Harry Lane is Innocent by J Scaddon

Author:J Scaddon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: suspense, murder, death penalty, hanging, execution

At seven the next morning, the two executioners were awoken by a guard, who brought them a full cooked breakfast on a trolley. This excellent meal was enough to brighten Mr Davies and made up a bit for the disappointment of their rather poor supper. The two men washed and shaved and dressed smartly. They both made their way quietly to the gallows and took the weights from the stretched rope. They then re-measured and prepared the rope for the execution. On returning to their accommodation, Mr Davies took the white hood, which would be placed over the condemned man’s head, and tucked it into his breast pocket. He folded it to look like a handkerchief. James was in charge of the leather straps. He placed the ankle strap into one pocket and the wrist strap into another pocket. At ten minutes to nine, the governor and two other officials came down to the cell and met with the two executioners. In silence, the party made their way up onto the next landing and walked quietly down to the condemned cell. The floor was lined with thick linoleum to cushion their footsteps, so that the comings and goings would not be heard inside Mr Schmidt’s cell. All the doors and gates around that area were also regularly oiled and kept squeak free, so that people could move around in complete silence.

Mr Davies walked up to the condemned cell and lifted the spyhole cover and peered in. My Schmidt was sat at a table, playing cards with two guards that sat opposite him. Mr Schmidt had his back to the door. His height and weight looked similar to those given to the executioners. It was not unusual for the condemned man to lose some weight during his time in prison, and the measurements were taken during their intake. Happy that everything was as he liked it, Mr Davies stepped back from the door and looked up at the big clock on the wall of the landing. It was three minutes to nine. All those gathered stood in silence, waiting for the clock to hit the hour. One of the officials was starting to look pale. The blood had drained from his face and he leaned against the wall, looking weak. Mr Davies looked at him carefully. He didn’t want anyone fainting during the execution. Well, not around him at any rate. Just before the allotted time, Mr Davies brought all those present in close together.

“Please follow behind myself and my assistant,” he whispered. “I do not want anyone barging in and getting in the way. No-one is to crowd around the condemned man. Keep out of our way!”

Mr Davies turned and stepped to the door, straightened himself up and smartened his suit and hair. When the clock struck nine, he nodded to the guard at the door and the cell was opened. As Mr Davies walked in, James followed hot on his heels. Mr Schmidt turned in his seat and looked at Mr Davies.

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.