excerpt...

      The rope was tied to a strong branch. What little slack there was pulled on the noose just so, as to irritate Wayne a modest more than he already was. Wayne was always a particular man for details. He was someone who was paying attention if you catch my drift—educated mostly by his curiosity in life. The rope that gripped around his throat was rough, the fibers that wound it were stiff and itchy, wearing his neck raw. A thinner rope bound his hands together behind his back. It was just as bothersome as the scratchy tug around his neck. It was all uncomfortable enough to partially sway his focus from the serious predicament he was presently subject to.

       Only Partially.

       Only enough to take the time to note the added discomfort. Perhaps he simply wanted to think about anything other than the noose’s intentions.

 With the sun dead center in the middle of the open sky, he was sweating even more than one commonly did in his dilemma. If it weren't for the shade from the tree he might already have past on to the next life from heat exhaustion. The stool that was propped up under his feet was just far enough away he could only manage a few bare toes to keep himself from strangling. What little slack there was, was nothing more than a creaking groan of a stiff rope moments from complete stiffness—if you catch my drift. The group that rung him up hadn't left him so stretched out on purpose, they weren't clever enough to be so sinister. His struggling reach to the stool was simply where they happened to tie the rope off.

       Which was the current topic of discussion.

       There were three in the group who had dragged Wayne out to that tree and tied him up. They were an unfriendly bunch of dimwitted bandits trying to get by as bandits did. The woman in the group was giving Wayne a funny eye while she addressed the stretching business he was enduring to the two men she accompanied.

       "Now look it how much he's stretch'n out. The ropes already so taught when we's drop him he ain't really gonna fall at all, now ain't he?" She said, her tone gravely disappointed.