attention and turn the matter into a public
scandal. The favor he asked of me was to transport his trusted friend Doctor
Menting to Turtle Island to quietly bring his daughter home. This all seemed a
simple enough task to secure a very favorable agreement with Hendriks, so I
agreed and Hendriks promised to have his people, Menting and Hector at the dock
in time to sail with the morning tide two days hence.

At the appointed time Hendriks people arrived. Doctor
Menting was a young man, tall and thin with an easy smile and a look of a
university student about him. His companion, the German Hector, was an odd duck.
He was not a young man, but looked to be a man of action. I was a bit unsettled
to see both men had included aboth front windows
and two of the slaves fell in the front yard. After that initial volley, the
slaves turned as if on command and shuffled away toward the undergrowth.“Cease fire!” called Hector, I suppose to
preserve our limited powder and shot, and soon our assailants were nowhere to
be seen.

Saturday, November 14, 2015

It was a beautiful autumn evening in Charleston.The new Governor was having a reception and,
as one of our towns most prominent citizens, I and my dear wife of 40 years
were invited. I’ve never been much of a dancer, nor have I the skill of idle
chatter. My wife was on the other side of the room with her friends and I found
myself discussing ships with the Governor, a man who had spent considerable
time at sea in his youth. When he