Hang the Men High

One by one they dragged them in - the deadly killers. There was enough rope to hang them all. The judge turned to the hangman and proclaimed, "I count twelve empty nooses up there on the gallows. Have they ever been used all at once?" The hangman moistened his lips. "No," he whispered. "But I could do it. And when I hang them, they never come back for more." "Twelve men at one time." The judge's voice was soft. "That ought to discourage lawlessness in the Territory."