and they 'd dragged him off and hanged him in a hempen rope and she 'd gone to watch because she owed him that much , and he 'd cursed , which was unfair because hanging is a clean death , or at least cleaner than the one he 'd have got if the villagers had dared defy her , and she 'd seen the shadow of death come for him , and then behind death came the smaller , brighter figures , and then- in the darkness , the rocking chair creaked as it thundered back and forth .