"Was It Suicide?"

"The Extreme Penalty."
By W. H. Spence (?-?).
First appearance: To-Day, October 22, 1898.
Short short short story (3 pages, 2 illos).
Online at Hathi Trust (HERE).
(Note: Expect slow loading. Use the "Full Screen" button to center the text.)

"I'd rather die first!" are words that easily escape our lips, but an old sea-dog reminisces about the time someone took them very seriously . . .

Resource:
- We can't find anything at all about our author.