Read "Papillon" by Henri Charrière online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
Yesterday my friend Matthieu Carbonieri was stabbed to death. His murder set off a whole series of other murders. He had been in the washhouse, naked, and his face was covered with soap when he was hit. When we showered, we were in the habit of opening our knives and hiding them under our clothes so we could reach for them quickly if a suspected enemy appeared. Carbonieri forgot to do this and it cost him his life. The man who killed him was an Armenian pimp.
With the permission of the warden and the help of another con, I carried my friend down to the quay. He was heavy and we had to stop three times to rest. I had a big rock attached to his feet and had used steel wire instead of the usual rope. That way the sharks wouldn't be able to cut it and he'd sink to the bottom without being eaten.