White Cloud Kansas chief. [volume] (White Cloud, Kan.) 1857-1872, 1859-05-26


: pleased the bully better than to hear th
stranger refuse to drink; for he had lon
since resolved upon quarrel with him
first. from natural malice secondly, be
cause he believed him one to be casii
disposed of; and thirdly, because Il
might TINS make grand display of hi
fighting qualities. with little or no risk t
! himself-a very important consideration
when we bear in mind that all such char
acters are arrant towards at heart.
$50 you don't drink, Ell ?" he said t,
the stranger. "D'ye hear that, gentle
men % appealing to the crowd. "Now
everybody round here, has to drink o
! fight And so walking up to the trav
eller. } you've got to do one or t'other-
which shall it be ?"
81 do not wish to do either" was th,
reply; "but drink 1 will not %
Then fight you shall !'' cried the 9th
er, closing the sentence with wicked
oath, and at the same time laying hi,
hand upon the hilt of his bowle-knife,
and partly drawing it from its sheath.
"Do you intend TO murder me =? or give
me chance for my life ?" inquired the
stranger. with GOODNESS that astonished
those who, looking upon his fine, delicate
features. and slender figure, expected to
see him shrink back in alarm and dismay
"Give you chance. in course % re-
turned the bully. in a less confident tone
for he. too. had expected to see the
other succumb at once
"Do you challenge me to fair combat?'
inquired the other.
ain course 1 do" clustered Kelser
eve don't do nothing else in this country,
but the fair thing"
The affair now began to look serious.
Gentlemen" said the traveller, with
polite bow to the company in general,
"you know how quietly l came in here,
and how inofFensively / conducted myself
afterwards and you have seen how this
man has ventured beyond all rules OF
good breeding. and stepped out of his
way to insult and fix quarrel upon me.
Now, then, as l am a stranger here
though one who has always heard much
of Southern chivalry--I wish to know
how many of you will agree to stand by
and see fair play %
"All all of MS % was the almost ST.
multaneous response. lyon shall have
fair play. stranger -
The bully turned slightly pale. and
seemed more discomposed and uneasy.
81 thank you, gentlemen, for convinc-
ing me. by your offer, that You are gov
erned by Justice and honor" pursued the
traveller; and now l will prove to you
that this man is a cowardly braggadocio.
or else one of ms shall not quit this place
alive 1t is understood that am chal-
lenged to single fight, is it not ?"
There was a general response in the
affirmative.
"The challenged party. 1 believe. has
the choice of weapons, time and place ?"
Another affirmative responsible bull
ly looked still paler and more anxious.
"Well, then. gentlemen, not being
handy with the knife, and wishing
an equal chance for life, propose to leave
the result to fate, and so test the courage
of my opponent. Any man can stand mp
for fight, il he knows he has the best Of
it--but only true courage can coolly face
uncertainty--and my insulter boasts Of
fearing nothing. My proposition is this:
Let two pistols be selected-one to be
loaded-and both be concealed under
cloth upon this table. Then my fighting
friend and myself shall draw one by lot,
point the drawn one at the heart of his
foe, and pull the trigger-the unarmed
one standing firm, and receive the charge
or not. as heaven shall will ! Is not this
fair 90
Perfectly fair % conceded all except
Kelser, who demurred, and swore that
nobody but Yankee would ever have
thought of such heathenish way Of do
ing business.
ibid not tell you he was a coward
this fellow-who few minutes ago fear
ed neither man nor the devil % sneered
the stranger, thus drawing laugh from
the company, who now seemed to be all
on his side.
The landlord now objected to the affair
taking place in his house-but one Of the
company taking him aside. and whisper
ing in his ear, he made no further oppo-
sition.
Accordingly, Kelser reluctantly con-
senting, one was chosen to prepare the
pistols, which were Immediately produ-
ced and in less than ten minutes they
were placed under q cloth upon the table.
al waive all right to the first choice"
said the stranger, as be and Kelser were
brought face to face in their proper posi-
tons.
The bully. who was really very much
alarmed-and who showed it in his pale
face. trembling limbs. and quivering mus
cles-at once seemed to brighten at this
concession !; and thrusting his hand I'M
der the cloth, he drew forth one of the
weapons, presented it at the breast Of the
other, and pulled the trigger.
1t did not Ere; but the stranger, who
knew not that it was unloaded, neither
blanched nor changed expression. The
crowd applauded, and the bully grew
gbastly pale
Ter. in quiet, determined tone, fixing
his blue eye steadily upon the covering
form Of Kelser. =,
This was more than the latter could
stand.