"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

A man stood upon a railroad bridge in northern Alabama, looking down into the swift water twenty feet below.

It was attached to a stout cross-timber above his head and the slack fell to the level of his knees.

The two sentinels fired again, independently and ineffectually.

It did not appear to be the duty of these two men to know what was occurring at the center of the bridge; they merely blockaded the two ends of the foot planking that traversed it.

It did not appear to be the duty of these two men to know what was occurring at the center of the bridge; they merely blockaded the two ends of the foot planking that traversed it.

The other bank of the stream was open ground--a gentle acclivity topped with a stockade of vertical tree trunks, loopholed for rifles, with a single embrasure through which protruded the muzzle of a brass cannon commanding the bridge.

They have reached the Owl Creek bridge, put it in order and built a stockade on the north bank.

The other bank of the stream was open ground--a gentle acclivity topped with a stockade of vertical tree trunks, loopholed for rifles, with a single embrasure through which protruded the muzzle of a brass cannon commanding the bridge.

Midway of the slope between the bridge and fort were the spectators--a single company of infantry in line, at "parade rest," the butts of the rifles on the ground, the barrels inclining slightly backward against the right shoulder, the hands crossed upon the stock.

The sentinels, facing the banks of the stream, might have been statues to adorn the bridge.

The captain stood with folded arms, silent, observing the work of his subordinates, but making no sign.

Death is a dignitary who when he comes announced is to be received with formal manifestations of respect, even by those most familiar with him.

Death is a dignitary who when he comes announced is to be received with formal manifestations of respect, even by those most familiar with him.

In the code of military etiquette silence and fixity are forms of deference.

In the code of military etiquette silence and fixity are forms of deference.

His features were good--a straight nose, firm mouth, broad forehead, from which his long, dark hair was combed straight back, falling behind his ears to the collar of his well-fitting frock coat.

The liberal military code makes provision for hanging many kinds of persons, and gentlemen are not excluded.

At a signal from the former the latter would step aside, the plank would tilt and the condemned man go down between two ties.

At a signal from the former the latter would step aside, the plank would tilt and the condemned man go down between two ties.

The man in the water saw the eye of the man on the bridge gazing into his own through the sights of the rifle.

How slowly it appeared to move, What a sluggish stream!

And now he became conscious of a new disturbance.

Striking through the thought of his dear ones was a sound which he could neither ignore nor understand, a sharp, distinct, metallic percussion like the stroke of a blacksmith's hammer upon the anvil; it had the same ringing quality.

Its recurrence was regular, but as slow as the tolling of a death knell.

Its recurrence was regular, but as slow as the tolling of a death knell.

Its recurrence was regular, but as slow as the tolling of a death knell.

He awaited each stroke with impatience and--he knew not why--apprehension.

The intervals of silence grew progressively longer, the delays became maddening.

By diving I could evade the bullets and, swimming vigorously, reach the bank, take to the woods and get away home.

Circumstances of an imperious nature, which it is unnecessary to relate here, had prevented him from taking service with the gallant army that had fought the disastrous campaigns ending with the fall of Corinth, and he chafed under the inglorious restraint, longing for the release of his energies, the larger life of the soldier, the opportunity for distinction.

Circumstances of an imperious nature, which it is unnecessary to relate here, had prevented him from taking service with the gallant army that had fought the disastrous campaigns ending with the fall of Corinth, and he chafed under the inglorious restraint, longing for the release of his energies, the larger life of the soldier, the opportunity for distinction.

Circumstances of an imperious nature, which it is unnecessary to relate here, had prevented him from taking service with the gallant army that had fought the disastrous campaigns ending with the fall of Corinth, and he chafed under the inglorious restraint, longing for the release of his energies, the larger life of the soldier, the opportunity for distinction.

No service was too humble for him to perform in aid of the South, no adventure too perilous for him to undertake if consistent with the character of a civilian who was at heart a soldier, and who in good faith and without too much qualification assented to at least a part of the frankly villainous dictum that all is fair in love and war.

No service was too humble for him to perform in aid of the South, no adventure too perilous for him to undertake if consistent with the character of a civilian who was at heart a soldier, and who in good faith and without too much qualification assented to at least a part of the frankly villainous dictum that all is fair in love and war.

No service was too humble for him to perform in aid of the South, no adventure too perilous for him to undertake if consistent with the character of a civilian who was at heart a soldier, and who in good faith and without too much qualification assented to at least a part of the frankly villainous dictum that all is fair in love and war.

One evening while Farquhar and his wife were sitting on a rustic bench near the entrance to his grounds, a gray-clad soldier rode up to the gate and asked for a drink of water.

"Suppose a man--a civilian and student of hanging--should elude the picket post and perhaps get the better of the sentinel," said Farquhar, smiling, "what could he accomplish?"

Keen, poignant agonies seemed to shoot from his neck downward through every fiber of his body and limbs.

The intellectual part of his nature was already effaced; he had power only to feel, and feeling was torment.

The intellectual part of his nature was already effaced; he had power only to feel, and feeling was torment.

Encompassed in a luminous cloud, of which he was now merely the fiery heart, without material substance, he swung through unthinkable arcs of oscillation, like a vast pendulum.

Encompassed in a luminous cloud, of which he was now merely the fiery heart, without material substance, he swung through unthinkable arcs of oscillation, like a vast pendulum.

He opened his eyes in the darkness and saw above him a gleam of light, but how distant, how inaccessible!

He opened his eyes in the darkness and saw above him a gleam of light, but how distant, how inaccessible!

He was not conscious of an effort, but a sharp pain in his wrist apprised him that he was trying to free his hands.

Ah, that was a fine endeavor!

He thought he shouted these words to his hands, for the undoing of the noose had been succeeded by the direst pang that he had yet experienced.

He thought he shouted these words to his hands, for the undoing of the noose had been succeeded by the direst pang that he had yet experienced.

He felt his head emerge; his eyes were blinded by the sunlight; his chest expanded convulsively, and with a supreme and crowning agony his lungs engulfed a great draught of air, which instantly he expelled in a shriek!

He felt his head emerge; his eyes were blinded by the sunlight; his chest expanded convulsively, and with a supreme and crowning agony his lungs engulfed a great draught of air, which instantly he expelled in a shriek!

He had come to the surface facing down the stream; in a moment the visible world seemed to wheel slowly round, himself the pivotal point, and he saw the bridge, the fort, the soldiers upon the bridge, the captain, the sergeant, the two privates, his executioners.

They shouted and gesticulated, pointing at him.

Their movements were grotesque and horrible, their forms gigantic.

The sound of a clear, high voice in a monotonous singsong now rang out behind him and came across the water with a distinctness that pierced and subdued all other sounds, even the beating of the ripples in his ears.

The water roared in his ears like the voice of Niagara, yet he heard the dulled thunder of the volley and, rising again toward the surface, met shining bits of metal, singularly flattened, oscillating slowly downward.

The water roared in his ears like the voice of Niagara, yet he heard the dulled thunder of the volley and, rising again toward the surface, met shining bits of metal, singularly flattened, oscillating slowly downward.

An appalling plash within two yards of him was followed by a loud, rushing sound, diminuendo, which seemed to travel back through the air to the fort and died in an explosion which stirred the very river to its deeps!

As he shook his head free from the commotion of the smitten water he heard the deflected shot humming through the air ahead, and in an instant it was cracking and smashing the branches in the forest beyond.

As he shook his head free from the commotion of the smitten water he heard the deflected shot humming through the air ahead, and in an instant it was cracking and smashing the branches in the forest beyond.

The forest seemed interminable; nowhere did he discover a break in it, not even a woodman's road.

There was something uncanny in the revelation.

He was sure they were arranged in some order which had a secret and malign significance.