PART ONE
The Two Dead Girls
This happened in 1932, ___ the state penitentiary was ___ at Cold Mountain. And ___ electric chair was there ___, of course. The inmates (5)___ jokes about the chair, ___ way people always make ___ about things that frighten ___, but can’t be gotten ___ from. They called it (10)___ Sparky, or the Big ___. They made cracks about ___ power bill, and how ___ Moores would cook his ___ dinner that fall, with (15)___ wife Melinda, too sick ___ cook. But for the ___ who actually had to ___ down in that chair, ___ humor went out of (20)___ situation in a hurry. ___ presided over seventy-eight executions ___ my time at Cold ___ (that one figure I’ve ___ been confused about; I’ll (25)___ it on my deathbed), ___ I think that, for ___ of those men, the ___ of what was happening ___ them finally hit all (30)___ way home when their ___ were being clamped to ___ stout oak of “Old ___’s” legs. The realisation came ___ (you would see it (35)___ in their eyes, a ___ of cold dismay) that ___ own legs had finished ___ careers.
___
Have fun....and take care!
Have fun....and take care!
1 comment:
This happened in 1932, when the state penitentiary was still at Cold Mountain. And the electric chair was there too, of course.
The inmates made jokes about the chair, the way people always make jokes about things that frighten them, but can’t be gotten away from. They called it Old Sparky, or the Big Juicy. They made cracks about the power bill, and how Warden Moores would cook his Thanksgiving dinner that fall, with his wife Melinda, too sick to cook.
But for the ones who actually had to sit down in that chair, the humor went out of the situation in a hurry. I presided over seventy-eight executions during my time at Cold Mountain (that one figure I’ve never been confused about; I’ll remember it on my deathbed), and I think that, for most of those men, the truth of what was happening to them finally hit all the way home when their ankles were being clamped to the stout oak of “Old Sparky’s” legs. The realisation came then (you would see it coming in their eyes, a kind of cold dismay) that their own legs had finished their careers.
Post a Comment