Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-06-22

lido no good-that conciliation must be
resorted to-and, humbling as 1t was
to his proud spirit he commanded his
temper so far as to say
"Methinks grave lecturer on world
lily wisdom might have remembered
; that there are more agreeable ways OF
extracting information from a man
than by holding up threats Of disgrace
as a penalty for silence; and 1t might
have occurred to Mr.. Billings, that the
bonds Of friendship are not strength
lened by boasts OF our capacity to harm
one another"
From you, Captain Hamilton, I do
not ask friendship, as the world un-
derstands the word, and l should be
practicing a needless hypocricy II
professed to feel 1t toward you. We
have a more enduring bond Of union
than the fragile one Of friendship. We
are necessary to each other; and as we
have no antipathies to reconcile and
no cause Of quarrel to bring one pas
sion in conflict with another, our alli-
ance ought to be permanent. I respect
your intellect, and admire your brilliant
qualities. I am we'll aware that some
things 1 have said this night grated
harshly on your ear, and I beg you to
believe that 1t was as disagreeable to
me to speak them as to you to listen;
but it is no time to deal in dainty
phrases, when matters Of such moment
are under discussion. What I have
said was under the impression that 1t
would remove every cause Of misun-
derstanding from our future inter-
course. II 1t was disagreeable, you
may afford to bear 1t, for l assure you
1t will never be repeated. l am no
pertinacious pedagogue, who insists
upon beating his lessons into the brains
of a pupil, whether he Is willing to re-
ceive them or not. You understand
me, l am sure. and will need no other
explanations"
81 think not. You have been suffi-
ciently candid and explicit to prevent
misapprehension."
| 81 lllclluSu II 10 di"oJ bSoh
to have a little rough weather at the
beginning Of voyage, than to encoun-
ter opposing gales near it's close. May
hope that you are about to follow my
example?"
II shall certainly no longer refuse
request so pertinaciously preferred; al
though it may give you some annoy
ance, and can be of no profit. At the
time you were engaged In traffic be-
tween New York and the West Indies.
there was one Roland Williams por-
ter in the house at st. Croix. Believing
the man might be serviceable, l saved
him from the consequences Of more than
one indiscretion, for which he paid me
with a kind Of bulldog gratitude-that
Is, he was ready enough to tear any
one to pieces at my bidding though 1t
was by no means sure that his memo
ry of the kindness was strong enough
to prevent him from setting his fangs
in my own flesh, If irritated too much.
When Carlota was carried away in
your vessel, l was angry enough to
contemplate a deadly revenge, and l
sought Williams's aid to carry 1t iato
effect. To my surprise he manifested
some reluctance, and at length l drew
from him that he had been a pirate,
and sailed under your orders. Your
real name, he said, was Wheeler, and
he believed that you had once been an
officer in the British army. You never
returned to st. Croix during my resi-
dence on the island, and before / met
you again l had abandoned my pur-
posed vengeance for a thing in which,
after ALL you might have been blame
less. That Is all. / have no other
proof and never sought for any more"
And this Williams, what became Of
him?"
II do not know. l left him on the
island. Perhaps he is there yet If 1t
| is desirable l can easily learn"
1T is unnecessary. If 1t should be-
come important hereafter / will trace
him up myself. l do not remember the
name, and suppose it was an assumed
one. 1t is probable" he continued,
that we may not again have occasion
to refer to bygone events; and In order
to remove every possible cause of
heart Turning, / desire to say that In
the matter Of Carlola I was not as
you supposed, an agent employed to
thwart your wishes. I purchased her
on speculation, for two hundred gum
cas-, knowing nothing of your amour at
the time l sold her for three hundred,
and the last / heard Of her she was
happy, and contented with her lot"
The conversation had reached a
point where neither seemed disposed to
continue 1t, and after a few words OF
common place civility Hamilton left
the hotel, to repair to his post. James
Billings seated himself before the fire,
and, leaning back in his arm chair
unused long and deeply upon his event.
full life The specters of the past fit
ted rapidly but distinctly before him.
One by one the opportunities he had
misapplied the talents he had wasted
the cha 'acter he had thrown away, rose
up before him; but he neither quailed
nor trenbled at their presence. Hard
as iron in his original nature, he had
grown harder and more stubborn with
advancing years. and looked back not
to regret what was lost, but to calcu-
late how much yet remained to be ac-
complished. No thought of repentance
and no twinge of remorse was permit
ted to sadden the retrospect Yester-
day was to him nothing more than a
volume of instructions for tomorrow
Slowly and deliberately his Thoughts
Travelled down to the present time
Il am playing a doubtful game ne
muttered, for a heavy stake. Ham
ilton is an INSCRIPTIONS, a bold, and
a shrevd man: so far well. He Is gilt
ed Will a high, if not the highest or
der of genius that is better. But his
temper is as fiery as his own West In