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“The End” 

A mixed feeling of justice and crude happiness descended upon the crowd gathered in the prison 
yard. The gallows rose high above the masses of people, strong and imposing. The tense silence was 
broken as a man with a cloth bag draped over his head stepped heavily up onto the platform. The eager 
rabble cheered as the poor man’s hands were bound behind his back. The noose was placed carefully 
around his neck and stiffly tightened. He was nudged into position above the trapdoor, bringing him 
closer and more precisely aligned for his demise. Bang! There was a loud sound as the trapdoor swung 
swiftly open and made contact with the frame. The man fell through the opening and was jerked 
upward by the rope, leaving him dangling and twitching for what seemed like hours. Finally, the 
resistants keeping him alive ceased, and he was left nothing but a corpse--an empty shell void of life. 
-Filey Schack and Avraham Rosen