Aman stood upon a railroad bridge in

northern alabama, looking down into the

swift water twenty feet below. the man's

hands were behind his back, the wrists bound

with a cord. a rope closely encircled his neck.

"an occurrence at owl creek bridge,"

ambrose bierce

what is about to happen to the man?

done

The man was about to be hanged.

Explanation:

Ambrose Bierce's short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" tells the story of how a convicted man was about to be hanged on the railroad bridge. The man, Peyton Farquhar, was a plantation farmer who was accused of trying to burn down the bridge during the Civil War.

The lines/ excerpt given in the question is from the first paragraph of the story which shows Peyton waiting for his death. The author/ speaker of the story is describing the scene and setting of the story, the exact point where we see Peyton (yet unnamed) waiting for the rope to be pulled which will finalize his death.