You know, while Caspar was in the process of whacking Dane
"NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!!"
[spoiler]Maybe he was scared because Casper was losing it big time and he was echoing that loss of control.
I'll be part of this world.
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Here was my answer from a similar thread:
From what I figured, the 'big guy' named 'Drop' Johnson was just a random boxer, only mixed up in the criminal underworld for making bets and possibly throwing fights. He was probably used to seeing guys beat up, but not MURDERED. He starts screaming only after the second blow to the back of the Dane's head (which, reasonably, should have killed him).
I think we are also shown Tom's inherent authoritative power in his ability to shut Drop up with only a look. A possible other dimension to Drop's screams was the implication that he knows that it is Tom, and not The Dane, who is lying, and is a bit horrified by the 'honest' gangster's demise when Tom is actually the one who 'deserved' to be killed for his lying. (And in a sense, our perception of 'Tom' as the 'good guy' is also called into question in this interpretation, which seems like something the Coens would have wanted.)
That's my two cents and a question I had upon the first viewing of this film as well. I also arrived at this post hoping to see other interpretations for this scene. Hope I've helped anyway.
Maybe he had been so traumatised by what Dane had done to him, that he was ready to start yelling as soon as he saw there was to be more violence?
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