Chapter ONE - Weebly

man hang?”
Too many times. He had seen prisoners hanged in
the West Indies, and he had seen enemy soldiers
hanged during the war. “More than once,” he said.
“And I can tell you that some dance, and some don’t.
It’s all in the way the rope snaps tight. It’s nothing to do
with spirits.”
“You’re sure?”
Ethan gently laid a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I’m
sure.”
The door to the house opened and Clara stepped
outside, her dark hair tied back from her face to reveal
a smooth high forehead.
“It is Holin,” she called over her shoulder. “And
Ethan’s with him.”
“Good evening, Clara,” Ethan said, smiling at her,
even as he surreptitiously sheathed his blade.
She smiled back but didn’t say anything. A moment
later, her mother appeared behind her, her expression
severe. Elli wore her hair just as Clara did, so that it
accentuated her high cheekbones and the graceful curve
of her neck.