At first the reader is coaxed into feeling sympathy for this man. We get the feeling that he is a decent person; a civilian, gentleman, and a grower. We also get the idea that he’s a decent man because his last thoughts are of his wife and kids. The captive hears a “death beat” from his watch and we feel the inevitability of his death, but the author toys with us, moving his thoughts to that of escape the from noose, and we are filled with hope for our hero, just as the Sergeant steps aside and lets him fall, his weight supported only by a noose around his neck.
The story changes to part II, where we are told the main characters name and business. We find out that he is a slaveowner and a strong supporter of the South during the Civil War, and we suddenly have less sympathy for him. In part two, the story reads, “Mrs. Farquhar was only toe, happy to serve him with her own white hands,” I’m not sure if “toe” should be “too.”
Then the reader gets curious as to what Peyton Farquhar has done to get himself into this predicament as he asks curious questions of the visiting soldier. As Peyton falls into the water find himself with superhuman senses, even hearing a fish swim by. His superhuman senses found nothing that wasn’t beautiful, as he had just escaped from certain death. We gain sympathy again for him as his thoughts return to his wife and children. He makes it home, and we are excited, only to find out that this had been false hope the writer had instilled in us. Peyton had never escaped, these were merely his last thoughts right before he was strangled by the noose.
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