PIM WOKE TO the chatter in the street. He looked around and realized he'd failed to make it to the lodging house and had instead passed out in the street, where he'd thrown up at least once, and rolled around numerous times in raw sewage. He knew not what time it was, but the auction hadn't started yet, and he was eager to get a front row seat. Checking his pockets and money pouch to make sure he hadn't been robbed, he mentally calculated the worth of a used wife and decided he had money to spare.
But wait-had he imagined it?
He got to his feet and went to the post where he'd seen the sign. In the light of day he had no problem reading the bulletin:
ROUND HER NECK;
IN SUCH A MANNER ON SATURDAY THE 19th of JULY, 1710.