Swing Low: Chapter 28

Chapter 28If you're new to this, start atThe Beginning. And thanks for sharing my stories with all your friends.
Installment #29 of:Sing Low: The Hangman of the WoodsBy B.C. Crow (Chapter 28Early that next morning, I woke with a start and jumped out of bed. Today was important; I couldn’t sleep in. I checked the time. My heart settled down as I realized that I hadn’t overslept.For the next hour I got ready as quietly as possible. Jhon and Charles were still asleep; I tip-toed, mostly trying to be considerate to them. Duy and Thing Two were also asleep and not waking Thing Two had nothing to do with consideration. I just didn’t want him blowing up in one of his temper rants by rousing him too early. Thing One was already gone. I didn’t know if he’d even come back last night. Either he had his own projects keeping him busy, or his job was forcing some unbelievable overtime as they tried to manage all their new prisoners, guests, or whatever they chose to call the children of the woods.I didn’t feel like going shirtless again today, since that hadn’t really helped me yesterday. So I dressed normally and was just about to ease the door open when Duy appeared in the hallway.“You’re not leaving without me, are you?” He yawned, rubbing crusted sleep from his eyes. His breath still smelled like whatever he’d been drinking last night, mixed with morning mouth rot.“Duy? You’re coming with me?”“Sure. Isn’t that what friends do? Support each other. After some of the things I’ve put you through, it’s the least I can do.”"Thanks. But I do need to leave right now."Duy entered the kitchen, fumbled around with one of the cupboards and produced a few stale rolls. “I won’t hold you up. I’ll eat on the way. I would’ve gotten up earlier, but it’s so hard to wake up this early anymore.”“At least I won’t be the only person there.” I smiled, hoping his breath would improve with his pathetic breakfast.“Hey buddy, don’t be so gloomy. You’re not the only good fellow out there. You might be surprised by how many people have a heart and show up today.”“If you’d seen how well my little campaign went yesterday, you might think otherwise.”“Ha!” Duy laughed. “I did see how it went. I was a little preoccupied, or I would have helped. But I’m sure that at least a few people read your novel of a flier. You probably should have kept it more short and simple.”“Gee, thanks. Next time I need an editor, I’ll come to you.”“Seriously, do! You wrote your petition for a newspaper, then distributed it like a flier. In ten minutes you could have rewritten it onto a single page, and had it be much more effective. People don’t pay as much attention to fliers as they do to newspapers, so it’s got to be simple.”“Too late for that now.”“Seriously, Iddo, don’t worry about it. I’m sure everything will turn out fine.”The front doors were just being opened as we arrived at the courthouse. A few other people were trickling in. They seemed as annoyed to be here as I was determined. We went in and waited as one of the clerks turned on the lights and organized her desk. I recalled the scent of peppermint, made stronger now that the lady was actually here. She wasn’t as old or as friendly as I’d imagined. Her face seemed kind enough, but there was something in that smile of hers that made me feel like she was just here to collect a paycheck. At last she came to the counter where I was waiting.“Can I help you with something?” she asked in a bittersweet tone.“I was just wondering what the schedule would be for the hangman’s trial today.”Her eyes opened wide. She grinned and looked at me like I was some novelty. “Hey, aren’t you that kid—er, young man—who wants to save the hangman?” Her grin grew into a pouty twist. “Listen, save yourself the trouble and run along. You’re probably the only person willing to side with that—thing. If you really do care, then go home so you don’t have to witness his sentencing. You can’t save him. Not even divine intervention could prevent his fate. Plus, there’s plenty of men who might not look too kindly on a sympathizer. You seem like a nice boy. I’d hate to see you get hurt.”“I’ve already been beaten. I’m not afraid of that.” Actually I was afraid, but that was beside the point. “I won’t give up. He’s not the monster everyone thinks he is. I need to convince the court of that. I just need a chance. Please.”“My boy, the court has already appointed him an attorney. There will be someone arguing on his behalf.”“Let me guess,” I ventured. “This attorney is the freshest greenie that passed his licensing exam, right?”“No, actually. He’s a seasoned lawyer, and a really good friend of the judge.”“A good friend of the judge! The judge has already conspired with the mob that captured the hangman! How can any friend of his persuade him away from what he’s already decided? They probably planned the whole thing!”“Watch what you say about the honorable Fu Gang. I assure you, he’ll judge this hangman with the highest degree of professionalism.”Duy slammed his open palm down on her countertop. A metal ring that I hadn’t seen on Duy since we’d first met clanked hard enough to draw our attention. The ring was silver in color, with a small green coat of arms containing a few letters in it. I don’t know what the letters meant, but both the clerk and I knew that only Believers wore such rings. As I’d come to learn, Believers were avid in pursuing causes if they felt the cause was just. The last thing this court would want would be to find a whole swarm of Believers outside their courthouse.“Tell my friend when the trial is,” Duy threatened, “All I have to do is make one call. Before noon the faith of my people will combine and cause the walls of this courthouse to crumble to the ground.”The clerk studied Duy for a hard minute. I studied him, too. I half guessed that Duy was bluffing. But like the clerk, I wasn’t sure. “Ten o’clock,” she finally relented. “Not like it’s any secret. Excuse me now, I have work to do this morning.” She turned her back and went to a corner desk, half hidden by a cubicle wall.We stepped out of the courthouse. Duy was the first to stop. “I hate the smell of peppermint and will you stop staring at me like that?”“Sorry, I was just trying to figure out if what you said back there was even possible. If so, then what I should have done was appeal to the Believers and not the local community. Do you guys really have that kind of power?”“Yeah, sort of, maybe. I’ve heard of things like that happening, but I’ve never actually seen it done. Mostly I was just playing on the myths or rumors that everyone seems to associate with us. You wouldn’t believe some of the pranks I’ve pulled in the last year. Everyone thinks we’re just as spooky as witches. It’s made for some pretty funny jokes with my friends.”“Are they jokes I’d want to hear about?”This time it was Duy’s turn to study me. “No,” he finally concluded. “I get the feeling that you’d actually make a good Believer. You’d probably find my pranks a little offensive. Oh, but there was this one time when—”“Duy—look.” I pointed down a side street. At first I was worried that it was a large group the mob had formed to make sure their fake trial went off as planned. But these people looked different. They were mostly younger, like college students. College students and a few professors. At the front of the procession was the young strict-looking lady from the school. The same woman who’d caught me using her copy machine.As she and the crowd of nearly one hundred people neared, I noticed a few sheets of lined notepaper in her hand. The unmistakable crumples marked it as that original article I’d accidentally left on the copy machine yesterday.She smiled at the surprise on my face. “Hello Iddo. I read your little petition. I hope you don’t mind, but I decided to e-mail it to as many people as I know. Hopefully they’ll keep forwarding it. Your words were compelling to me. I want—we want to help you make a difference.”I could have cried. Her group was strengthening in force as other small groups trickled in from all directions. By nine thirty, the entire square in front of the courthouse was packed with bodies. The noise was incredible. I could hardly believe the turnout. It was all because of one lady who happened to read the article that I’d carelessly left behind.As I was admiring the crowd, Duy nudged me. “You know, you probably ought to give a speech now.”My eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets. “A speech?”“Yeah, a speech. All these people are here because of you. You have to organize them. You have to energize them.”These words upset me more than his still toxic breath. They practically melted the bones from my legs. I visibly wobbled. Duy laughed. “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.”I knew he was right. Not about being fine, but that I had to do something. I might be able to write to the masses, but actually standing and speaking to them? I wasn’t sure if I could do it. I looked at the three steps ascending toward the courthouse. They now seemed so tall. Hesitantly, I placed one foot on the first step. What would I say? How did you rally over two hundred people that you didn’t know?My body shook as I raised my second foot to climb higher. I almost collapsed. No, I couldn’t do this. I was just about to turn around when I heard Duy shout, “Speech! Speech! Speech!” Despite my wobbly legs, when I heard that, my spine stiffened. Maybe nobody noticed his shouts.I could still turn around and come back down. I wasn’t committed yet.I wasn’t sure, but I guessed that the clerk who’d sent the e-mail was the next voice to join Duy’s chant. “Speech! Speech! Speech!”Within five seconds the whole crowd was chanting. My breath came in ragged gasps. I didn’t dare go forward and I couldn’t back down. I could feel their eyes landing on my back. Like red-hot pokers, each person’s eye seemed to pull at least five drops of moisture per second from my skin. Finally, my feet pressed on. By the time I was all the way to the top of the stairs, my sweaty palms threatened to drip in a continuous stream at my sides.Slowly I turned to face my supporters. I wanted to wipe the sweat from around my eyes, but thought better of it. I’d probably just force the salty stuff into my eyes and cause more of a problem.I surveyed the crowd. They hushed until silence filled the air. The stillness seemed to stretch that short five seconds into five minutes. I took in a deep breath. The jackhammer in my throat didn’t calm me one bit. “Good morning,” I managed to say.“Louder,” someone shouted. Probably Duy. It could have been a girl’s voice, too; I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to distinguish voices. The drumming of my heart was too loud for me to spare that much attention.“Thank you for coming,” I said as loud as my half-deflated lungs would allow.“That’s better,” the shout came again. It was Duy.“Thanks.” I smiled. Somehow that made it easier. Finding my voice, I gestured toward the courthouse. “Most of you don’t know who I am. My name is Iddo. Almost two years ago, I discovered the man known as the hangman of the woods.”As I spoke, my voice steadied. I was still terrified, but at least I didn’t completely freeze up. “The hangman, or Daddy Smiling as his adopted children call him . . .”In about ten minutes I unfolded my story. By the time I was finished, I was shaking. Not from stage fright, but from a furious passion that I didn’t know I could tap. I don’t think I ever spoke so eloquently in my life. I finished with a plea.“In twenty minutes, a trial will begin, wherein a corrupt lawyer is going to be unable to defend Daddy Smiling from an even more corrupt judge. They have the power to end the life of this man. He may be deformed, he may be mentally handicapped, but he saved and raised over a hundred and fifty children from these fathers, the ones who now wish to condemn him to death. He is a hero, held by a mob of murderers.“Is Daddy Smiling a vigilante? Yes. But if not for him, many more innocent children would have been slaughtered by their own fathers. Do you trust these men to deliver a just verdict for the hangman of the woods?”With one voice, the whole crowd shouted, “No!”“Would you trust these murderers with your children?”Again, a resounding, “No!”“Then how can we trust them to care for the children of the woods?”This time the answer was just a garbled mass of shouting. I guess I could have rephrased the question better.“I stood alone against these men once,” I continued, “and this is what they gave me!” I pulled my shirt off with a jerk. It hurt, but it also felt oddly empowering. I stood erect with my mutilated back to the crowd.Now the shouts neared hysterics. Shirtless I turned around to face my supporters. “In just a few minutes, when they open the doors to that courthouse, I say we fill the building. We let them know that we will not stand for injustice! We will stand for truth! We will stand, not for some hangman of the woods, but for the hero of the woods!”That did it. The crowd pushed the decibel level of the whole square higher and higher as they swelled closer to the building. I was just pulling my shirt back on, getting ready to join them on a march to the doors, when dozens of police and hired mercenaries, all decked out in riot gear, charged from around the corner. Before we had moved twenty feet, they’d set up a barricade.A voice came across on a megaphone. “You are all engaged in unlawful protest. Stand down.”I may not have journalism in my blood, but I’d seen enough pictures and read enough to know that this little protest of mine could get badly out of hand. Whenever that happened, people got hurt, even killed. They were all here because of me. I couldn’t let this cross the line between protest and riot.With arms outstretched in a cross, I backed away from the protesters, facing them as I put myself between them and the barricade. “Please, listen to me!” I shouted.Not everyone quieted, but enough did. “We are not the bad guys. We will protest peacefully. Let us not display our anger by causing violence today!” Then, so as to be heard by all, I asked the police, “If you won't open the courtroom to all of us, will you at least allow me in, so that I may testify on behalf of the hangman?”Shouts of “Let him in!” repeatedly crossed the square.The policeman in charge brought the megaphone back to his lips. “I will speak with the judge. But if any of you move any closer, I will permit my men to open fire on you.”As if to accentuate his statement, his men aimed several tear-gas launchers and shotguns at the crowd. I wondered if they would use rubber bullets. I hoped I didn’t have to find out.Several minutes later the police officer emerged. He looked nervous upon bringing the megaphone up again. But lift it he did. “The defense has consulted with the judge. The defense does not believe that he needs your testimony. Likewise, the judge has decided that you will be in contempt of court if he allows you in. You may continue to protest, but only if you remain peaceful, in the square, keeping behind the steps leading up to the building.”Angry shouts filled the crowd, my voice among them. I yelled out my objection. I tried to make a plea for my case. But nothing I said could be distinguished from the mass of noise that blanketed over mine. It was like a bad dream where you had to run as fast as possible but made little or no progress.The next five minutes were just a blur. Luckily Duy found his way to me. With some effort we calmed the crowd. Then, five minutes later, we were able to start a more organized chant. The first one started out as “Judge him fair!” We changed the chant every five or ten minutes to keep it fresh. There was no way the people inside the courtroom could avoid hearing us.The morning passed dreadfully slow. I took refuge under a tree with long stretching branches that helped shade the middle of the square. I was afraid that by noon, people would start leaving. On the contrary; more arrived. They strengthened our numbers and our resolve. From there, the hours rolled by. Three o’clock. Four o’clock. By seven o’clock, I couldn’t take it anymore. With outstretched arms, I approached the police line.“What do you want?” the bedraggled police chief asked.“Can you go inside and inquire for me as to the progress of the trial?”He slumped his shoulders. “No, I can’t.”I tilted my head. “Why not?”He sighed heavily. “We’re just here till you guys disperse. The trial ended three hours ago. The courthouse is all locked up. Nobody’s in there anymore.”I just stared at him. Nobody had used the main doors all day. Nobody that is, except for me and Duy in the morning. They had all sneaked in and out by some other way, and now it was over. I shook my head, trying to understand. I wanted to ask, but was afraid to form the words. I think I was more afraid of what I might hear.As if reading my mind, the chief shook his head again. “Guilty.”This time I really did fall to my knees. Before I knew it, Duy was at my side again, helping me back down the stairs. The news spread through the crowd like ink on a paper towel. The weary crowd of protesters seemed to dissolve until only Duy, the lady from the school office, and I were left. She placed a hand on my shoulder. Then, without saying another word, turned and walked away.Duy and I walked back home. I don’t think we spoke a single word to each other the whole way.Click here to read Chapter 29Copyright 2017: While I encourage you to share this link with your friends and family, please keep in mind that this is copyrighted material. Under no circumstances do you have the right to re-publish any or part of this content without specific written permission from BC Crow and Blue House Publishing.