mstances, the mere creature and instrument of that unprincipled
wretch.

Whatever may have been the crimes of Munro beyond those already
developed--known to and in the possession of Rivers--and whatever the
nature of those ties, as well of league as of mutual risk, which bound
the parties together in such close affinity, it is not necessary that we
should state, nor, indeed, might it be altogether within our compass or
capacity to do so. Their connection had, we doubt not, many
ramifications; and was strengthened, there is little question, by a
thousand mutual necessities, resulting from their joint and
frequently-repeated violations of the laws of the land. They were both
members of an irregular club, known by its constituents in Georgia as
the most atrocious criminal that ever offended society or defied its
punishments; and the almost masonic mysteries and bond which
distinguished the members provided them with a pledge of security which
gave an added impetus to their already reckless vindictiveness against
man and humanity. In a country, the population of which, few and far
between, is spread over a wide, wild, and little-cultivated territory,
the chances of punishment for crime, rarely realized, scarcely
occasioned a thought among offenders; and invited, by the impunity which
marked their atrocities, their reiterated commission. We have digressed,
however, somewhat from our narrative, but thus much was necessary to the
proper understanding of the portions immediately before us, and to the
consideration of which we now return.

The moment was inopportune, as we have already remarked, at which Lucy
Munro endeavored to effect her return to her own apartment. She was
compelled, for the attainment of this object, to cross directly over the
great hall, from the room adjoining and back of which the little
shed-room projected in which she lodged. This hall was immediately
entered upon from the passage-way, leading into the court in front, and
but a few steps were necessary for its attainment. The hall had but a
single outlet besides that through which she now entered, and this led
at once into the adjoining apartment, through which only could she make
her way to her own. Unhappily, this passage also contained the stairway
flight which led into the upper story of the building; and, in her haste
to accomplish her return, she had penetrated too far to effect her
retreat, when a sudden change of direction in the light which Ri