Daniel Charms, 31 Plays, #18

A Lynch Trial

Petrov mounts his horse and talks to the crowd about what will happen if an American sky-scraper is erected in the place of the public garden. The crowd listens and seems to agree. Petrov writes something in his notebook. A middle sized man comes out of the crowd and asks Petrov what he wrote in the notebook. Petrov answers that it's personal. The middle sized man insists. One word leads to another and the scuffle begins. The crowd takes side with the middle sized man and Petrov has to save his own life by escaping on his horse. The crowd gets agitated, grabs the middle sized man for lack of another victim and tears his head off. The head rolls over the pavement and gets stuck in the drain. The crowd departs, its passion quelled.