Speaker 1: Hooch by William Sandford. I had committed murder in a
Speaker 1: terrible fit of rage. I had killed my friend Jim McCarthy.
Speaker 1: I was going to be hung at sunrise. There was
Speaker 1: no hope. I must die. Slowly, the great steel doors
Speaker 1: swung open, and four guards entered my cell. One of
Speaker 1: them stepped a little in advance of the others come
Speaker 1: he said that was all. I rose tottering from my bench.
Speaker 1: I must die. I must leave the sunlight of the
Speaker 1: earth behind me. I had committed murder. I was led
Speaker 1: through the cold, bleak prison corridors and out into the
Speaker 1: lighted courtyard, where a number of people were gathered, prison
Speaker 1: officials and a few newspaper men. The scaffold stood before me,
Speaker 1: and with tottering legs, I was assisted to the top.
Speaker 1: A black cap, a horrible thing spelling death, was fitted
Speaker 1: over my head and drawn tight about my neck. All
Speaker 1: was still about me. No one spoke. I felt the
Speaker 1: noose placed about my neck. The cold sweat broke out
Speaker 1: over my body. I could scarcely stand death. Death. I
Speaker 1: was to know the feeling of that terrible rope. In
Speaker 1: a few moments, ready, said a sharp voice, I felt
Speaker 1: the earth slip from under me, and I shot into space.
Speaker 1: A feeling of suffocation, indescribably terrible, enveloped me, and a
Speaker 1: million sparks of fire seemed dancing before my eyes, though
Speaker 1: I could not see. I tried to scream, but could
Speaker 1: make no sound. Then something seemed to burst. My lungs
Speaker 1: were free. I gave a terrible cry. A voice from
Speaker 1: above came sharply down to me, What the devil's the
Speaker 1: matter with you? Bill? The ship gave a lurch and
Speaker 1: brought me wide awake. In the dim light of the cabin,
Speaker 1: I saw Jim McCarthy's face peering at me from the
Speaker 1: bunk above. Jim, I said, wiping my sweat soaked face
Speaker 1: with the sheet. If you fill me up on any
Speaker 1: more of your home made hooch, I will kill you.
Speaker 1: The end of Hooch.