At the Request of James Dougle: Round Hill Justice by Randy Cade

Author:Randy Cade [Cade, Randy]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: United States, Two Hours or More (65-100 Pages), African American, Historical, Literature & Fiction
Amazon: B00UPL7ICC
Publisher: Randycadebooks
Published: 2015-03-14T04:00:00+00:00

Jasper Palmer knew that in order to keep selling whiskey, barbeque, and the occasional paying trysts in the bushes surrounding the small hillside camp; he would have to turn this around into something bigger than just your ordinary hanging. There had been too much buildup for that. This man had to die in an extraordinary way, this black man who had killed the town’s upstanding citizen and payroll source. And it had to be a spectacle and it had to take some time. The more time, the more money to be made.

After everybody in the crowd declined to be the one to hammer a spike nail through the man’s hand, Palmer consulted Father Candy.

“Well, what you might consider doing, my son, is you could tie him up there.”

“Tie him, you mean like around each one of his hands and around the crossbar?”

“That’s what I mean. Perfectly acceptable at a crucifixion. That’s what they used to do to the criminals in Christian times, tie them to the cross. Only the real bad ones got the Roman soldiers angered enough put a nail through their hands. Our Savior was one who rated the most serious punishment.”

Seeing no need for nick-picking authenticity and feeling the pressure of time, Palmer considered this. Tying was considerably easier. There would surely be several volunteers to tie Dougle’s hands and raise the now secured man up on the cross on the hillside. However, in practice, this was a task not as easily executed as described.

It took eight good citizens to put their hands under the substantial weight of the cross with James’ body now firmly attached with rope. Not only that, the entire package was as unwieldy as trying to upright a wagon from its side. It was probably easier to catch a heard of cats with one hand or push a donkey out of a barn into the rain. Then there was the problem of how to make it stay up.

“Hold it up! Dig a hole, quick!” yelled Palmer. Shovels came out while the growing crowd of volunteers labored to keep the cross and the man, elevated at as great an angle as possible.

All Dougle could think about was “Jesus, what a bunch of stupid peckerwoods! Forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.”

“No, not like that, not that kinda hole! It looks like you’re trying to bury a dog! I mean like a post hole! Dig it down deep and narrow!” an exasperated Palmer was yelling at the hapless men who were simultaneously trying to elevate the cross and dig a hole.

Back in the crowd Maggie Cornith tapped Snarly Bob on the shoulder. The man was standing next to a tree, looking dejected, drinking whiskey from a wooden cup.

“You proud a’ yourself? You proud a’ what Palmer and these men are doin?”

“Go fuck yourself, whore.”

“If you think bein’ a onetime whore bothers me you’re wrong. I don’t shrink from what I once was. Buy you look to be doin’ just that to my perception.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.