Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-10-03

/ tCIoJ DOtu yOuD5 SliiS, WIZ WILL lo" ~
homeless and penniless."
He laughed, and the sound Of that
laugh was more cruel than the accom-
panying words.
1.-Two daughters!" he sneered: "Ac-
eording to my Information that strains
the relationship trlfle,- friend Knox
at least the late judge never took. the
trouble to acknowledge the fact. Per.
NIT me to correct your statement. ]
happen to know more about Beau.
caire's private affairs than you d0.f He
leaves one daughter only. / have
never met the young lady, but ] under.
stand from excellent authority that
she possesses independent means
through the death some years ago OF
her mother. 1 shall therefore not
worry about her loss-and, indeed, she
need meet with none, for IL she only
prove equal to all I have heard ] may
/ yet be induced to make her a PROPOSE.
tion."
"a Aproposition?"
tTO remain on the plantation as Its
mistress-plainly, an offer Of marriage,
If you please. Not such bad idea,
is it?" -.
/ I stood speechless, held nnotionless
only by the pressing muzgle Of his pis'
tol,. the. cold-blooded vfllainy cr the
man striking me dumb. This then hat
probably been his real purpose from
the start. He had followed Beaucairt
! deliberately with this final end In view
-of running him, and thus compelling
>his daughter to yield. herself.
"Apd you actually mean that yor
propose now to force Judge Beau
caire's daughter to marry you% ~
"Well, hardly, that, although 4 shall
use whatever means I possess. / In
tend to win her If can, fair means, OF
foul"
drew deep breath, comprehend
ing now the full iniquity Of his plot
and .braelng myself to fight it. !
f"And what about the other girl
Kirby? for there Is another girl"
"Yes," rather indifferently, "there IL
another"
"0f course you know who she Isl"
"Certaihly-a niger, white mig
ger; the supposed iflegitimate daugh
ter of Adelbert Beaucaire, and q slave
woman. There is, no reason why 1
should fret about her. Is theref Sht
.is9my property already by law" he
laughed again, the same. ugly sneerina
laugh of triumph, 'That was why
was so particular about the wording Of
that bill of saleI would rather have
her than the whole bunch Of field
hands," 49, IA.
"You believe then the girl has never
been freed-either she. or her
motherY' rEIs>
Believe? ] know. I tell you'll never
play any game with my eyes shut"
"And you actually intend toto
hold her as a SLAYER ie..se, g
"Well, I'll look her over first before
I decide4she would be worth a pot
full Of money down the river"
The contemptuous, utterly indlffer.
ent manner in which lie voiced his yll-
lainous purpose, would have crazed
any man. To me this utterance was
the last straw, breaking down every
restraint, and leaving me hot, and
furious with anger. I forgot the muzt
zle of the pistol pressed against my
side, and the menacing threat in
Kirby's low voice. The face of the
man was indistinct, mere outline,
but the swift impulse to strike at 1t
1 was irresistible, and let him have the
blow-a straight-arm jab to the jaw.
My clinched knuckles crunched against
the flesh, and he reeled back, kept
from falling only by the support of
the deckhouse. There was no report
of weapon, no outcry, yet, before /
could strike again, ] was suddenly
gripped from behind by pair of arms,
which closed about my throat like 70
wise, throttling me instantly into silent
helplessness. 1 struggled madly to
break free, .straining with all the art
of a wrestler, exerting every ounce Of
Strength, but the grasp which held me
was unyielding, robbing me of breath,
and defepting every effort to call for
help. Kirby, dazed yet by>my sudden
blow, grew eager to take u hand in the
affray, struck me q 6owardly blow In
the face, and swung his undischarged
pistol to a level with my eyes.
% you'll" he calculated, and for
the first time his voice really ex-
hibited temper. "'d.kill you with this,
but for the nolse. No, by God there
is safer way than that to settle with
youf Have you got the skunk, Carver?"
"You can bet I have, Joe. / kin
choke the life out O. him-shall IT,
"No; lct up bit-iust enough so he
can answer me first. l want TO find
out what all this means. Now look
here, Knox, what is oil this to your
why are you butting in on my gamer
Was BeaucaIre friend Of yours?"
81 can hardly claim that" I admit
ted. ."We never met r~til I came
aboard this steamer. All I am inter-
ested in is justice to Others"
'To others? Oh, suppose you mean