THE STONES FELL THICKER
Peepal Tree PressJuly 2021Selected by Jeremy Poynting
In Kei Miller’s words: “A writer has to be at the heights of her power to slip so comfortably, so beautifully into the skin of history and let it breathe like this. Trinidad is at a crossroads: cocoa is literally dying; oil is about to change everything. Smyth gathers a wonderful cast of characters to meet at this crossroads and everyone’s fortune is at stake. This is Smyth’s best novel to date.” In this extract, Tito Fernandes, a middle-aged merchant in a state of despair over the collapse of his investments in the New York crash, has a chance meeting with a much younger Trinidadian, Eddie Wade, whose truck has just broken down. It is 1928. — Jeremy Poynting
Tito ordered a half-bottle of gin and a jug of coconut water. “Look,” he said, “we’ll drink a little, and then head back and sort out your vehicle. A man needs refreshments in this heat. I keep telling my wife, you worry about vitamins but you must never forget to hydrate. Especially in this hellhole.”
He smiled and his fleshy cheeks dimpled like doughnuts.
They found a table by the window and away from the bar. There was a kind of splendour here that Eddie had forgotten about – the polished wooden floor, modern overhead fans and starched tablecloths. This was a place for wealthy, white Trinidadians, French Creoles, and American tourists. Eddie knew of the hotel, but he’d never had a reason to step inside. He should wash his hands.
Tito said, “So what’s your business?” Then, “Let me guess, you’re a planter.”
“Not quite,” Eddie said, “I get bored; agriculture’s not for me. Everything takes too long. I like to move around.”
“Construction?”
“Closer. I’m a driller.”
Tito cocked his head. “Okay. That fits. You can’t be short of work.”
“There’s plenty to choose from.”
While the light changed and hotel guests came and went, Eddie and Tito emptied the bottle of gin and jug of coconut water and when it ran out, Tito called for more. The cook sent slices of pork and peppered shrimps, and hot bread. Eddie hadn’t realised how hungry he was until he started eating. While they ate and drank, Eddie told Tito about his Uncle Clyde, and how he’d come back to Trinidad to help him up
at Mon Repos Estate.
He spoke about his good friend Michael Callaghan and their search for oil in New Mexico. Their near success in Beaumont, and how they were scuppered by the owner of the land who turned out to be the biggest crook since Al Capone. He explained how he’d got caught up in the Teapot Dome in Wyoming, found the site on the edge of a football pitch and drilled down with a cable tool, and a pump. He and Callaghan had drilled the patch for five weeks. The well came in at 550 feet, one of the largest wells in history. Meanwhile, in New York, the owner was subpoenaed on four counts of bribery and corruption. He had no choice but to walk away without a cent. His nose was keen; he’d been unlucky. He’d learned his lessons. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
Eddie told Tito about his father, who had died in a volcano in St Vincent.
“They tell me he was on the mountainside when a stone fell next to him. Then the stones fell thicker, one or two were big, too big to be thrown by anyone’s hands. Then he must have seen it was the mountain – pitching stones at him. He ran towards the sea bawling for help, ash and steam pouring out. Lava trickled down and buried the crops and houses. The volcano came like that, and no one knew. It spewed for days.”
He explained how his mother died soon after because her big heart was torn right out of her and there was nothing inside to keep her alive. At 55 years old, she fell asleep one evening and didn’t wake up.
It occurred to Eddie that he was talking to Tito like he hadn’t talked to anyone in years. It felt good, like putting down a heavy suitcase he’d been carrying.
“Mother was full of tears. Nothing worse than dying when you’re alive. I’m glad in some ways she’s gone.”
As he said it, Eddie knew it wasn’t true. A day didn’t pass when he didn’t think about his mother.
Tito listened and nodded. “Dying while you’re alive is a terrible thing. A lot of people live like that.” He told Eddie he was brave. “You’re a fighter, you’ll do okay. Most people live their lives like a sentence; you know what you want. I’m sure you’ll get it.” ◉
In the Teapot Dome scandal of 1921–1923, American politician Albert B. Fall accepted bribes to lease oil reserves to private oil companies under exclusive, tender-free terms. Subsequently prosecuted, he then became the first member of the United States cabinet to go to prison.
There was an eruption in St Vincent in 1902 that killed 1,680 people.