Those Who Risk Their Lives chapter 1

In the old days, the drill ground outside the north gate of a town in the United States, apart from being used for military parades and training, also served as an execution ground where death – row inmates were beheaded or shot. Here, comical “life – selling” and “life – buying” incidents often took place.

One day in the early summer of 1935, four death – row inmates were shot at the drill ground, and a pool of blood stained the grass red. About three hours after the execution team and the onlookers had left, a bloody “corpse” lying on the ground suddenly blinked its eyes and looked around. Just then, three people, two men and a woman, hurried over from the north – gate direction. The leading woman, in her fifties, had slanting eyebrows and a fleshy face. She had a revolver tucked in her waist, looking extremely domineering. This woman was the well – known evil prison matron in the town, Mrs. Thompson. When the “corpse” saw her, he quickly pretended to be dead again.

Now, Mrs. Thompson and two policemen soon reached the shot bodies and loaded the four bloody corpses onto a cart. The “corpse” that had opened its eyes earlier didn’t even dare to breathe loudly. His body was stiff as a board, not daring to move at all. The two policemen slowly started to lift the bodies onto the cart, while Mrs. Thompson supervised them on the side. The “corpse” that could talk kept his back straight and his limbs rigid, not daring to relax for a moment, because he knew that if he softened his body, Mrs. Thompson would discover that he was still alive and he would be shot again!

After the bodies were loaded onto the cart, the two policemen pulled it along. Before long, they arrived at the “jailhouse”. The jailhouse was a place where the bodies of prisoners were temporarily stored after death. It was located on a wasteland outside the north gate, consisting of two shabby thatched huts. One was for storing bodies, and the other served as Mrs. Thompson’s bedroom and kitchen. The jailhouse was about half a mile away from the execution site at the drill ground. The bodies of executed death – row inmates were first taken to the jailhouse under Mrs. Thompson’s charge for temporary storage, and a storage fee was charged. Then, within one or two days, the families of the inmates would come to the jailhouse to claim the bodies. For the bodies that no one claimed, Mrs. Thompson would lead people to dig a pit in a nearby cemetery outside the north gate and bury them.

When the bodies were transported into the jailhouse, Mrs. Thompson sat with her legs crossed, eating and sizing up the bodies on the mortuary beds with an appreciative look.

The “corpse” that wasn’t dead was now starving, and his stomach was growling. Hearing Mrs. Thompson smacking her lips with relish while eating, he drooled, but he didn’t dare to let it show and had to swallow it back.

After Mrs. Thompson finished her meal, she perked up. She walked to the mortuary beds and examined the bodies one by one. Suddenly, she let out a cold laugh, took out her usual thick wooden stick, and started beating the non – dead “corpse”. At first, the “corpse” endured it without making a sound. But after being beaten a dozen times, he couldn’t stand the pain anymore. With an “ouch”, he jumped off the mortuary bed and rushed out of the door. Mrs. Thompson rushed out, holding the stick high, and chased after him while beating. The “corpse” was exhausted after a day of hunger and fright and couldn’t run fast. Mrs. Thompson quickly caught up with him. The “corpse” knelt on the ground with a thud, clasped his hands in front of him, and pleaded, “Mrs. Thompson, please spare me! I have an 80 – year – old mother at home, and a wife and children. They all depend on me to earn money to support them!”

Mrs. Thompson snorted and shouted, “You scoundrel can deceive my eyes, but you can’t deceive this stick that has been used on corpses for 20 years! Honestly, how much money did you get for selling your life this time?”

The “corpse” kowtowed repeatedly and said, “I don’t have any money on me. I’ll definitely send someone to bring the money to you tomorrow to show my respect! I thought if I was lucky, I might be able to escape quietly after dark and keep all the money for myself. Who would have thought that you never miss a single scoundrel.”

Hearing what the “corpse” said, Mrs. Thompson stepped forward, carefully looked at his face, and sneered, “Scoundrel, so it’s you, Jack! I thought you looked a bit familiar when I was moving the bodies this morning, but the blood on your face made it hard to recognize. However, no one who sells their life can escape this stick of mine!”

Mrs. Thompson gave Jack a bowl of cold porridge and a few pickles to eat, then sternly asked, “Do you want to sleep in my bed or on the mortuary bed tonight?” Jack mumbled, “Is it still the same price?” Mrs. Thompson said, “My bed has gone up in price!” Jack pouted, very unhappy. “Then I won’t sleep in your bed. I’ll just sleep on the mortuary bed with the corpses.” Mrs. Thompson said in a menacing tone, “It’s $60 to sleep on the mortuary bed and $80 to sleep in my bed. You’re willing to sleep with the corpses just to save $20?” Jack pleaded, “Then let me just sit up all night. I won’t sleep.” Mrs. Thompson said, “Sitting is okay, but you have to pay an extra $10, so it’ll be a total of $70.”

In the middle of the night, Mrs. Thompson was in her bed and Jack was sitting on a stool. Since neither of them could fall asleep, they started chatting to pass the time. Mrs. Thompson asked, “Jack, how did you sell your life for the first time?”