The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-02-06
USE THE BEST. ova ssw

named Watkins called upon me and pre-
sented a note from Adams. l opened il
aud found it 20 be challenge.
What should dos
What / ought TO do was very plain.
The lesson OF life which my mother had
taught me did not leave me TO doubt. i
ought TO have gone 10 Adams and made
such offers of Cancellation as one gentle
man may honorably make to another, and
IL he had rejected that could have simply
turned from him and refused TO do fur
ther wrong to right the wrong already
done. But / had not the courage TO do
that. 1 was n coward.
| accepted the challenge.
The sooner is Is over the better" re-
marked Watkins
Certainly. responded. Let it be
this very day, at sunset, upon the rivers
bank. l will send friend to you TO make
further arrangements.
And the weapons."
Pistols
And so it was fixed.
An hour afterward found John Price,
young physician, who agreed TO act as
my second. He did not urge me 10 aban-
don the idea, nor did he enter upon the
work as though he loved 1t, but he did IL
because he fancied L was determined L
knew that Adams was a good shot, and 10
knew that / Vas the same, for we had
practiced together so there was no advan-
tage to either in the weapons.
/ After dinner Price came to me and told
me that all was arranged.
/ After Price had gone sas down and
wrote two letters. What a coward L was
to write then.l One was to my mother
and the other to the girl who bad promised
to be my wife As sit now and think Of
that hour ] shudder-the hour when L
wrote to my mother and to my betrotbed.
White Heart ledge was high, perpen-
dicular wall of granite rising above the
river, the top crowned with dark trees IL
received its name from a peculiar mark,
where a mass Of white quartz appeared,
half way up tho ledge, IN the form OK a
heart.
I Late in the afternoon / was upon the
sandy shore beneath the ledge, and almost
| at the same time Adams made his appear
/ ance We were both anxious 10 be thought
/ brave men. He did not >peak TO me, nor
did speak TO him. Our seconds conferred
Z awhile together, and then Price came to
my side.
Must this thing 20 on" ne asked.
/ told him did not know how it conld
be stopped. / lied, For did know.
He Informed me that II / would mako
the least overture of peace he felt sure that
/ Adams would accept it.
Il think" be said, that Adams Is sor-
~. for what has happened. You struck
him, and he cannot Tetract."
And be called me a liar"
You ara both good shots" added Price,
land if you fire together you may both
fall
But dared not offer the hand Of con-
ciliation. i told him / was ready.
He went back To Watkins, and pretty
soon they measured of the ground-l2
PAGES We were TO stand back to back,
those 12 PAGES apart. We were to turn at
the word one, raise our pistols at two,
and at the word three we were TO fire /
caught the eye Of Adams a. i took my po-
sition. and was sure that no angry pas
sion dweIt tbUrein. For an instant tie i'm
pulse was with me to throw down my pis-
toll and offer him my hand, but had not
the ccIrage 20 do it,
Our seconds hcsitated az though they
saw what was passing in our thoughts,
but we offered 10 wcrd, and they proceed
ed The word "Onei' was given. i cannot
tell all the feelings that came crowGing
upon me at that moment. thought Of my
mother 10 her distant home. I thought Cf
the scenes Of my carly childhood. /
thought % my college Gays, when Adams
had been 10y friend and chum- ! thought
Of the holy love which had beamed upon
me since l had grown 90 mans estate.
and thought that In one short minute
more the black pail might cover il all.
Watkins was loTg time in prcnoune-
Ing the word Two he evidently hoped
that che Of Us would relent, but he hoped
Ia vain
Only breath held back the last fatal
word. As we raised Cur pistols a sharp,
agonized cry. "a from a breaking heart,
burst upon the air, and in another mo
nent two light shadows fitted upun the
scene i was prisoner Adams vas
prisoner. Our pistols isy UaG.seBarsed
upon the sand
TIE tsyo girls who loved - b.ttsr than
we loved ourselves had guessed our secret.
Love has sharp eyes Clsra Nolrott knew
Iaban's hot temper. she had only 70
whisper her s1spicions % Mary. and two
ste pleas scniinels were upon "a
In an !Bstan, resolved 10 Re q man
Will the arms d rny beloved sSiil euclr-
sling re. stretched forth TnT hand. bgt
] vas not in advance 81 LAtan- As though
TIC spirit moved u, our hands LIE. nsia-
way.
- have beoa q foci, said I-abzn-
''and have been q fool AID a coward,
I said
We retu-ned from The dark ground !ast
ss the day was sofssuisg into twilight
End from that EoEr AGzIs and TsSs<H
-eFe fast friends, and they ~bo mad ssrod
IS from the great crime entered upon TIE
life path WITH us AID hare h.eese4 Ia ever
= oce.-CinciDnat! Post
Koran 1rzst&
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