He knew too well the character of Rivers, and was too much
in his power, to risk much in opposition to his will and desires: and,
as we have already heard him declare, from having been at one time, and
in some respects, the tutor, he had now become, from the operation of
circumstances, 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.
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