The Hanging

Morris hurried across the street, his polished boots now splattered brown by the pools of mud. The snowfall of 2 nights ago had been transformed into a shallow sea of muck by the late May sun. The mountain peaks surrounding Leadville were still covered with deep snow. Morris hardly noticed. His eyes were fixed on the store at the end of the block, where he hoped to see his friend, David May. Morris was the typical small-town doctoroverwhelmed by the number of sick people and always trying to catch up. This morning was no different except that he was on a mission to stop a hanging.