Did the author intend Farquhar's escape to seem believable?

Yes, the
author certainly intended Peyton Farquhar's escape to be believable. That is the heart and soul
of the story. The reader identifies with Farquhar and shares his thoughts and feelings in his
imagination. The reader also has a "kinesthetic" relationship with the . He can feel
the rope around his neck, feel himself falling, feel the shock of the icy-cold water, and all
the other physical sensations involved in his escape from that terrible situation. This is a
marvelous conception and a marvelous piece of writing. The reader is closely united with
Farquhar right up to the very moment when he reaches the safety of his plantation and is greeted
with open arms by his loving wife.

Ah, how beautiful she
is! He springs forwards with extended arms. As he is about to clasp her he feels a stunning blow
upon the back of the neck; a blinding white light blazes all about him with a sound like the
shock of a cannon--then all is darkness and silence!

What
a rude awakening that is! Everything has been an illusion, and the whole fantasy of escaping and
surviving has been imagined by Farquhar in the few seconds it has taken for him to fall from the
bridge and for the six or eight feet of slack in the rope to play out. The strength of the
illusion was the result of the strength of his desire to live, to be free, to get back to his
home and to his loving wife.

In his cynical book The Devil's
Dictionary,defines "Hope" as:

Desire
and expectation rolled into one.

It seems appropriate
that an idealistic character like Peyton Farquhar should entertain such idealistic and
unrealistic fantasies while falling through empty space during his last moment of life. He was
easily taken in by the Federal scout's fabricated story because he wanted to believe it. The
bridge seemed to offer the perfect opportunity for Farquhar to perform a dangerous and noble
deed for the Southern cause. His dream of glory ended with the sudden shock of grim reality. The
reader too is awakened simultaneously from the dream of home, peace, love, comfort, freedom, and
all the good things of life.

Peyton Farquhar was dead; his
body, with a broken neck, swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek
bridge.