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The country road was unpaved, made of hardened gravel and dirt, and the night was moonless, pitch-black. Mr. Williams, driving his 1949 Nash, was speeding over the bumpy surface. Suddenly, unexpectedly, a man crossed the road right in his path, from out of the dense woods.
"That man! I'm gonna hit him."
Williams did. Smashed him square on with a bone cracking thud. The victim disappeared under William's hood.
"I won't stop!" Williams thought, "He must be dead. No one saw me...I'll just keep driving."
He began to sweat and reasoned with himself. He kept looking in his rear-view mirror, but it was too dark to see anything. "Why should I stop and get mixed up with the police? It was an accident anyway. It wasn't my fault. I didn't mean to hit him."
He was battling with his thoughts and his conscience. "But what if he was still alive? What if he needs help?"
Another long pause as he continued driving along the deserted roadway. He kept staring in his rear-view mirror. Still, nothing but darkness, pitch-black cold darkness.
"Nah! It ain't my worry! Someone else will pass by and help take care of him. If he's still alive! Besides, what do I care. He's a stranger. I don't even know him."
He drove about a mile when he noticed a sign just ahead. A town called Lookout Mountain was no more than a half a mile away. He was on the outskirts. At last! He'll be able to get a hotel room and some shut-eye.
He laughed to himself. A nervous laugh. "Lookout Mountain, heh! A real hick town I bet. I hope they got a hotel."
It was about ten o'clock when he drove into the town and passed several men sitting out in front of the general store. He drove slowly by thinking:
"What a bunch of deadbeats staring at me. I guess they aren't used to strangers driving through their hick town."
Williams drove a short distance passed these men when he noticed the hotel. He parked in front.
There were perhaps six or more townsfolk on the steps of the hotel glaring at him and approaching his car. The men he passed at the general store were also closing in from behind!
"I guess this is some sort of welcoming committee," he thought. As they grew nearer, he could see they were carrying clubs and a thick rope. The townsmen surrounded his car, opened his car door and dragged him out. All their faces were grim and angry.
"What are you doing?" Williams shouted as they hog-tied him with the heavy rope.
"Knock it off. Let me go. I didn't do anything. Are you people crazy?" he cried as they tightened the knot.
One of the men spoke, "You didn't do anything?"
They hauled Mr. Williams to his feet and lead him to the front of his car. Williams looked on in horror.
"No, stranger. We ain't crazy!" another man said as they showed Williams the body of the man he had struck in the road. The dead body was wedged between the grill and bumper for all to see!
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