Jason Evans
New Member
(The electric chair originated as a public relations ploy by Thomas Edison to discredit his business rival, George Westinghouse. "Westinghoused" is a series of vignettes which portray, in a fictional manner, the true events leading to the execution of the first victim of the electric chair, William Kemmler.)
July 30, 1888
Behind the curtain, Harold Brown checked the connections to the heavy metal plates.
He tugged. Wiggled. Pushed.
Good and strong. It should pass clean current.
He traced the wire back to the rocker switch where a screw clamped it down. He still wondered if the gauge was too thin.
"Mr. Brown?"
Harold moved to the connections on the generator. "What?"
"There's another one at the back door."
"No. We have enough."
"I told him that, but he's putting up a fuss. I think he may be drunk."
Harold huffed.
"I told him to go away, but he's refusing."
In the side room, something set the dogs in the cage yapping. The sound shook Harold's attention to pieces.
He slapped his hands down on his thighs. "Then pay him and be done with it!"
"Where should I--"
"In the cage! With the others!"
The assistant turned.
"No, wait." Harold followed along the other half of the circuit. "Bring it here. I'm almost ready. Tie it to the post and keep it quiet."
**For Part 2 and the remainder of the series, visit me at The Clarity of Night--"Westinghoused" Series.