Several women screamed as the people who were in line behind the hatmaker dropped to the floor.
A few men called out “No!” or “Stop!” or “There’s a mistake!”
Steinman did not know Hebrew, but he had learned the Jewish prayer that one was supposed to say preceding death—the Shema. When he opened his gory mouth to say this devotion, a muzzle flash scorched his eyes. His head jerked back on his neck; the lightning stopped, and the world went black. Coldness rushed into his head as somebody screamed in a far off place. Something heavy thudded upon the ground.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Pendulous Boots
Oswell watched the Shagawa the Indian grab the dead man’s ankle and drag him behind the last pew on the left. The execution had silenced the congregation. Those who wept did so quietly.
The talke
