up in the air, pulled widely apart, his "private" area completely exposed. Walking back to the first rope, Snake pulled again, and slowly, Ed was lifted up, first with one rope, and then the other, until he was hanging upside down, hands inches above the dirt, legs stretched painfully apart. From the rear, his buttocks were totally stretched apart, his anus was opened up showing pink inside the brown opening. His testicles were hanging down toward the front side of his body, almost covering his penis, which now showed only as a small shrivelled thumb like thing surrounded by the small patch of brilliantly red hair.
Snake went to a wagon, and returned with a small whip. standing to the boy's rear, without warning, he raised the whip over his head, and snapped it down on the boy's right buttock, a vivid welt appearing in seconds. He followed with stroke after stroke, alternating cheeks, working his way toward the middle, unmindful of the screams from the boy. Ed made a futile attempt to cover his butt with his hands, but the act of pulling up his hands tore at his hip joints, due to the extreem stretch that he was placed in.
Snake took careful aim, and brought the whip down so that it's tip entered the boy's open hole. Over and over the whip visited that tender opening, occasionally catching the edge of one of Ed's testicles, occasionally smashing into the perineum area between his hole and bag.
Soon, Snake seemed to tire, sweat running from his face, he slashed the boy's rectum one last time, and left, getting on his horse and heading for town, leaving the poor boy hanging.
As the horses hoofbeats diminished, the children slowly moved from their hiding places, and approached Ed. His eyes were tightly screwed together, his face a brilliant red, mouth only showing as a thin line. At first, they thought he might be dead, but the soft moaning coming from him, and the tears from his eyes and mucus from his nose which had darkened the earth let them know he was still alive. Looking on the other side, the children gasped when they saw his lacerated backside. Tiny cuts from the whip had caused little drops of blood to form, and, blending with the sweat on his backside, they formed little rivlets that cut through the dirt that was on his bottom. The older boys quickly went to the ropes, and as easily as they could do so, lowered Ed to the ground. April pulled his arms so that he ended up face down. They untied his ankles, and gently poured water over his bottom. April went to a wagon, and opened a small barrel of grease. Grabbing a handful, she returned and smeared it all over Ed's bottom, even over and into his backhole. With help, Ed was able to move to the riverbank, where he stood in the rushing water for an hour, hoping the pain would go away.
Seeing Ed walk, Jer told the others that he just couldn't stay, saying he had to head West to his uncle, but in reality knowing that he just had to get away. He offered to take anyone with him, but they all hung their heads. Without looking back, Jer left the clearing and headed toward the setting sun. He tasted bile in his throat, and had to stop to throw up.
"Why are there such people in the world"?