Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-02-23
quieting, just why, he could not have

lquieting. just why, he could not have
told.
But that fixed stare Of the judges
continued. No, the man had not
lchanged-he had grown older certain
lily, but age had not come ungracefully;
he became the glossy broadcloth and
Ispotless linen he wore. Here was a
man who could command the good
things of life, using them with a
Irrational temperance. The room itself
Twas in harmony with his character; II
was plain but rich in its appointments,
at once his library and his office. while
the well-filled cases ranged about the
walls showed his tastes to be in the
main scholarly and Intellectual
How long have you lived here?''
asked the Judge abruptly. Fentress
seemed to hesitate; but the judges
glance, compelling and insistent, de-
manded an answer.
Ten years"
You have known many men of all
classes as a lawyer and planter" said
the Judge Fentress inclined his head.
1.-The Judge took a step nearer him.
l"People have a great trick Of coming
and going in these western states
all sorts Of damned riffraff drift in
and out of these new lands" A deadly
earnestness lifted the judges words
above mere rudeness. Fentress, cold
and distant, made no reply. For the
past twenty years Thave been looking
for a man bv the name of Gatewood-
David Gatewood." Disciplined as he
was, the colonel started violently.
Ever heard of him. Fentress?" de-
manded the Judge with a savage
scowl.
Whats all this to me?" The words
came with a gasp from Fentress
twitching lips. The judge looked at
him moody and frowning.
| II have reason to think this man
Gatewood came to west Tennessee"
he said.
1 IF so. I have never heard Of him."
| Perhaps not under that name-at
any rate you are going to hear Of him
now. This man Gatewood. who be-
tween ourselves was a damned scoun-
drel"-the colonel winced-"this man
Gatewood had q friend who threw
money and business in his way-a
planter he was. same as Gatewood. A
sort of partnership existed between the
pair. 1t proved an expensive enter
prise for Gatewood's friend, since he
came to trust the damned scoundrel
more and more as time passed-even
large sums of his money were in Gate
woods hands" the Judge paused.
Fentress' countenance was like stone.
as expressionless and as rigid.
BY the door stood Mahaffy with
Yancy and Cavendish; they understood
that what was obscure and meaning
less to them held a tragic significance
to these two men. The judges heavy
face, ordinarily battered and debauch-
ed, but infinitely good-natured, bore
now the markings Of deep passion, and
the voice that rumbled from his capa-
cious chest came to their ears like dis
tant thunder
This friend of Gatewood's had a
wife" The judges voice broke. emo
ton shook him like a leaf. he was tear
ing open his wounds. He reached over
and poured himself a drink, sucking
it down with greedy lips. There was
80 ho x,h 81 cd oh on hfo hQQI
and faced Fentress again. There was
a wife, Fentress-" he fixed Fentress
with his blazing eyes. "A wife and
child. Well, one day Gatewood and the
wife were missing. Under the circum-
stances Gatewood's friend was we'll
rid of the pair-he should have been
grateful, but he wasn't, for his wife
took his child, a daughter; and Gate
wood a trife Of thirty thousand dol
lars his friend had intrusted to him!"
There was another silence.
AT a later day 1 met this man who
had been betrayed by his wife and
robbed by his friend. He had fallen
out Of the race-drink had done for
him-there was just one thing he
seemed to care about and that was
the fate Of his child, but maybe he
was only curious there. He Won
dered If she had lived, and married."
Once more the judge paused.
Whats all this to me?" asked Fen
tress.
Are you sure it's nothing to you?"
demanded the Judge, hoarsely. Under
stand this, Fentress. Gatewood's
treachery brought ruin to at least two
lives. 1t caused the woman's father
to hide his face from the world: 1t
wasn't enough for him that his friends
believed his daughter dead; he knew
differently, and the shame Of that
knowledge ate into his soul. 1t cost
the husband his place in the world,
too-in the end 1t made Of him vag-
abond and a penniless wanderer."
This is nothing to me-" said Fen
tress.
Wait" cried the Judge. About six
years ago the woman was seen at her
fathers home in North Carolina. I
lreckon Gatewood had cast her off. She
didn't go back empty handed. She had
run away from her husband with a
child-a girl; after a lapse Of twenty
years she returned to her father with
a boy of two or three. There are two
Questions that must he answered when
I find Gatewood: what became Of the
woman and what became Of the child;
are they living or dead; did the daugh-
ter grow up and marry and have a
son? When / get my answer 1t will
be time enough to think Of Gatewood's
punishment" The judge leaned for
ward across the table, bringing his
face close to Fentress' face Look at
Ime-do you know me now?"
i But Fentress' expression never al
tered. The Judge fell back a step.
"Fentress, want the boy" he said
quietly.
What boy?"
My grandson"
You are mad! What do 1 know Of