9

-9-

was going up there in the death chamber."

"Again there was the jar of the dynamo being set into action the hum and whine of it as it gained strength; the throbbing of the wall behind me. Then silence again; a minute or so of being repetition of jumbled verses from an unknown hymn, done in common metre; and the face of the deputy appeared at the grilled door."

"How're you feeling Charlie?"
"Allright."

His unlocking of the door told tragically what he had come for. Washington knew, and without flinching moved through our midst to the door. To take his place by the deputy. At the whispered suggestion, we filed out. I remembered that Washington had asked that we sing "Steal Away" as he went to the chair. I was afraid that the Reverend Williams had forgotten his request. I asked him in a whisper as the procession was hesitating before beginning the final march, if he was going to lead it. He did. And so the little group moved forward slowly down the aisle, echoing through the stone walls the strains of: "Steal Away"