' .

PENGUIN ACTIVE READING LEVEL 2

The Last Juror

John Grisham
www.irLanguage.corn
 The Last Juror
John Grisham

Level2

Retold by Annette Keen .

Series Editors: Andy Hopkins and.Jo"celyn Potter
 Contents
Activities I lV

Chapter I A Very Big Story I

Chapter 2 The Padgitt Trial 6
Activities 2 IO
Chapter 3 More Guns, More Blood I2
Chapter 4 In Jail, but Free I6
Activities 3 20
Chapter 5 Room 25 22
Activities 4 28
Chapter 6 A Juror Dies · 30
Chapter 7 Who's Next? 33
Activities 5 36
Chapter 8 Miss Callie Remembers 38
Chapter 9 Back in the Courthouse 45
Activities 6 48
Chapter IO The Killing Stops 50
Talk about it 56
Write about it 57
Project: A Trip Around the World 58
 Activities 1
www 1rLanguage.com

1.1 What's the book about?

Talk to another student.

1 Do you know any of john Grisham's books, or any of the movies from his
· books? What kind of stories does he write?
2 Read the first four lines of Chapter 1. What do you think this story is
about?
3 What picture do you have of small towns in the south of the United
States? Discuss the houses and the stores, the people and their lives.

1.2 What happens first?

Look at this picture. What do you think? Circle the best word in each
sentence.
w\vw. irLanguage.com

1 The man looks happy I afraid I angry.

2 He is in his house I offi.ce I store.
3 The gun is his I a friend's I a killer's.
4 He is planning to fight I kill I talk to somebody.

lV
 CHAPTER

A Very Big Story

"The Padgitts have a lot ofmoney. They can buy people, or
hurt people. They will want to help Danny. So be careful."
www.irLanguage.com

ord County in Mississippi isn't the most exciting place in the United
F States. Not much happens in Clanton, the small town at the center
of Ford County. Most of the time it's quiet and people live there without
any big problems. Most of the time ...
But in March 1970, something did happen in Clanton. There was a
murder. You don't forget a murder. Thirty years later, I can remember
everything about that day. My name is Willie Traynor, and in 1970 I was
the editor of the Ford County !Jewspaper, the Times. I talked to the dead
woman's sister and her neighbors. I talked to the lawyers and the police. I
wrote the story for the Times, and some weeks later I sat through the trial.
And I was a friend of one of the jurors.
Rhoda Kassellaw was the dead woman. She met her killer in a bar.
They talked and then they danced. But when the man wanted more, she
pushed him away. He was very angry. Rhoda left the bar and he followed
her home. He saw the light in her bedroom, and he quietly went in the
back door. Rhoda's killer had a knife and he cut her many times.
Rhoda's neighbor, Mr. Deece, found her. Before she died, she spoke to
him. "Danny Padgitt," she said. "It was Danny Padgitt." Those were her
last words. Mr. Deece called the hospital and the police, but it was too
late for Rhoda.

county /'kaunti/ (n) Each county in the state of Mississippi has a number of towns in it.
murder !'ma-d;~/ (n/v) A killing is murder when the killer wanted to kill the dead person. It
was not an accident.
editor / eddta-/ (n) The editor is the top man (or woman) in a newspaper office.
lawyer /'bja-/ (n) When you have a problem with the police, a lawyer can help you . Lawyers
understand the laws of a country better than other people.
trial /'trai;}l/ (n) After the police catch somebody, there is often a trial. Then that person is
free again-or not.
juror /'d3ura-/ (n) At important trials there are twelve men and women jurors.
1
 The Last Juror

Danny Padgitt drove away from Rhoda's house as fast as he could. But
it was dark and Danny was afraid. He didn't drive carefully. When an
animal ran across the road in front of him, his car left the road. It turned
over, then hit a tree. Danny climbed out through a window. Then he saw
the blue lights of a police car.

Danny Padgitt lived outside Clanton, near the Big Brown River, with
his family. The Padgitts were a bad family and they usually stayed away
from the town. The people of Clanton stayed away from them, too. The
Padgitts had a lot of money; but nobody knew how, or how much. "It's
dirty money," people said. "The Padgitts hurt people. They killed for
their money."
I heard a lot of stories about the Padgitts when I came to Clanton.
They were all bad stories. But I never met any of the family.
I heard about Danny Padgitt at about midnight and I went quickly
to the town jail. There were a lot of policemen outside the jail. A police

jail / d3eil/ (n) When people do something very bad, they go to jail ..

2
 Chapter 1 - A Very Big Story

car arrived and Danny Padgitt got out. There was blood on his clothes. I
started to think about my story'for the newspaper.
Sheriff Coley came out of the jail and I pushed through the policemen.
"Sheriff, can you answer some questions, please? What can you tell me
about the murder?" I asked him.
"A white woman, age thirty-one," he said.
"Did you arrest anybody?" I asked.
"Yes, we arrested a man, but I can't give you his name now. .flsk me
again in two or three hours."
"Danny Padgitt?"
"I can't say, M r. Traynor."
I left the jail and drove to Rhoda's house. There were police cars
outside, and some of her neighbors.
"I think Rhoda had a boyfriend," one man told me. "He's a lawyer in
town." But he didn't know the man's name.
I asked some other neighbors about Rhoda, but she lived quietly. Most
people didn't know much about her.
I wrote my story for the front page of the newspaper. Next to it, I
put a picture of Danny Padgitt outside the jail. He was between two
policemen. We sold a lot of newspapers that week.
The people of Clanton talked about the Kassellaw murder in every
cafe and bar in town. They also talked about it at their dinner tables .in
many Clanton homes. Callie Ruffin's home was one of them.
Every Thursday I had lunch at the house of Esau a!ld Callie Ruffin.
In 1970, black people and white people didn't live on t~e same streets. In
Clanton, black people lived in Lowtown. This was across town from my
house. The Ruffin house was in Lowtown.
I first met Callie Ruffin when I wrote a story about her family.
Everybody in Clanton called her Miss Callie. She had eight children, and

blood / blAd/ (n) When you cut your finger, red blood runs out.
sheriff /'Jenf/ (n) The sheriff is the most important policeman in an American town.
arrest / a'rest/ (v) When you do something very wrong, the police will arrest you.
cafe / kre'fei/ (n) You can usually eat quickly and for little money in a cafe.
3
 The Last Juror

seven of them were college teachers. Her youngest son, Sam, was the first
black child at the white school in Clanton. The children didn't live in
Ford County now-only Esau and Miss Callie were left in the house in
Lowtown.
Miss Callie liked to cook and I liked to eat. So every Thursday, she
invited me to lunch. The vegetables came from their yard and she was
a wonderful cook. Sometimes Esau ate with us, but usually it was Miss
Callie and
.
me. .
She always read every page of the Times, and sh~ found every little
mistake in it. "There's an 'a' in 'theater';" or "You used the wrong word
there, Mr. Traynor." It was four years before she called me Willie.
The Thursday after the murder, Miss Callie and I talked about it. She
felt sad for Rhoda Kassellaw's family.
"In fifty years I don't remember a worse thing in Clanton," she said.
"Aren't you afraid of the Padgitts? Your story on the front page of the
newspaper was very bad for Danny."
"I'm only doing my job," I said. "I write the truth."
"The Padgitts. have a· lot of money. They can buy people, or hurt
people. They will want to help Danny. So be careful."
'Til be careful," I said.
But I didn't think about our conversation again that day.
The next morning, a man arrived at my office and put a gun down
on my desk. I knew his face, but not his name.
"I'm Harry Rex Vonner," he said. "Do you have a gun? You can have
this one."
I was a city boy from Memphis. I didn't know anything about guns,
but I was afraid of them.
"It's a Smith and Wesson .38," said Harry Rex. "A good gun. Can you
use it?"
''I don't think I can," I said.
"Come to my house this evening and I'll show you. I know these

truth / tru:9/ (n) When your story is right, you are tell ing the truth.

4
 C hapter l - A Very Big Story

www.irLanguage.com

Padgitts-they're a dangerous family. And they won't like you very much
now."
Harry Rex was a lawyer in ·Clanton. He taught me about the gun and
he taught me a lot about the Padgitts. After this, I carried the Smith and
Wesson with me every day. But it was too big for my jacket, so I started
to leave it in the car. Then, after two or three weeks,. I forgot about it.
The town was quiet again. The Padgitts didn't come into Clanton,
and we heard nothing about them. It was summer and it was hot. People
didn't forget about the trial, but they stopped tal~ing about it all the
time. The town waited. And in Clanton's jail, Danny Padgitt waited, too.

5
 CHAPTER

The Padgitt Trial

((Don't send me to jail or you'll be sorry," Danny said, angrily.
'Tll find you. And I'll kill all ofyou!"

T he lawyer for the State was Ernie Gaddis. Danny Padgitt's lawyer
was Lucien Wilbanks. He was not a nice man. But the most
important people at the trial were the jurors-twelve men and women
from Ford County. Was Danny Padgitt guilty of murder? They had to
find the answer.
Callie Ruffin was one of the jurors. She was die first black woman juror
in Ford County. She was excited, but a little afraid.
"How will I know the truth about Danny Padgitt?" s~e asked me one
Thursday lunchtime.
"You listen carefully to the lawyers. Then you discuss it with the other
jurors. You'll know, Miss Callie."

guilty !'gdti! (adj) When you do something bad, you are guilty of that.

6
 Chapter 2- The Padgitt Trial

"And the death penalty? Who says that a guilty man has to die?"
"The jurors."
"Oh, no. I don't think I can do that."
Miss Callie didn't want her lunch after that. She was very quiet.
•
Danny Padgitt's trial started in June. I looked around the courtroom on
the first day. The Padgitt family were there, near Lucien Wilbanks. Ernie
Gaddis was there with another man.
"Who's that man?" I asked Harry Rex quietly.
"Hank Hooten," he said. "He works with Ernie. He was Rhoda's
boyfriend for a time, but Ernie doesn't know that."
Hank Hooten was about forty years old, with gray hair. He sat behind
Ernie, and sometimes Ernie spoke to-him.
The jurors came into the courtroom.·I only knew Miss Callie. Harry
Rex knew seven of them.
"Maybe the Padgitts will b~y some of them. They have the money."
"Not Miss Callie," I sai~. ((They'll never buy her. She's a very strong
woman."
One of the young men couldn't walk very well.
"His name's Lenny Fargarson," said Harry Rex. '~nd that man in the
yellow shirt is Mo Teale. He works with farm machines."
The trial started. Ernie Gaddis spoke first and called some witnesses.
The jurors looked at photos of the dead woman. They heard from
policemen and doctors. Sheriff Coley spoke, then Rhoda's sister.
At the end of the first day, the jurors drove away from Clanton. They
stayed in a hotel in another town. Nobody knew where. I went back to my
office and wrote the story for the newspaper.
The trial started again the next day. The courtroom was full again. This
time, Lucien Wilbanks spoke first.
death penalty / dee 'penlti/ {n) Some countries kill murderers after their trial. These
countries have the death penalty.
courtroom /'c:>rtrum/ {n) A trial happens in a courtroom. Courtrooms are in a courthouse.
witness /'witnas/ {n) A witness sees something or knows something important. At a trial,
witnesses have to speak in the courtroom
7
 The Last Juror

"Danny Padgitt is not guilty of this murder," he began. "He was with
somebody that night before his car accident. A girlfriend."
The jurors listened carefully. The girlfriend came into the courtroom
and answered a lot of questions. But Ernie Gaddis also questioned her. He
was smart and she couldn't answer every question.
"She's not telling the truth," Harry Rex said to me quietly. "Look at her
face. I think the Padgitts paid her."
www.irLanguage.com

More witnesses came into the courtroom. Ernie Gaddis and Lucien
Wilbanks asked them questions. One of the witnesses was Rhoda's neighbor,
Mr. Deece. He remembered everything about the night of the murder.
"Did she say anything?" Ernie asked him.
"She said, 'It was Danny Padgitt'," said Mr. Deece. "And then she died."
Some of the jurors looked at Danny Padgitt. One of the women started
to cry.

8
 Chapter 2- The Padgitt Trial

Danny Padgitt spoke next. The courtroom was very quiet. He walked
to the witness box and smiled at the jurors.
"I want these good people to hear the truth," said Danny. 'Tm not the
killer." He told them his story, but it wasn't the truth. Everybody knew that
now. And Danny stopped smiling when Ernie Gaddis asked him questions.
"What did you do with the knife?" Ernie asked.
"I wasn't there," said Danny, but he looked very guilty.
"Then why was there blood on your clothes? I think
you were there. I think you killed Rhoda Kassellaw that
night. You drove away from her house ..."
"I didn't do it!" Danny shouted.
"No more questions," said Ernie, and he sat down.
Danny walked away from the witness box slowly. He
looked angry and afraid. Then he suddenly turned to
the jurors.
"Don't send me to jail or you'll be sorry," he said
angrily. 'Til find you. And I'll kill all of you!"
A policeman took Danny out of the courtroom.
There was a lot of noise in the room. Some of the
Padgitt family shouted angrily at Ernie. Everybody was
talking at the same time. Only the jurors were quiet.
They looked afraid.
After lunch, we listened to the lawyers' last wo_rds.
Then the jurors left the room. Everybody waited.
When the jurors came in again, one of them stood up.
"Danny Padgitt is guilty of murder," he said. "But we are not asking for
the death penalty."
Danny went to jail for life. He didn't die, because one or more of the
jurors didn't want the death penalty. The people of Clanton were very
angry about this.

9
 Activities 2

2.1 Were you right?

Look back at your answers to Activity 1.2 on page iv. Then look at this
picture. Are these sentences right (v") or wrong (X)?
r \
1 ..___) Harry Rex is giving the gun to Willie. .·

2 He wants to help Willie.

3 C The two men are in Willie's home.

,.---.,
4 Willie knows nothing about guns .
.__;

5 C After this, Willie always carries the gun.

2.2 What more did you learn?

Put the right name in each sentence.

Hank Hooten Callie R~ffin Rhoda Kassellaw Ernie Gaddis

Danny Padgitt Ludell Wilbanks Willie Traynor Mr. Deece

1 The dead woman is ............................................................... .

2 ............................................................... was her neighbor.
3 Her killer's name is ....................................... ........................ .
4 ............................................................... is the editor of the Times
newspaper.
5 He has lunch every Thursday with ......................................................... .
6 Danny Padgitt's lawyer is ................ ......................................... .
7 ...................................................... and .................................................. .
work for the State.
ns~
~
irLanguage The Last juror

2.3 Language in use

He quietly went in .the back door.
Read the sentences in the box.
Then finish these sentences in the The jurors listened carefully.
same way.

1 Danny drove ........0.09~:.?.Y.~!~......... (dangerous)

2 Willie went ................................... to the jail. (quick)
3 Miss Callie talked ................................... about Rhoda's family. (sad)

4 Lucien Wilbanks spoke very .................................... (loud)

5 Danny spoke ................................... to the jurors. (angry)
6 One of the jurors couldn't walk very ................................... . (good)

2.4 What happens next?

Discuss these questions. Which of these people do you think is going to
use a gun in the next chapter? Why?

Willie Traynor Harry Rex Venner Hank Hooten

Lucien Wilbanks Danny Padgitt Another person

11
 CHAPTER

More Guns, More Blood .

((Padgitt's in jail for life," said her son Bobby.
"And that's good. He can't Hurt anybody now."

E verybody in Clanton talked about the Padgitt trial for days after it
ended. A lot of people wrote letters to the newspaper. I went to
lunch with Miss Callie on the first Thursday after the trial.
"We didn't do a good job, Mr. Traynor," she said. "Everybody is
saying that. They wanted the death penalty for Danny Padgitt." She said
nothing more about the trial. Some of the jurors didn't want the death
penalty, but nobody knew who. "We will never tell," she said.
Some of Miss Callie's children were at the house.
"Padgitt's in jail for life," said her son Bobby. "And that's good. He
can't hurt anybody now."
But I knew better. Harry Rex told me about the law in Mississippi. It
wasn't the same as the law in other states.
"Here, 'life' means ten years,'? Harry Rex said.
"But that's crazy," I said. "So Danny Padgitt will be out of jail after
ten years.;:>"
"Maybe before that. I know it's stupid, but it's the law, Willie."
"Did the jurors know this?"
·"No, and Ernie couldn't tell them. That's Mississippi law, too. And
. ) ))

yes, lt s crazy.
I didn't tell Miss Callie, or her family.

•
By the end of September, most ·conversations in Clanton were about other
things. There were some big football games and it was a busy time for
the farmers of Ford County. Slowly, people forgot about the Padgitts.
But then there was another murder.

12
 Chap£er 3- More Guns, More Blood

The dead man was one of the witnesses at the Padgitt trial-the
husband of Danny Padgitt's "giflfriend." I heard the story and then I
started to carry my gun with me again.
Malcolm Vince died in the north of Ford County. It happened when
he left a bar. Somebody shot him in the head. Nobody was with him at
the time and there were no witnesses. The police had a lot of questions,
but no answers.
"'''"w.irLanguage.com

I wrote the story for the Times, but I didn't put it on the front page.
Most people in Clanton read the story, and some were afraid. The
Padgitt name started to come into conversations again.
C hristmas came and went. The Ruffin children all visited Miss Callie
and Esau, and I went to Memphis. I had Christmas dinner with my
grandmother and then I drove back to C lanton. Everything there was
quiet and the same as always.
January was cold and boring. There were no n\:W s.tories in town. I was
in my office one day. I started to write about the life of an old man from
C lanton. It was a difficult job because it wasn't a very interesting story.

13
 The Last Juror

Suddenly, I heard the sound of a gun-and the window in my office

broke. Glass flew across the room. I quick1y got down on the floor, under
my desk.

There were more shots-two, three, four-but they

didn't hit the Times office. I put my hand up on the desk
and found the phone. Then I called Harry Rex.
"Where.are the shots coming from?" I asked him.
"There's somebody on top of the courthouse," he said.
"The Sheriff's there now with some policemen. Stay in your
office, Willie."
'Tm not going anywhere," I said. "I can get the story
later."
'_[here were eight shots, then it was quiet. I moved a
little closer to the window, behind a chair. There were more
shots, then nothing for a minute or two. I looked out the window at the
courthouse.
On top of the building I could see the man with the gun. His hair
was white and there were thick black lines across his face. He's crazy,
I thought. The police were down in the street, behind cars. Some ran
across to the courthouse. Two of Sheriff Coley's men started to shoot at
the gunman.
14
 Chapter 3- More Guns, More Blood

Everything was quiet for a time. We waited for about twenty minutes
before the police brought a man out of the building. It was Hank
Hooten. www.irLanguage.com

Two days later, Hank Hooten went to a mental hospital. The police
learned a little from his doctors. Hank didn't really want to kill anybody.
He was angry because Danny Padgitt didn't get the death penalty.
The story was on the front page of the Times, ~ nd we sold a lot of
newspapers that week.
mental hospital /'mentl ,haspitl/ {n) You go to a mental hospital for help with problems in
your head.

15
 rile~

CHAPTER L.n.
irLanguage

In Jail, but Free

I followed the car into town. They went into the
City Caft and had lunch. I took photos.

w).vw . irLanguage

0 p.e day in the summer of 1977,

a woman walked into my
office. I knew her face, but I
couldn't remember why.
''I'm Darla Clabo," she said. "I
worked in the courthouse in 1971.
I was there when Danny Padgitt was
on trial."
She left Clanton some time after
the trial and moved to Alabama. She
was in Clanton again now because
she had a story for me.
"I visited my mother in
Broomfield last week," she said. This was a small town about three
hours' drive from Clanton. "In the afternoon, I went for a walk in
town and saw a man in a cafe. I remembered that face. Another man
was with him, but I didn't know him. The two of them looked very
friendly. When the first man said something, the other man laughed.
But I didn't go into the cafe because I was afraid."
"Why?" I asked.
"The first man was Danny Padgitt."
"But he's in Parchman Jail. I don't understand ..."
"The other man wore a white shirt with the words 'Broomfield Jail'
on it," Darla told me. "One of my friends works at the jail, so I asked
him about Danny Padgitt. Padgitt moved to Broomfield from Parchman
in 1974."
"But why was he in town?" I asked. "Why wasn't he in jail?"

16
 Chapter 4- In Jail, but Free

"I don't know, Mr. Traynor. But this isn't right. I want you to go
there, and I want you to write the story for the Times."
I drove to Broomfield and waited outside the jail with my camera. At
11:30 A.M. a car drove out of the jail. Inside it were Danny Padgitt and
another man. I followed the car into town. They went into the City Cafe
and had lunch. I stayed outside and took photos.

Later, I talked to the waitress in the cafe.

"They come here three times a week," she said. "They eat chicken or
hamburgers and Danny always pays."
I went back to Clanton and wrote my story. The front page of the
· · Times had two large photos of Danny Padgitt on it. One was in the City
Cafe. The other photo showed the two men in the street in Bloomfield,
with big smiles on their faces.
People in Clanton were very angry. Why wasn't Danny Padgitt in jail?

17
 The Last Juror

Why was he in town? Why did he look as free as his jailer? They wanted
answers.
"The Padgitts' money is going to Broomfield Jail," said Harry Rex.
"Danny can go into town because they're paying the jailers."
Miss Callie saw the photos in the newspaper and she felt af~aid.
"She didn't sleep last night," Esau told me.
The next day, I had two phone calls. One was at home and one was at
the office. The man said the same words each time:
"You're dead."
I told the Sheriff. After that, there was a police car outside my house
each night. Every morning, it followed me to work. Then it stayed in
front of the Times office all day.
I put the gun in the car again and I was very careful. But nothing
happened.

18
www.irLanguage.com

Chapter 4- In Jail, but Free

Some time later, after stories in other, bigger newspapers, Danny

Padgitt moved back to Parchman Jail. There were no more trips to town
for him.
•
There were eighty-eight churches in Ford County. Sometimes I visited
one of them and then I wrote about the church in the Times. I wanted
to visit all eighty-eight. I went to churches for black people. I went to
churches for white people. Some were big, some were small. They were
all different.
One Sunday I went to a
little church in the north of the
county. The people weren't very
friendly so I sat at the back. At
the end, everybody stood up and
walked past me to the door. I
didn't know these people, but
then I looked at one man more
closely. I remembered his face
from many years before. He was
very thin and he looked older
and grayer, but it was the same
man. It was Hank Hooten. Why
wasn't he in the mental hospital?
I looked for him outside the church. There were a lot of people
there, but I couldn't see Hank Hooten. Maybe he saw me and left
quickly..
For two days after that, I tried to find him. I phoned the hospital,
but they didn't tell me anything. I asked people in the small town
·n ear the church. But I was a stranger there and nobody wanted to
speak to me.

19
 Activities 3

3.1 Were you right?

Think about your answers to Activity 2.4. Then answer these questions.

1 Who shot at the windows of Willie's office?

2 What did Willie do?

3 Where was the man with the gun?

4 Why did he look strange?

5 Why was he angry?

6 What happened to him after the shooting?

3.2 What more did you learn?

Finish the sentences with words from the box.

mother cafe write afraid

worked understand trial

This is Darla Clabo. She l ........... ................ . .... .

in the courthouse in 1971. She remembers the

. 2 ·.
Padg1tt ........................ :............... .
One day, six years later, ·she visited her 3 .. . ... . ....... ... .. . .. ........ .......... in
Broomfield. There, she saw two men in a 4 ............. . .. ....... ...... ....... .. .. .

5
She was ...................... . , ........... . ... . because one of the men was Danny
Padgitt. Sh~ doesn't 6 .....:.. ... .. ....... .. ... ................ why he was in the town. She
7
wants Willie to ............ ; . ..... .. .... ............. .. the story for the Times.

20
 The Last Juror

3.3 Language in use

I quickly got down on the floor, under
Read the sentences in the box. my desk.
Then finish the sentences. Use
The police were down in the street,
these words:
behind cars.

below into above outside between in next to

1 Willie was .......................... his office when glass flew ......................... .

the room.
2 Hank Hooten was on the top of the courthouse, ........... ............. ..
the street.
3 The police car was .......... .......... ...... Willie's window.
4 Hank came out of the courthouse, ........ .................. two policemen.
5 Danny sat in a car ... ... ........ .... ....... . a man from Broomfield jail.
6 Willie stayed .. .. ...................... the cafe and took photos.

3.4 What happens next? .

Read the sentences in italics at the top of page 22. Then look at the
pictures in Chapter 5. What do you think is going to happen next? Why?
Make notes.

r \ \ r \ c --c \ ( c
~ 0 0 r \

tVotes

21
www.irLanguage.com
CHAPTER
mer
~
irLanguage

Room 25
s
{(He going to come out, Willie. This year, next year ... "
{(But somebody has to fight it."

0 ne of my college friends also worked for a newspaper.

It was a big, important newspaper in Memphis. Late
one Sunday night in 1979, my friend phoned me at home.
"Are you going to the parole hearing tomorrow?"
he asked.
I was tired and it was late. I didn't understand.
"What parole hearing?" I asked.
"Danny Padgitt's," he said. "Tomorrow, ten o'clock, at
Parchman Jail."
"I didn't know about that!"
"They don't tell anybody. I heard about it this evening.
It's your story and I wanted to tell you," he said.
Early next mo_rning, I spoke to Harry Rex.
"Most people in jail are black and have no money," he said. "They
don't ask for parole because they know nothing about it. But the Padgitts
have Lucien Wilbanks and they have money."
Next, I phoned the Sherif£ He didn't know about the parole hearing.
"And I have to go to Memphis today," he said. "I can't change that
now-it's too late."
"Padgitt went to jail in 1971-that's only eight years,~' I told him.
"Will he really be free tomorrow? I have to stop this."
At eight o'clock, I jumped in my car and drove out of Clanton. Two
hours later, I was outside Parchman. I ran into the jail.
"Where's the parole hearing?" I asked somebody.
"Up the stairs, Room 25," he said.

parole / pe'roul/ (n) People can sometimes get out of jail early. They or their lawyers have
to ask for parole. At a parole hearing, lawyers and other people discuss the question and
say yes or no.
22
 Chapter 5 - Room 25

I looked at my watch. It was a minute after ten o'clock. I ran up the

stairs. A policeman stood outside Room 25.
"I'm here for the parole hearing," I said.
Then I pulled the door open, and I walked in.
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Everybody in the room turned and looked at me. Lucien Wilbanks

was there with the Padgitt family. Danny Padgitt ~as there with a jailer.
There were also five men at a table by the window.
"Who are you?" one of the men asked me.
"He's from the newspaper!" shouted Lucien Wilbanks angrily.
"Which newspaper?"
"The Ford County Times," I said.
"This parole hearing is not open to everybody," said the man at the
center of the table. "You can't come in."
"Who can be here?" I asked.
"Mr. Padgitt's family and lawyer, and people from the Kassellaw
family," he said. "Not newspaper people."
"And the Sheriff?" I asked. "Can he be here?"
1es, he can."
"V

23
 The Last Juror

"But nobody told him about it," I said. "So I'm here from Ford
County for the Kassellaw family. I'm going to speak for them."
The parole hearing started. Lucien Wilbanks spoke. Danny Padgitt's
mother spoke about her son. Then Danny spoke.
''I'm a better man now," he said. "I learned from my mistakes. I do a
lot of good work in this jail. And I'm studying ..."

I listen~d to all of this. Then I had to speak.

"I'll tell you about the murder," I said. ''And I'll tell you about the
trial." And I did. There was one more thing before I finished. ''At the end
of the trial, Mr. Padgitt turned and spoke to the jurors," I said. ''He said,
Til find you and I'll kill all of you."'
The five men looked at Danny Padgitt.
"Did you say that?" one of them asked him. Danny didn't say
anything. "Did he say it?" the man asked Lucien Wilbanks.
Wilbanks started to speak, but I quickly stood up. I spoke first.
''Ask the people at the courthouse in Clanton," I said. "They wrote
everything down."
"Sit down, Mr. Traynor," said the jailer.
"I can send you the notes," I said. "You can't give this man parole-

24
 Chapter 5 - Room 25

it's not right."

The five men left the room. We waited for half an hour. When they
came back, Danny Padgitt had to stand. We all listened. Two of the men
wanted to give him parole, but three didn't. So Danny Padgitt stayed in
jail.
When I drove home I felt very tired, but happy. I went to my office
and wrote the story. It was on the front page of the Times that week.

• My next church visit was the

week after the parole hearing. On
Sunday morning, I drove out of
Clanton and found the church. It
was almost full of people. There
was a man there in a wheelchair.
I knew his face. It was Lenny
.,
Fargarson, one of the jurors.
"Will Danny Padgitt get out
of jail?" he asked me.
"Yes, he will," I said. "But I
don't know when. He can ask for
parole every year. One day, he'll
be free."
"Do you think he'll com~
back to Ford County?"
"I don't know. Maybe. The
Padgitt family are all here."
"Will you call me when he's
out of jail?" Lenny asked.
Lenny's parents were also at the church. Mrs. Fargarson invited me
to lunch with them at their house. They were kind people and I was
hungry. It was a nice idea. At lunch, we talked for a long time. Some of

wheelchair /'wi:ltler/ (n) People use a wheelchair when they can't walk .
25
 The Last Juror

our conversation was about Danny Padgitt.

"I'm not afraid," said Lenny. "God will look after me."
But his parents were afraid. I could see that.
•
A year later, Danny Padgitt asked for another parole hearing. I wanted
to go.
"Why?" asked Harry Rex.
"We stopped it last time," I said.
"He's going to come out, Willie. This year, next year ..."
"But somebody has to fight it."
"You'll make the Padgitts very angry. And you know that they're
dangerous. Nobody in Clanton will want to go to the parole hearing
with you," Harry Rex said.

He was right. But this time, the parole people at Parchman told the
Sheriff about the hearing, so the two of us went.
T he same men were there. They remembered me. The Sheriff went
into Room 25 at Parchman Jail, but I couldn't go in.
T he policeman at the door took me back to my car. I had to sit there
and wait. I couldn't do anything. But I didn't have to wait very long.
"This time, four said yes and only one said no," the Sheriff told me.
"So Padgitt's free."

26
 Chapter 5 - Room 25

I wrote a very angry story for the Times. I put it on the front page and
everybody talked about it. The people of Clanton weren't happy, but they
couldn't do anything about it.
Sam Ruffin was home and the Ruffins invited me for dinner. Sam
and I talked in their yard before we ate. Sam was unhappy about Danny
Padgitt's parole, too.
"Mom can't sleep," he said. "She thinks about this all the time, and
she isn't eating much. The doctor came yesterday. We all have to look
after her. Is Padgitt really back in Ford County now?"
"I think he's with his family. He has to stay in the state. But we don't
see any of the Padgitts in town. They never come into Clanton."
"Do you think there'll be any problems with him?"
"No, not rea11y."
"Please tell my mother that. She won't listen to me," Sam saiq.
"Is she afraid?" I asked.
"Yes," said Sam. "I think she is."
"Padgitt won't come into Clanton," I said. "It will be OK."
"But you remember his words at the end of the trial."
"They were only words, Sam. He was afraid and angry," I said.
"Nothing will happen. In a month or two we'll all forget about him."
But I didn't feel as liappy as I sounded.
27
 Activities 4

4.1 Were you right?

Look back at your answers to Activity 3.4. Then circle the right word in
each sentence below.

1 Danny has two I three parole hearings at Parchman Jail.

2 Willie speaks at the first I second parole hearing.

3 The Sheriff goes to the first I second parole hearing.

4 Willie thinks that Danny is staying near Memphis I Clanton.

5 Everybody I Nobody knows where Danny is.

6 Miss Callie is happy I unhappy about Danny's parole.

4~2 What more did you learn? ' .·

Who says what? Write the Letters next to the sentences.

1 ''I'm a better man now." D

2 .. He's going to come out, Willie." D
3 .. , do a lot of good work in this jail." D
4 .. Will you call me when he's out of jail?" D
5 "Nobody in Clanton will want to go to the parole hearing with you." D
6 .. God will look after me." D
28
c;_ :;.,
 The last juror

4.3 Language in use It was very dark because

Read the sentences in the box. Which there were no windows.
of these words can go in each sentence
'I don't want to lose you, so
below? Write one word, or more than
I'll do this.'
one.
after because before so · when
1 Willie only heard about the first parole hearing ..........................................
a friend called him.
2 The Sheriff couldn't go to Parchman .......................................... he had to
go to Memphis.
3 Willie wants Danny to stay in jail, .......................................... he goes to
the parole hearings.
4 ....................................... .'.. Danny speaks at the first hearing, Willie tells
the five men about the end of the trial.
5 .......................................... Danny is a free man again, Willie writes an
angry story for the Times.
6 Sam Ruffin talks to Willie about his mother's problems
.......................................... Willie eats with the family.

4.4 What happens next?·

Discuss the pict~.res in Chapters 6 and 7 with other students. What
can you see? What do you think is going to happen? Then read these
sentences and write Yes or No.

1 Lenny Fargarson dies.

2 Another juror dies.

3 Somebody shoots Miss Callie.

4 The Sheriff arrests Danny.

.·
/

29
 CHAPTER •

A Juror Dies
Nobody could kill Miss Callie in her house in Lowtown.
There were too many people there.

''Fargarson is dead/' said Harry Re~ on the telephone. "This is the

start, Willie." -
((What.I H ow.I"
((Somebody shot him in the head."
((Where was he?" I asked.
(<_At the front of the house, in his wheelchair. The police are there
))

now.
Lenny Fargarson's mother was out at the stores. She found him when
she came home. There was a lot of blood, so Mrs. Fargarson didn't move
anything. She called the police first, then her husband at his place of
work. www.irLanguage.com

30
 Chapter 6- A Juror Dies

I drove to the Fargarson house. The Sheriff was there, and a lot of
policemen. Some friends and family were also there. I didn't see Lenny's
parents. The young man was on the ground, dead, next to his wheelchair
and an open book.
I looked away from the house·. There were trees around the yard.
"The killer shot him from those trees," the Sheriff said. "You can't see
anyone in there."
"Why Lenny Fargarson?" I asked him.
"He was easier than the other jurors," said the Sheriff "He couldn't
run. Willie, I want the other names-now. Do you have them?"
"Yes, in the office. I can meet you in an hour. What's your plan?"
"We have to tell those people."
I went back to my car. There were policemen everywhere, outside the
Fargarson house and in the trees.
When I took the names of the jurors to the Sheriff's office, he looked
at them carefully. One man was dead, so he sent policemen out to the
homes of the other ~en jurors.
"You don't have to go to Miss Callie," I said. ''I'll tell her."
I went to the Ruffin house that evening.
"Miss Callie, something very bad happened this afternoon,"
I said. '~Lenny Fargarson is dead. Somebody shot him."
Miss Callie was very sad, and she was afraid, too. She
remembered Lenny very well.
"He was a nice boy," she said. "I liked him."
After that she was very quiet. We sat outside the house-
Esau, Sam, Miss Callie, and me. Esau went into the house and
made tea for us. When he came out again, he had his gun. He
put it under his chair. Miss Callie didn't see it, but Sam and I
did.
The houses in Lowtown were very d ose. We could see
people next door and across the street. Some families were in
their front yards. Six or seven young boys played a game in the

31
 The Last Juror

street. They laughed and shouted. Nobody could kill Miss Callie in her
house in Lowtown. There were too many people there.
"She's OK here,~' I said quietly to Sam.
I went back across Clanton. There ·were a lot of policemen outside the
jail. I thought about the first murder. I remembered Danny Padgitt's face
when they brought him in, and the blood on his shirt.
The Sheriff was in his office.
"Two of the jurors left Ford County last year," he said. "We're looking
for them. And we can't find Danny Padgitt. He has to stay in the state-
but where is he? His family isn't saying."
The next evening, I visited the Ruffin family again. It was a hot night
and we sat outside the house. There was a police car at the end of the
street. Across the road I could see two of the neighbors. They had guns
with them.
"They're watching," said Sam. "Day and night."

Back in the center of Clanton, there was nobody in the streets.

Everybody in town waited, but it was worse for the jurors and their
families. They were all afraid.

32
 CHAPTER

Who's Next?
((It was the same gun," the Sheriffsaid. "'t's the same killer, Willie.
He's a dangfrous man and there are nine more jurors."

M o Teale worked for farms everywhere in Ford County. On June

15th a farmer in the north of the county phoned Mo's company.
There was a problem with one of his machines. .
Mo and another man drove to the farm. The machine was a long way
from the farm house. The two
men drove near it. Then they
stopped their car and walked.
They found the problem and
Mo worked on the machine for
a minute or two. His friend went
back to their car for something.
There was a sudden noise
and Mo Teale fell to the ground,
dead. His friend heard the
gunshot, but he didn't see the
killer.
Mo and his workers wore
yellow shirts, so the gunman
could see him easily. I
remembered his yello'.v shirt
because I saw it every day at
Danny Padgitt's trial. Mo was
another of the jurors.
· ·The Sheriff called me to his office.
"It was the same gun," the Sheriff said. "It's the same killer, Willie.
He's a dangerous man and there are nine more jurors."
·"Can't you stop this?_Can't you arrest Danny Padgitt?" I asked.

33
 The Last Juror

"I have a police car outside the house of every juror," said the Sheriff
"And I have four cars near the Padgitt house. But we don't know that it
was him. There weren't any witnesses."
I found Harry Rex in his office.
"Let's go for a drive," he said.
We drove around Clanton. We went past a small house in a road near
the town center. At the front of the house were a lot of cars. One of them
was a police car. Every light in the house was on. . .
"Maxine Root's home," said Harry Rex. "She sat at the front, next to
Miss Callie."
I remembered Mrs. Root. Now her front yard was busy with friends
and neighbors. Some of them had guns. We drove past slowly and
everybody watched us.
Then we drove to the north of Clanton. In a wide street near the
woods we found Mr. Earl Youry's house. I couldn't remember him.
"He sat at the back," Harry Rex said. "He always wore a brown jacket
and a white shirt."
There were cars in front of Mr. Youry's house. Many of his neighbors
sat on chairs in the front yard, with guns. A police car was also there.
Harry Rex stopped next to it. He knew the policeman.
"Are those people there all the time?" Harry Rex asked.
~
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34
 Chapter 7- Who's Next?

"All day and all night," the policeman said. "Nobody can get close to
Mr. Youry. He's OK."
It was the same in Lowtown, outs~de the Ruffin house. Miss Callie's
neighbors were there, at the front an~ back doors.
"People will stay here all night," Sam told us.
Harry Rex drove us back to my house. We sat in the yard and talked
about· the killings. We talked about Qanny Padgitt.
"He planned these murders very well," I said. "They're different from
Rhoda's murder. There was no plan there. Who do you think will be
next~"'"
We didn't know.
"He'll wait," said Harry Rex. "Maybe for a long time. In a month or
two, people will start to forget. The neighbors will get bored. The police
will have to do other things. He'll try again then."
I wanted to talk to Harry Rex about something different.
"I had a visitor in the office yesterday," I told him. "Somebody wants
to buy the newspaper, for a lot of money."
"Do you really want to sell the Times?" he asked.
"I'm thinking about it. Maybe it's a good idea. What do you think?"
Harry Rex thought about it.
"What will you do? Where will you go?" he asked.
'T d like to take a trip to Europe-maybe to India, too. I'm thirty-
. two years old, Harry Rex. I want to see some of the world outside Ford
County. With the money from the Times, I can do that."
"It won't be the same without you, Willie," he said. "Will you come
back to Clanton?"
"Yes, this is my home," I said. "But it's only an idea for now."
Harry Rex was quiet. Then he drove home.
I went to bed and thought about Miss Callie and the other jurors.
I couldn't sleep. I thought about my idea, too. Europe . :. India ... It was
an exciting plan.

35
 Activities 5

5.1 Were you right?

1 Look back at your answers to Activity 4.4. Then look at these
pictures. Why are these important to the story? Talk to other
students.

2 Now put these words in the sentences.

neighbors policemen jurors gunman

a Two of the ......................................... are dead.
b The same .......................... shot them.
c Miss Callie's ..................................... are watching her house.
d There are ................................... outside every juror's house.

5.2 What more did you learn?

Put these sentences in the right order, 1-8.

a Willie tells Miss Callie about Lenny Fargarson.

b Mo Teale dies.

c Miss Callie's neighbors watch her house.

d Lenny Fargarson dies.

e Willie talks about a possible new life.

f Willie and Harry Rex drive past the Root and Youry homes.

g The Sheriff asks Willie for the jurors' names.

h Mrs. Fargarson calls the police.

36
 ~
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The Last juror

5.3 Language in use The gunman could see him easily.

Read the sentences in the box.
I couldn't remember him.
Then make sentences with
could or couldn't.

1 Lenny ... .. .. .. .. .... ........... ... .... run from the gunman.
2 The policemen .................................... see anybody in the trees.
3 From Miss Callie's house, Willie .. ........................... see people next door.
4 Nobody ........... ..................... find Danny Padgitt.
5 The Sheriff. ................. ............. arrest Danny.
6 Willie went to bed, but he .. .. ... .. . .. ... ... ... .... sleep.

5.4 What happens next?

Look at the· name of Chapter 8 and the sentences in italics below it.
What do you think will happen to these people now?

A Miss Callie .................................................................................................. ..

B Maxine Root .. ... .. ................ ............... .......................................................... ..

C Earl Youry ........................................... .. ... .............. ..................................... ..

D Danny Padgitt ........... .......................... ........................................................ .

~ . . .. .. .... . . . ....... . 0 • • ••••••• •• 0 . . . .... ....... . ..... . ............... 0 ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . ....... . . . . .... ..

37 www.irLanguage.com
 CHAPTER ••

Miss Callie Remembers

"Mr. Padgitt was guilty-we all knew that. But only nine jurors
wanted the death penalty. Here are the other three names."

T wo other newspapers were interested in the murders of Lenny

Fargarson and Mo Teale. I had a phone call from the Memphis
newspaper and then from one in Jackson. I told them the stories.
But I was bored now with my job. I could sell the Times, and this was
a more interesting idea to me now. I wanted to go away. I sat in my office
and thought about it some more. Then there was a phone call for me. It
was Sam Ruffin.
"You have to come here," he said. "Mom wants to talk to you."
The same neighbors were at the Ruffins' front door. Sam met me in
the street and took me into the house. Miss Callie was in the kitchen.
She looked very tired and unwell.
"In here," she said.
We followed her into the bedroom and she closed the door. There
were some papers on the bed.

38
 Chapter 8- Miss Callie Remembers

"There's something wrong," she said. "I don't understand it. We jurors
couldn't remember everything at trial. People said a lot of things. So we
made notes and looked at them again later. These are mine." She showed
us the papers. /•
"At the end, we went into a room and talked about the trial. Nobody
outside that room heard our conversation, of course. And every juror
said, 'We will never tell.' But this is too important. I can't stay quiet."
Miss Callie looked through the papers.
"Here it is;" ·she said. "Mr. Padgitt was guilty-we all knew that.
But only nine jurors wanted the death penalty. Here are the other three
names."
Miss Callie showed us the page. On the left, there were nine names.
On the right, there were three: Lenny Fargarson, Mo Teale, and
Maxine Root.

www.irLanguage .com
39
 The Last Juror

"You see the problem," she said. "Why did these two jurors die?"
"He's killing the wrong people," said Sam.
"But Danny Padgitt didn't know the names," I said.
"No, but ..." Miss Callie stood up and took the paper from my hand.
"I have to tell the Sheriff about this," I said.
"No, we all said ... You can't tell him the names ..."
"Mom, this is important. For Maxine Root, most of all," Sam
told her.
Miss Callie put the papers back on the bed.
Then there was the sound of people in the kitchen. Bobby and two of
his brothers were here. Miss Callie went out to the kitchen. She suddenly
looked happy again.
Sam gave me his mother's papers.
"Take them to the Sheriff," he said.
The ·sheriff wasn't in his office, so I visited Harry Rex. I showed him
the names.
"Maybe these three took money from the Padgitts. Maybe Danny is
starting with them because he doesn't want them to talk. Then he'll kill
the other jurors."
"Not Lenny Fargarson," I said. "He didn't take any money. I know
that."
"So what do you think?"
"Maybe Lenny was the first because he was easy. He couldn't get out ·
of his wheelchair. Maybe Mo Teale was next because he was out in the
country, away from people. So he was also easy."
"And who'll be next?" asked Harry Rex.
"I don't know. I have to take this to the Sheriff now," I said.
I stood up and walked to the door.
"One more thing, Willie," said Harry Rex. "Sell the Times. Go away
and have a good time. But don't leave Clanton."
I smiled at him. "OK, I won't."
The Sheriff was on the phone.

40
 C hapter 8 - Miss Callie Remembers

After a minute, he said goodbye and put the phone down.

"That was Earl Youry," he said. "He remembers something, and it's
very strange. The three jurors ..."
"I know," I said. "I spoke to Miss Callie this morning."
"Did she tell you the names of all three jurors? Mr. Youry can't
remember the woman's name."
"It was Maxine Root," I said.
The Sheriff phoned Maxine. I heard her crying at the other end of the
phone.
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"I can't arrest him, Maxine," the Sheriff said. "But we'll look after
you. There will be policemen with you at work, and at your· house.
They'll be there all the time."
The Sheriff put the phone down and he thought for a,. minute.

41
 The Last Juror

"I'd like to talk to Lucien Wilbanks," he said. "Maybe Harry

Rex will come, too. But Lucien won't want you there, Willie."
This wasn't a problem. Harry Rex told me the story later, but I
couldn't put it in the newspaper.
"I talked to Danny and his father," Lucien told the Sheriff and
Harry Rex. "He's not the killer. He was· in the Padgitt office on
those days. There are witnesses."
"How many of these witnesses have the name Padgitt?" asked
the Sheriff
"I can't give you any names," Lucien said. "But they're good
.
witnesses. "
"One more murder and Clanton will go crazy," said the
Sheriff. "Then I'll have to arrest Danny. Tell him that."
"He's not the killer," said Lucien. "And I'm telling you
the truth."
•
Two weeks later, the mailman carried a box to Maxine Root's house. It
was big and it was heavy. Next to Mrs. Root's address was the name of
a famous Californian candy company. On the back of the box was the
name of the sender. It was Mrs. Root's sister, Jane.
The policeman at the front of Maxine's house took the box into the
kitchen. Maxine was afraid of Danny Padgitt. She was also bored because
she had to stay in her house most of the time. So she was very happy
· when the candy arrived from her sister. She started to open the box, then
stopped. She wanted to thank her sister first, so she went to the phone.
Maxine and her sister talked about different things- the weather and
Jane's children.
"Thank you for the candy," Maxine said then.
"What candy?" said Jane. "I didn't send you any candy."
After Maxine finished her phone call, she looked at the box again.
Yes, Jane's name was on the back. She moved the box. It was very heavy
for candy.

42
 C hapter 8 - Miss Callie Remembers

www.irLanguage.com

There were three policemen outside the kitchen window. Maxine

called to them.
"Please look at this box of candy," she asked them.
They walked around it and turned it over.
"OK," said Travis, the oldest of the men. "Starid back, everybody. I
think this is dangerous."
He put the box in the yard and walked back into the kitchen. Maxine
and the other policemen stood behind him. Then he opened the win~ow
and took out his gun. ·
<~You'regoing to shoot my candy?" asked Maxine.
"This isn't candy, Mrs. Root."
"Let's call the Sheriff first," one of the other policemen said.
"No, I can do this," Travis answered.
He shot at the box, but he didn't hit it. He tried again and this time
he hit the box.
There was a very loud noise. The windows broke and glass flew into
the house. The glass hit Maxine and the policemen. T~e. back door fell

43
 The Last Juror

onto the floor inside the kitchen.

The glass cut the other two policemen and Maxine very badly, but
Travis lost his right arm.

I heard the noise in my office across town. Everybody in Clanton

heard it. When a lot of police cars drove out of town, fast, I followed
them. The police closed the roads near Maxine's house. I couldn't get
past, so I drove to the hospital. I knew a young doctor there.
"Nobody died," he said. "But a woman and three policemen are here.
One of the policemen is very sick."
I phoned the Ruffins from the hospital.
"There was an accident at Maxine Root's house," I said.
But it wasn't an accident. I knew that. Somebody wanted to kill
Maxine. And we all had the same idea: that somebody was Danny
Padgitt.

44
 CHAPTER •

Back in the Courthouse

When the Sheriff brought Danny Padgitt into the courtroom the next day,
the room was full. Everybody in Clanton wanted to be there.

P eople in Clanton were very angry and afraid. The Sheriff had to do
something, but first he phoned Lucien Wilbanks.
"I have to bring Danny into jail now," he said.
"I can't stop you," said Lucien.
The Sheriff sent four police cars to the Padgitt house. When they
arrived, Danny Padgitt was outside with Lucien Wilbanks. There was no
fight. The Sheriff arrested Padgitt and they drove back into Clanton.

There were a lot of people outside the jail. When they saw Danny
Padgitt, they .shouted angrily. Then the Sheriff put Padgitt in jail and
everybody went home. That night, Clanton was a happier place.
I visited Miss Callie. Her family was with her. She gave me a very
happy smile.

45
 The Last Juror

A party started at the house next to the Ruffins. There was music
and dancing.
"Everything's OK now," Bobby said. www. irLanguage.com

•
When the police brought Danny Padgitt into. the courtroom the next
day, the room was full. Everybody in Clanton wanted to be there. Miss
Callie arrived early and found a good place at the front. Esau, Bobby,
and Sam were with her. Maxine Root's family were also near the front.
They looked very angry. Maxine wasn't there-she was in the hospital. I
saw Mr. and Mrs. Fargarson at the back of the courtroom. There were no
Padgitts.
"They're not here," said Harry Rex. "It's dangerous for th~m. People
,
are very angry.
A door opened and the lawyers came in. We all waited quietly, but we
didn't have to wait long.

46
 Chapter 9 - Back in the Courthouse

There was a sudden loud noise above us. A gunshot. Women started
to cry and somebody shouted, "Get down!"
I looked at Danny Padgitt. The bullet hit him in the arm and he fell
back. The gunman shot a second time. This bullet hit Danny in the
head. He didn't move again.

Most people ran outside, but I stayed with the police. They looked
up. Above the courtroom was a small room. One window looked onto
the street, but the other looked down into the courtroom. The gunman
was up there. Policemen ran to the stairs. There were more shots from
above us, but they were outside the courtroom now. I went to a window
and looked out. Outside, people looked up, then ran away. There were
more shots: one, two, three. Each shot broke a window across the street
from the courthouse. This was Lucien Wilbanks' office. Four, five, six
windows. The gunman broke every one.

bullet /'buht/ {n) When you shoot with a gun, a bullet comes out.

47
 Activities 6

6.1 Were you right?

Look back at your answers to Activity 5.4. Then look at the pictures in
Chapters 8 and 9 and check (I') the right answers below.
1 Miss Callie shows her notes to Willie and Sam.

a She doesn't understand and wants their help.

b She wants Willie to take the notes to the Sheriff.

2 Somebody sends Maxine a box.

a It is a box of candy from her sister.

b Her sister doesn't know anything about the box.

3 The Sheriff arrests Danny Padgitt.

a The people of Clanton are very happy.

b The jurors are afraid of the other Padgitts.

4 Next day, Danny Pad itt is taken into the courtroom.

a Danny says that he is not guilty. r--)

b Danny dies before he can say anything. ( )
6.2 What more did you learn?
Circle the right word or words in each sentence. Then talk to another
student. Who or what are these people talking about?

1 The jurors said, "We will have to I never tell."

2 Sam says, "He's killing the wrong I right people."
3 Willie says, "I have to I can't take this to the Sheriff now."
4 The Sheriff says, "Mr. Youry can I can't remember the woman's name."
5 Maxine says, "Please look I shoot at this box of candy."
6 Harry Rex says, "They're not here. It's dangerous I difficult for them."

48
 The last juror

6.3 Language in use

This was a more interesting idea
Read the sentences in the box. to me now.
Then finish each sentence below
That night, Clanton was a happier
with a comparative adjective.
place.

1 Miss Callie looked ........................................................... every day.

(unwell)
2 Miss Callie looked ........................................................... every day. (sick)
3 The box of candy was ........................................................... than Maxine
thought. (heavy)
4 The policemen were ........................................................... of the box than
Maxine. (afraid)
5 The courtroom was ........................................................... for Danny's
hearing in the courtroom than for his first trial. (busy)
6 It was a ........................................................... courtroom this time. (full)

6.4 What happens next?

1 Who is the gunman? What do you think?.

a Who shot Danny Padgitt? Why?

.......................................................................................................
because .........................................................................................

b Did the same person shoot Lenny Fargarson and Mo Teale? Why did
they die?

2 Look at the picture on page 54. Discuss these questions.

a What is Willie doing? Why?

b Who will be unhappy about this? Why?
c What will Willie do in the future, do you think?
 CHAPTER

The Killing Stops

"People in Clanton have to know the truth," I said.
"He killed people in the to;;n."

A fter about an hour, the shooting

stopped. For some minutes there
was no sound from above us. But the
gunman had one more bullet. He
put the gun to his head. Down in the
courtroom, we heard that last shot.
A policeman ran down the stairs.
"It's OK now!" he shouted. "He's
dead! And it's Hank Hooten!"
Most people didn't remember Hank
Hooten.
"Who's he?" they asked.
"That crazy lawyer," somebody said. "He went to the mental hospital
in Whitfield."
Slowly, the last people in the building started to leave the courthouse.
Miss Callie wasn't well, so the Ruffin family took her to the doctor.
I went back to my office and made a phone call. Then I drove out of
Clanton.
I waited for a long time in Whitfield Mental Hospital. Outside Dr.
Vera's office, I read magazines and drank coffee. He was a very busy man
and he didn't want to see me.
"I'm not going away," I told the girl in the office. "I'll wait here all
day, and again tomorrow."
After more than an hour, the doctor came out to me.
"Mr. Traynor, I told you on the phone. I can't talk to you about Hank
Hooten," he said. "I was his doctor. I can't tell you anything."
"People in Clanton have to know the truth," I said. "He killed people

50
----------------------------------------------------------~-~
 Chapter 10- The Killing Stops

in the town. Their families are asking a lot of questions and they want
answers. Why wasn't Hank Hooten in a mental hospital? How sick was
he when he left here?"
Dr. Vero thought about this for a minute or two.
"I'll talk to you," he said. "But you can't put everything in your
))

newspaper.
"I understand," I said.
"OK. Let's go for a walk."
We left the hospital offices and walked across the yard outside. We
found some chairs and sat in the sun. Then Dr. Vero told me Hank
Hooten's story.

"When he came to this hospital in January 1971, he was very sick.

His mother was sick, too, before she died, and possibly his grandmother.
We often see these problems in families. Mr. Hooten talked a lot about
_Rhoda Kassellaw. He wasn't good with women. I don't think she was
interested in him. But he was in love with her and he was very angry
about her murder. After she died, he heard her in his head. She asked
for his help-she wanted Danny Padgitt to die. So Mr. Hooten wanted

51
 The Last Juror

the death penalty for Rhoda's killer, but three jurors didn't. Mr. Hooten
learned their names. I don't know how. And he hated those jurors.
"In 1976, Mr. Hooten left Whitfield Hospital. His doctor sent him
horne.))
"But why?" I asked. "He was a very sick man, so why didn't he stay
here?"
Dr. Vero didn't know. "I had a job in Chicago at that .time," he said.
"I came back to Whitfield in 1978, after Hank Hooten .left. I can't tell
you more than that, Mr. Traynor. That's the truth. Sometimes doctors
. think that people will be better at home. And, of course, mental hospitals
never have much money."
· "You knew Hank Hooten," I said. "What do you think? Was his
doctor right when he sent Hank away from here?"
"I can't answer that, Mr.Traynor. You know that."
"Thank you for your help," I said.
"Will you send me your story before you put it in your newspaper?"
"I will."
I drove into the to~n of Whitfield and stopped the car. Then I
walked up the street to a cafe and thought about Hank Hooten and
Clanton.
How did life there get so crazy?
It was a small American town, the
same as hundreds of other towns.
Then, one night, Danny Padgitt
killed Rhoda Kassellaw. After that,
everything changed.
I thought, too, about my life in
Clanton. I didn't want small town
life now. I wanted to see the world.
Now-J'm ready now, I thought.
I asked for a hamburger and
coffee. Suddenly, I was very hungry.

52
 Chapter 10 -The Killing Stops

There was a telephone in the cafe, and I phoned Harry Rex.

"Willie, you have t<? come home," he said. "Quickly."
"Why?"
"Callie Ruffin's in the hospital."
"How bad is she?" I asked.
"She's very bad" .
I didn't eat the hamburger. I paid the waitress and left the cafe. Then
I drove back to Clanton as fast as I could.
I found Esau·and the eight Ruffin children at the hospital.
"She's sleeping now," Bobby told me.
"What does the doctor say?" I asked.
"It's not good," said Sam. "But they're trying."
I couldn't see Miss Callie, but I waited at the hospital with the
Ruffins.
Two hours later, we saw the doctor again.
www.irLanguage.com

53
 The Last Juror

"She's asleep now," he said. "You can't do anything here, so go home.

Get some sleep."
Sam took Esau back to Lowtown. But it was a very small house, so
the other Ruffin children came with me. There were more bedrooms in
my house.
We all went to bed, but we didn't sleep.
The next morning, I had to go to my office. The new editor of the
Times wanted to start work that week. I started to put my books and
papers into boxes. But every time I looked at something, I remembered a
story. It was a slow and difficult job.

54
 Chapter 10- The Killing Stops

I went to the hospital in the afternoon, but I couldn't see Miss Callie.
I waited in a family room with some of the Ruffin children. Suddenly,
Sam ran in.
"She's worse.I" he sal"d . "The d octor's wlt
. h her.I"
I called Esau at Lowtown, and very quickly he arrived with the other
children. It was early evening before we saw the doctor.
''I'm sorry," he said. "We can't do anything more. You can say goodbye
to her now."
The family wanted me to stay with them. We stood around her bed
and we cried. At about midnight, Miss Callie died.
I went back to my office and sat there. I looked out the
window. The street below was dark and quiet. Across the
road, the courtroom was also dark. I felt very sad.
In the morning, Bobby Ruffin phoned me.
"Are you OK?" he asked.
"I'm leaving Clanton," I told him. "I'm going to see the
world. I wanted to tell her, but I waited. And now ..."
"Will you come back here?" he asked.
"Yes. But it won't be the same without her. I wanted to
show her my photos. I wanted to talk to her about different
places. I wanted to buy her something from every country. ·
Now I can't tell her anything."
"You know that she loved you," said Bobby. "You're
one of the family. Come back here and tell us about those
1 "
paces.
That afternoon, I sat at my desk and took out my pen.
For a long time I looked at the paper. Then I wrote my last
story for the Times- my most difficult story:
Miss Callie Ruffin, died july 5th, 1980. A wonderful wife,
mother, and friend ...

55
 Talk about it

- Work with another student. Talk about Maxine Root's story

on television.

\Student A I You work for the television station. Ask Maxine questions.
Start like this: "On this week's It's My Story, we say hello to
Maxine Root ..."

\Student B I You are Maxine. Answer the questions. Remember, you were
in the hospital some of the time. How did you learn about
the end of the story?

- Work with three other students and have a conversation. Each of you is
one of the people in the pictures. Danny Padgitt killed one person. Hank
Hooten killed three people and tried to kill another person. Which killer
was worse? Why?
 You are the new editor of the Ford County Times. One year after the end
of this story, you write about life in Clanton. First, think about these
questions:

1 How is life in Clanton different now?

2 Do the Padgitts come into ~own? Do people in Clanton talk to them?

3 Is Lucien Wilbanks in town? Is Willie back in town? Where is Hank Hooten?

~: of them had guns. Then we neighbors saL In the front yard, cars. ol
!;

a polic~
'
"
te Clanton - avear alter in the{
WecJ
0
the killings by. .......................................... and
us.
.,,
tt
h life here ......................... ......... .
s.
ld was•
lSt Jig~
ty on l·
every ~
~

J • • • • • •• • • • • • 0 . 0. 0 . ~ • • 0 •••• 0 . 0 . .. .. 0. 0 ••• 0. 0 0 0 ••••

The
n
te
···· ·· ··· ····· ·· ············· :·· ······ ··.········ .
a WI'
r. wood,
\
e. wore a
er and a
.......... .................... ... ......... ....... There
.,· " front
-Ie
tn . ······ ··· ·· ··· ······· ····· ·· ······· ············
te ·············· ······ ········· ·· ··· ······· ··· ····
........................ .... ··· ···· ···.··········

57
::
 Project A Trip Around the World

Willie goes on a long trip because he wants a change from life

in Clanton.
1 Read this advertisement from a magazine. You and three or four other
students work for Your Way. What do you do each day?

LONG VACATION?
WORK VACATION?
Your Way can help with your trip. Who ~re ;ou?
What do you want? How many people are gmng.
T~ll us and we will plan everything for you.

You don't like to fly? No problem! You can go

across the Atlantic by ship.

You don't like hot weather? Try Russia

or canada in winter.

2 You are all going to plan a trip around the world for
some Your Way customers. Talk about these questions
and make notes.
a How many people are going on the trip? How old are
the oldest and youngest people?

b Are they friends, family, or strangers?

c What are they interested in? {Music, movies, birds ...)

Notes
 Project A Trip Around the World

3 Where will your customers start? Where will they go? Talk about
countries and cities. What can they do there? Plan the trip.

Country City Vi~its and activities

..

59
 Project A Trip Around the World

4 Write a letter to one of the customers. Tell the customer about your
plan for the trip.

YOUR WAY
.,
Memphis ·
Tennessee
Dear .. :............. :............. ,
This is our plan for your vacation. You will start in
...................................................,and first you will fly to ..................

.. ............... .................................... ....... .................·.... ...............................

....................................................................,.......................................
...............................·.·............... .................... .......................................... .
.......................... ... .... .. ...................................... ............................. ......... ..
. .............................................................................................................
-
............. ................................................................................. ..................

Yours,·

for Your Way

 PENGUIN
ACTIVE
READING
John Grisham Level2
600 headwords
American English Elementary
Contemporary
In the small town of Clanton, Mississippi, not much
happens. There aren't many interest ing stories for Willie
Traynor's newspaper. But then there's a murder. And
when the killer goes to jail, that's not the end of the
•
story. Everybody is afraid now of this man and his family.
Will there be more killings? Who will be next?

Number of words (excluding activities): 9,098

Senes Edrtors: jocelyn Potter and Andy Hopkins
For correlations to English Language Teaching exams,
please visit www.penguinreaders.com

Penguin Active Reading pro~ides reading and language

learning at five level~. through full-colour, beautifully
illustrated Readers. As well as enjoyable stories and texts,
each book provides a range of integrated activities designed
to develop reading skills and consolidate vocabulary, and
offers personalised project work. Each book is supported
by an interactive CD-ROM which contains additional
activities and the complete audio recording.

Easystarts 200 headwords

Leve l 1 300 headwords Beginner
Level 2 600 headwords Elementary
Level 3 12:00 headwords Pre-intermediate
Level 4 1700 headwords Intermediate

Cover illustration by Paul Davidson

with CD-ROM
and MP3

....
••• ISBN 97

•••
-----
PI ARSON

Longnlan www.penguinreaders.com J