The hand of God

Downloads: Under 100
Pages: 12

Read PDF online Download Save

About this book

Outside a sweltering county jail, a crowd waits to seize Sam Blake, who has been found unconscious near the scene of a killing. The sheriff believes the evidence against him is overwhelming, yet prepares to defend his prisoner while a preacher argues for the law to take its course. In Murray Leinster's Western short story, public certainty and an officer's duty collide during a night of mounting pressure.

The case begins with a shot outside the Bethel store and a rifle discovered in an abandoned blacksmith shop. As the sheriff reconsiders the physical evidence, small details become urgent matters of life and death. Dialect dialogue, oppressive heat and the crowd's repeated claims of divine intervention give the mystery its particular atmosphere. Readers interested in compact crime stories will find a tense examination of how difficult it can be to question an apparently settled case.