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Under Sentence of Death; Or, a Criminal's Last Hours

Chapter 19: CHAPTER XVII.
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About This Book

A volume gathers three shorter narratives that examine crime, punishment, and human bonds across varied settings. One adopts a first-person voice to render the claustrophobic psychology of a condemned prisoner confronting imminent execution, memory, and imagination. A second relates an adventurous episode set in a tented encampment, blending suspense with shifting loyalties and moral ambiguity. A third serves as a stark social vignette portraying deprivation and harsh judicial consequences, using a single life to prompt reflection on mercy and reform.

CHAPTER XVII.

Whilst I am writing this my lamp has grown dim; the day is breaking, and the chapel clock has just struck six.

What does this mean—the warder has come into my cell, he has taken off his cap, and, softening his rough voice as best he can, has asked me what I should like for my breakfast?

A shiver runs through me.

Is it to be done to-day?