To keep his job, Thome had to come back to work as soon as possible. Therefore his bones didn’t get the necessary rest to grow back together properly. Especially when the weather turned, the pain in his leg became unbearable.
A wild rage towards the foreman dammed in him. He bore the blame for his pain. Maybe everything would’ve been different, if only Leschke had apologized to him, a small token of regret, but he hadn’t been able to. The first day Thome resumed work at the sawmill, the brute welcomed him with the words You ruined the damned picaroon. Since then Thome had waited for an opportunity to pay him back.
In November 1936, almost exactly a year after the accident, the time had come. To Thomes satisfaction, it was a day of pain. The ongoing windy weather was reaking havoc in his leg and Thome prayed for the onset of winter, the wind had announced, which would finally provide relief for him.
And then, right when he was standing at the saw gate with this pain, it happened. The big jumper of the foreman got caught in one of the chain links of the conveyer band, that transported the trunks to the saw blades, which did cut the blocks into single planks.Thome watched, as Leschke was trying franticly to pull his sweater out of the band, which he wasn’t able to. Then Leschke noticed, that Thome was watching him.
– Help me, he screamed at him. Help me, dammit!
The brute stemmed against the pull, that dragged him closer and closer to the saw blades. His screams for help were swallowed by the piercing noise of the up and down driving metal, that ate it’s way through the wood.
Thome looked around. They were alone. Thome turned away and went off. A few meters on he began to pile up a stack of planks. Not before the saw blades nearly reached Leschke’s head, Thome rushed to him and tried to block the conveyer band with a picaroon. It should at least look like he had tried everything.
Thome began to scream like crazy, in unison with the foreman, who looked at him with eyes, that could jump out of their eyesockets at any moment.
Then only Thome screamed.