Only seven were hanged

How it begins

The repeated tap of his wand of office on the polished table stilled the tongues of the members and caused every eye to be focused on the heavy figure who presided. It was not a large club, barely twenty names being on the subscription list; but it was a very exclusive one. This, their monthly meeting, had fallen on Christmas Eve and the proceedings were entirely formal. The dinner had been consumed and the dishes cleared off; only a few details had to be carried through, and the remainder of the evening was to be spent in seasonable cheerfulness. Snow was falling in a thin whiffling way on the streets outside. The ground was hard with frost. All was cozy indoors.