A Death (spoilers)

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Bev Vincent

Well-Known Member
Apr 11, 2006
4,351
11,651
Texas
www.bevvincent.com
Would love to know Bev Vincent's opinion on the story, but I could understand him not wanting to reply to such a request. He might want to write about it later, but I would just like either confirmation or denial of the following line of thought: this just wasn't King at his finest (and he is, and always will be, a fine writer, this story notwithstanding).

I liked it a lot--I've always particularly enjoy King's crime fiction, regardless of the era its set in.

I happen to be reading another Western at the moment (Bill Crider's Texas Vigilante), so this story nestled comfortably with that other work, silver dollars and all. And I have to say that I was
suckered. When the sheriff believed Trusdale was innocent, so did I--I was already inclined to think that beforehand. I kept waiting for the sheriff to discover who the real killer was, either at the last possible moment or, worse, immediately after the hanging. I didn't want the real killer to get away, so it was quite disturbing to discover that Trusdale was every bit as evil as the people in town believed he was.
 

carrie's younger brother

Well-Known Member
Mar 8, 2012
5,428
25,651
NJ
Do I see some foreshadowing of the ending???


On the night before the execution, the weather cleared. Sheriff Barclay told Trusdale he could have anything he wanted for dinner. Trusdale asked for steak and eggs, with home fries on the side soaked in gravy. Barclay paid for it out of his own pocket, then sat at his desk cleaning his fingernails and listening to the steady clink of Trusdale’s knife and fork on the china plate. When it stopped, he went in. Trusdale was sitting on his bunk. His plate was so clean Barclay figured he must have lapped up the last of the gravy like a dog. He was crying.

“Something just come to me,” Trusdale said.

“What’s that, Jim?”

“If they hang me tomorrow morning, I’ll go into my grave with steak and eggs still in my belly. It won’t have no chance to work through.”

For a moment, Barclay said nothing. He was horrified not by the image but because Trusdale had thought of it. Then he said, “Wipe your nose.”
Absolutely.
 

Walter Oobleck

keeps coming back...or going, and going, and going
Mar 6, 2013
11,749
34,805
Been reading McCarthy's Border Trilogy so this one fit right in...had some of the same flavor. Wish he'd write more like this. The ole twist. Was out west...South Dakota, Deadwood...Wyoming...when I picked up a copy of The Gunslinger, read that first line, said to myself what did he do with this one. Hadn't really read much otherwise...It, Dreamcatcher...liked em both. Anyone remember that...movie I think...some guy accused, lawyer convinces others he is innocent...and one of the last lines of the movie is the guy, grinning...telling the lawyer he is guilty?
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
I liked it a lot--I've always particularly enjoy King's crime fiction, regardless of the era its set in.

I happen to be reading another Western at the moment (Bill Crider's Texas Vigilante), so this story nestled comfortably with that other work, silver dollars and all. And I have to say that I was
suckered. When the sheriff believed Trusdale was innocent, so did I--I was already inclined to think that beforehand. I kept waiting for the sheriff to discover who the real killer was, either at the last possible moment or, worse, immediately after the hanging. I didn't want the real killer to get away, so it was quite disturbing to discover that Trusdale was every bit as evil as the people in town believed he was.

...or maybe not. I think Mr. King was deliberately cagey about what exactly had gone on. He never out and out says that Trusdale did it--that might have been inferred by some readers, but think of this: perhaps someone else in the town, whether the victim's parents, town leaders, even the mortician himself (though that strikes me as the least likely option) wanted there to be no question that they had killed an innocent man. Was the silver dollar definitively the one the little girl got? I don't think so. I tended to think, as the sheriff did, that Trusdale wasn't bright enough to 1) keep the dollar or 2) keep swallowing it over and over. I have a dollar from that era (as I was telling Spideyman in another thread), and I can hardly imagine swallowing it once, let alone over and over. Or maybe I'm altogether wrong--lol. A story with ambiguity is decidedly elegant (can't agree with Rrty on that one), and requires talent to pull off successfully.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and not because I'm a sycophant or incapable of voicing a negative opinion about Mr. King's writing, here or anywhere else. Lord knows, I've birtched about the alien books and The Regulators often enough--lol.
 

Rrty

Well-Known Member
Jun 4, 2007
1,394
4,588
I'm glad others enjoyed it, even if I didn't.

Skimom, I think one can make the story ambiguous, but in reality, I can't say that I see ambiguity was in the story by design. It's difficult for me to add ambiguity where there is none, but that's just me, and I'm sure I've done it before. And of course everyone is free to interpret a tale any way they like.

I would have made Trusdale innocent. He would have given a speech at the gallows when asked for his last words. He would have said there's no way he would deal with silver dollars, eating them or whatever, because he's a vampire. He then would have identified the real killer, walked down to the person, and ripped the person's head off, held it up to the crowd, and the head would say several words before dying ("I just needed that silver dollar for my collection, that's all, is that so..."). He would then proceed to call out several of the townspeople for corruption and dispatch them. Finally, he'd call the wolves down from the mountains to finish off the rest of the town. He'd start a new town, and it would be called...Jerusalem (or maybe Jerusalem's Pack). One last thing: some explanation or other would be given for Vampire-Trusdale's dealing with silver in everyday life.

Now that would have been classic, King...
 

Boni

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2008
369
335
When I read it, I thought that
when he says that his belly won't work through, he was really just talking about the food that his body won't have the chance to fully process. There are a few clues that makes me think that Hines is the real killer:

1- Trusdale's hat is found hidden under the little girl's skirt (the story clearly states that it was hidden). Why in the heavens would he hid it there if twas obvious it would be easily found? Did he want to get caught? The story shows that he is dumb, but not retarded. One thing is to forget the hat at the crime scene. Another is to hid it there. Makes no sense to me.

2- Every time there's a Chuck-a-Luck scene (except during Trusdale's memories, because he can't remember it clearly), Hines is there. During the trial, the night before Trusdale's execution, when Barclays finds him there alone... This could suggest that he was a recurrent costumer and the one who took Trusdale's hat while no one was looking.

3- The characters' theories to what Trusdale did to the coin are: a) he was scared and threw it away (Hines); b) he would have spend it with more drinks (Barclay) - in other words... what a dumb/nervous killer would do - and what I believe Trusdale would do if he was guilty. By giving credit to the whole swallowing plan, we conclude that Trusdale was capable of a ingenious plan. So ingenious that goes against the dumb move of leaving his own hat hidden at the crime scene. Really smart, huh? Which leads me to another point...

4- Like Barclay said, he was going to be hanged either way. No one believed him. There was no escape. Zip. Why bother keep pleading inocence or have the trouble to keep swallowing the coin? [Hines can't think of an answer to that, by the way]

5- This one is a long shot, but... Hines is reluctant to give back the silver dollar to the girl's parents. Barclay thinks that it's because there's no need, since they 'knew' Trusdale was the killer. But what if Hines knew that that wasn't the original silver dollar and the parents would somehow know the difference?

So, my conclusion is that after Trusdale's body evacuated, Hines planted the silver dollar in the middle of the mess and walked.

Anyway, it's a very strange and sad tale and I believe the resolution to Trusdale's guilt could go either way. I just prefer to believe that a man whose final wish is to see the mountains one last time is innocent. Just giving my silver dollar...
 

not_nadine

Comfortably Roont
Nov 19, 2011
29,655
139,785
Behind you
When I read it, I thought that
when he says that his belly won't work through, he was really just talking about the food that his body won't have the chance to fully process. There are a few clues that makes me think that Hines is the real killer:

1- Trusdale's hat is found hidden under the little girl's skirt (the story clearly states that it was hidden). Why in the heavens would he hid it there if twas obvious it would be easily found? Did he want to get caught? The story shows that he is dumb, but not retarded. One thing is to forget the hat at the crime scene. Another is to hid it there. Makes no sense to me.

2- Every time there's a Chuck-a-Luck scene (except during Trusdale's memories, because he can't remember it clearly), Hines is there. During the trial, the night before Trusdale's execution, when Barclays finds him there alone... This could suggest that he was a recurrent costumer and the one who took Trusdale's hat while no one was looking.

3- The characters' theories to what Trusdale did to the coin are: a) he was scared and threw it away (Hines); b) he would have spend it with more drinks (Barclay) - in other words... what a dumb/nervous killer would do - and what I believe Trusdale would do if he was guilty. By giving credit to the whole swallowing plan, we conclude that Trusdale was capable of a ingenious plan. So ingenious that goes against the dumb move of leaving his own hat hidden at the crime scene. Really smart, huh? Which leads me to another point...

4- Like Barclay said, he was going to be hanged either way. No one believed him. There was no escape. Zip. Why bother keep pleading inocence or have the trouble to keep swallowing the coin? [Hines can't think of an answer to that, by the way]

5- This one is a long shot, but... Hines is reluctant to give back the silver dollar to the girl's parents. Barclay thinks that it's because there's no need, since they 'knew' Trusdale was the killer. But what if Hines knew that that wasn't the original silver dollar and the parents would somehow know the difference?

So, my conclusion is that after Trusdale's body evacuated, Hines planted the silver dollar in the middle of the mess and walked.

Anyway, it's a very strange and sad tale and I believe the resolution to Trusdale's guilt could go either way. I just prefer to believe that a man whose final wish is to see the mountains one last time is innocent. Just giving my silver dollar...

Excellent!
 

ALOT

Banned
Jun 10, 2011
130
278
Canada
I liked it a lot--I've always particularly enjoy King's crime fiction, regardless of the era its set in.

I happen to be reading another Western at the moment (Bill Crider's Texas Vigilante), so this story nestled comfortably with that other work, silver dollars and all. And I have to say that I was
suckered. When the sheriff believed Trusdale was innocent, so did I--I was already inclined to think that beforehand. I kept waiting for the sheriff to discover who the real killer was, either at the last possible moment or, worse, immediately after the hanging. I didn't want the real killer to get away, so it was quite disturbing to discover that Trusdale was every bit as evil as the people in town believed he was.
I still feel a knot in my belly. Loose ends always get to me. I had the same feeling with The Colorado Kid (just different circumstances).
 
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ALOT

Banned
Jun 10, 2011
130
278
Canada
When I read it, I thought that
when he says that his belly won't work through, he was really just talking about the food that his body won't have the chance to fully process. There are a few clues that makes me think that Hines is the real killer:

1- Trusdale's hat is found hidden under the little girl's skirt (the story clearly states that it was hidden). Why in the heavens would he hid it there if twas obvious it would be easily found? Did he want to get caught? The story shows that he is dumb, but not retarded. One thing is to forget the hat at the crime scene. Another is to hid it there. Makes no sense to me.

2- Every time there's a Chuck-a-Luck scene (except during Trusdale's memories, because he can't remember it clearly), Hines is there. During the trial, the night before Trusdale's execution, when Barclays finds him there alone... This could suggest that he was a recurrent costumer and the one who took Trusdale's hat while no one was looking.

3- The characters' theories to what Trusdale did to the coin are: a) he was scared and threw it away (Hines); b) he would have spend it with more drinks (Barclay) - in other words... what a dumb/nervous killer would do - and what I believe Trusdale would do if he was guilty. By giving credit to the whole swallowing plan, we conclude that Trusdale was capable of a ingenious plan. So ingenious that goes against the dumb move of leaving his own hat hidden at the crime scene. Really smart, huh? Which leads me to another point...

4- Like Barclay said, he was going to be hanged either way. No one believed him. There was no escape. Zip. Why bother keep pleading inocence or have the trouble to keep swallowing the coin? [Hines can't think of an answer to that, by the way]

5- This one is a long shot, but... Hines is reluctant to give back the silver dollar to the girl's parents. Barclay thinks that it's because there's no need, since they 'knew' Trusdale was the killer. But what if Hines knew that that wasn't the original silver dollar and the parents would somehow know the difference?

So, my conclusion is that after Trusdale's body evacuated, Hines planted the silver dollar in the middle of the mess and walked.

Anyway, it's a very strange and sad tale and I believe the resolution to Trusdale's guilt could go either way. I just prefer to believe that a man whose final wish is to see the mountains one last time is innocent. Just giving my silver dollar...
Yep, loose ends. You picked up on some of the same things I did with one exception (something I didn't notice), but I won't post it here because I'm still trying to figure out how to use spoiler tags.
 
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Moderator

Ms. Mod
Administrator
Jul 10, 2006
52,243
157,324
Maine
Yep, loose ends. You picked up on some of the same things I did with one exception (something I didn't notice), but I won't post it here because I'm still trying to figure out how to use spoiler tags.
To include a spoiler, highlight the text you want hidden and then click on the 4th icon in the box with the smilie in the formatting area that looks like this and select Spoiler from the drop down menu

spoiler button.jpg
 

Kurben

The Fool on the Hill
Apr 12, 2014
9,682
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sweden
Been reading McCarthy's Border Trilogy so this one fit right in...had some of the same flavor. Wish he'd write more like this. The ole twist. Was out west...South Dakota, Deadwood...Wyoming...when I picked up a copy of The Gunslinger, read that first line, said to myself what did he do with this one. Hadn't really read much otherwise...It, Dreamcatcher...liked em both. Anyone remember that...movie I think...some guy accused, lawyer convinces others he is innocent...and one of the last lines of the movie is the guy, grinning...telling the lawyer he is guilty?
Could it be witness for the prosecution by Billy Wilder you are thinking about. Built upon a story by Agatha Christie.
 

Walter Oobleck

keeps coming back...or going, and going, and going
Mar 6, 2013
11,749
34,805
Could it be witness for the prosecution by Billy Wilder you are thinking about. Built upon a story by Agatha Christie.

No...although the storyline is like that. This movie was more recent...within the last 20 years or so. As I recall, I was fooled throughout the movie, right up to the denouement by the man judged not guilty. He tells...his attorney as I recall...that he is guilty, that he did it. I don't recall any 'famous' actors male or female...the 'bad guy' had shorter, possibly wavy or slightly curly hair, lighter in color, not a big man...I think that was part of his 'charm' his size...he'd committed a horrendous murder...or, he was accused...and the attorney got him off, won the case...only to be told he'd done it at the end. The 'bad guy' looked a tad like Andy Rooney, though not as thick through the face...had an almost whiny, Southern-accent voice...or played it that way in the movie.
 
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