Chapter 1: Page 9: Line 44

 "Why, so did wicked men declare 'em...before God, another Tale...."

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Line 44 Vulgarized:
"Well, 'crimes' is what some terribly depraved and monstrous men claimed they were. But that's another story, by God," Cherrycoke responded lost in melancholy thought about the unjustness of it all.

Subtext:
Reverend Cherrycoke was the victim of a plot by wicked men to besmirch his and his family's reputation, according to, of course, Cherrycoke. He could be lying to explain away his sins. Or, remembering this is Pynchon's work, he could simply be paranoid in his belief that some wicked Them were behind the so-called crimes of his youth which led to his banishment from Britain. Just like Slothrop (and his family hundreds of years before) were banished from Britain. I mean, Slothrop wasn't technically banished. But he was manipulated by Them onto the continent from which he never was able to return, possibly becoming some wild harmonica playing woodland creature of the night, a man turned myth or urban legend, either a testament to the pursuit of enlightenment or a cautionary tale.
    If Cherrycoke weren't just an amateur Scheherazade, he'd tell the tale of his youthful crimes right now before he's even begun the story that begins with a hanging. Pro-storyteller Scheherazade could have fit four or five rather dull stories into the opening paragraph of another story. Yes, I said dull stories. I swear, if I had been her husband, Shahryār, the book would have been called The Book of the Twelve Nights and a Night. At times, Scheherazade really picks some rather dull cliffhangers.
    This really is sounding a lot like Lew Basnight from Against the Day as well as some Slothropian paranoia. Lew committed some unredeemable sin that he can't remember and nobody will explain to him. Cherrycoke has committed some unredeemable sin that might not have actually been a sin at all but won't explain it to his audience. I mean, he might! I haven't read (at least in over twenty years) any of the thousands of sentences after this one yet!