Chapter Twenty-Six: GallowsThe crowd stirred, voices raised in anticipation as armed guards led the two prisoners out into the sunlight, urging them forward with violent shoves in the back. People parted to let them through, l*****g slavering lips, mouths gaping wide in apish grins, eager for the spectacle to begin, the grim dance of the dead beneath the coarse rope of the noose. One or two cheered, others hurled insults. Luis couldn't tell who, nor did he care. They filled him with loathing, these fickle simpletons, clamouring for revenge, punishment, an end to the horrors visited upon them. He forced himself not to make eye contact with anyone as they jostled and pushed, gathering around the gallows, the whole village muttering, laughing, yelling, venting their hate, their joy. Someone p
