Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-07-27

it too long. His business affairs re-
quired no settlement. Exposed as he
had long been to the danger Of assas-
sination, he had taken the precaution
to guard against any emergency.
There were a few letters to be writ
ten-that was all.
Above his desk in the library two
cavalry sabers hung crossed upon the
wall. One Of them he had carried
through the war; the other he had
wrenched from the stiffening clutch
of fallen foe at Antietam. Both had
done bloody service. For the first
time since they had been hung up as
ornamental trophies, he took the wea-
pons down and looked them over. OF
different workmanship, they were
equal in length, in weight and in
sharpness.
"I don't know how this will go
on the ground" he mused, as he again
grasped the old familiar hilt. 1T used
to be all right in the saddle-a dash
and a slash and it was over with. But
this is different. Still, 1t beats pis-
tol. They say he is the best shot in
the South and 1 couldn't hit the side
Of a barn"
The house was still. From the ne
gro quarters, faint and far, fioated
snatches of plantation melodies and
the drumming of a banjo. A tiny
clock upon the mantel startled the
Governor by Ginning the hour Of
eleven.
IAN hour yet" he muttered. Its
bad enough to hunt for trouble, but
1 believe it is worse to wait for it.
can't stay here, or I'll suffocate."
With the sabers under his arm he
quietly slipped down the stairway,
opened a window and stepped out
upon the broad veranda. 1t was a
glorious moonlit night, almost as light
as day, bright and blue and balmy.
The soft air, sweet with the fragrance
of magnolias and the fiowery incense
of midsummer bloom, seemed to whis-
per, Peace on earth, good will to
men," and it's message went straight
to his heart.
why should a man be showed back
into the middle ages like this?" he
said, half savagely. Il feel as If
were trying to break into one Of Wal
ter Scotts novels. 1 don't want to kill
him and Mississippi can't afford to
lose him. I've seen enough Of blood
wasn't cut out for a butcher any
way. But" he added, firmly, 'ft's
better to be the butcher than the beef.
If a corpse has got to be furnished it
won't be mine if I can help it."
A dry twig snapped beneath his
foot with a report like pistol and a
startled night bird fiuttered among
the bushes. Saber in hand. he turn
ed, half expecting to face a foe; but
it was the instinct of self-defense
rather than an indication of nervous
ness, for he never was more COM
pletely master of himself. Indeed, he
marveled at his own GOODNESS at such
a time for, try as he might, he could
not convince himself Of the serious
ness of the situation. OF one thing
he felt perfectly sure-he would come
out all right.
Cards alone don't count" he had
often said. "A great deal depends on
how they are played. In a crisis, the
fellow who loses his head loses the
game, no matter what he has in his
hand"
Looking back toward the guberna-
torial mansion, it's tall columns shin
ing white in the moonlight, like a
spectral castle framed in shadow, he
was surprised to see light twinkling
from one of the upper windows, Mel
lies room or the library, he could not
tell which. That's queer" he solil-
oquized. II could have sworn l put
out that light few minutes ago. And
Nellie has been in dreamland for a
couple Of hours. l must have forgot
ten and left it burning"
Near the center of little grove Of
magnolias, at the lower end of the
garden. stood a great live oak,
rough, gnarled giant, whose twisted
trunk and sprawling branches had Of
ten been explored by Nellie and Roy
during their romping expeditions.
About this tree there was an open
space of greensward, as If the young
er trees had withdrawn to a respect
full distance from the old monarch of