The National tribune., 1901-12-05

1 gin. WIN "tAtuF, anu he IOtk IL
to her. so heEwent and got appointed
her guardian
| n here's surnthin' back O. that, now,
| do ye jiSt mark my word; thar's sumthn'
| back q all that. Old La Roomc don't
do nothin' that he don't see a dollar in.
J;ist what he's up to no one knows, but
Yes; but George took the girl away
from the Sheriff"
Did right, too
~ hats what | say, though mother
thinks may be he made n mistake. Ye
see, Eunice II be of age in little more
than a year, an won't need any
guardian"
Then, La Boone can't git her.
Not after she's of age"
We'll, now that's all very good. |
wish they'd hang that old cuss. What
dye think ii be done in your lawSuitT'
Il don't know. | am going to make the
very hardest fight l can for my proper
ty;" ,.
That's the right thing to do" At this
| moment dinner was announced and they
arose and went to the entry" where the
table had been spread.
Mr.. McNair reached st. Charles with
out accident or adventure, and went to
the tavern. Next day he hunted up the
Sheriff, whom he found getting ready to
| go to the country.
Good mornin', Mr. McNair. Glad t
see you. Come t look after yer suit, did
yeT'
..Yes. SIR"
We'll, hope yen come out nil right"
Il want TO talk with you," said the
pioneer.
"Oh, 1 amt got nothin' to do with it
now," the Sheriff explained. II jist
served the writ, an then it goes into tn
hands o. the clerk and lawyers. Fact is,
I'd he glad t see We beat that old skin
flint" he added in an undertone; but 1
don't say nOtbin'."
1T isn't that | want to talk with you
about. / want n good, long talk"
We'll, I'm goin' to Loutre Island, an
got to start right away, so I've got mighty
| little time now to talk Better wait un-
| til | come back"
When will you be back?"
"Oh, in two or three days"
Much as he disliked to wait two or
| three days before he brOached the subject
of his sons exoneration, Mr.. McNair
knew that under the circumstances 1t was
best TO do so. He went back to his tav-
ern to wait and mediate. A little thought
convinced him that the two or three days
need not be lost. He intended going to
st. Louis to consult with Judge Lucas,
and would go while the Sheriff was
away.
He ordered his horse and crossed the
river on the flat-bottomed ferry-bOat pro-
PEELED by two negroes.
He reached st. Louis, and found Lucas
in the town. He was very much con-
cerned over the admission of the Terri
tory rs State, and the wonderful popu-
Iarity of his opponent and personal en-
emy Benton. Judge Lucas was the soul
of honor, and highly respected by all who
knew him, save his political enemies. He
listened to Mr.. McNair and said:
ut lies wholly with the Sheriff and
Prosecuting Attorney, Mr.. McNair.
think if the matter was placed before
them in the proper light, ycu could have
the cause dismissed. The boy, for | take
it he is no more than a boy, was hot
blooded and rash, and it has been several
months since the offense was committed
Yes, sir I
"The officers are reasonable men, and
will no doubt dismiss the case, or consent
to merely nominal fine: Have you seen
them about the nIatterT
Not yet; / went to see the Sheriff,
and he was starting to Lcutre Island"
Boone, and he told Judge Lucas what
his son had said in reference to evidence
which would defeat La Boone.
What could that evidence be?' he
asked. Judge Lucas did not know, and
his dark eye grew moist as he remem-
bered his son cut off in the prime of life,
a victim to ambition.
That evening as he was going to his
tavern Mr.. McNair was met by gentle
man dressed in the pink of perfection,
and whose manner and address would
have done credit to the proverbial French
dancing master.
From the silkcn cravat, rufflcd shirt
front, to the broad-checked trousers and
small, patent-lcather boots. he was all
that dress could make him. Excuse me,
sir; but is not this Mr.. Thomas McNair"
asked the stranger.
Yes, sir" answered the pioneer, in
some little amazement.
Well, sir, i wanted to speak with you
on little matter of business. If you are
going to the tavern, and do not ObeJct,
will accompany you, as the matter of
which | wish to speak is one not to be
discussed on the street. 1t is Il sort of
'sub-rosa, you know"
WHO are you? asked the pioneer.
Il am William Muldrom, sir. That is
my cognomen, and | hail from the great
State of Kentucky, miltum in poryo.'
The pioneer understood as little of his
Latin interjectiOns as he did the cause
of his visit.
He had heard of "Old Bill Muldrom,"
as he was called, though he was not an
old man, by any means. or all the strange
characters who at times have excited the
wonder and admiration of the pioneer of
the West, none ever equaled old Bill Null
drom for daring schemes, bOundless am
btion and bold and often successful mas
ter strokes in financial affairs. At one
time when he was at the zenith Of his
glory there was not a negro, man, woman
or child, in all the Boone's Lick country
who did not know old Bill Muldrom.
No prominent lawyer in st. Louis es-
capped him. He promised royal fees, but
collecting them was quite another thing. |
1t was said Muldrom came from Mul |
drom Hill, Kentucky. and landed in Mis- |
souri, without dollar. He at once be |
gan to lay claim to every fine body of |
land in the country. The very audacity |
and bOldness of his operations astounded |
and disarmed the simple frontier people. |
He was one of the most superb specimens |
of physical manhood Mr.. McNair ever |
saw, and was the best dressed man in the |
town. He wore spOtless linen ruffled |
shirt-front and a magnificent cloak lined |
with costly furs. The very appearance |
of such man in the log cabins of the
new country at their meetings in the
log churches was enough to set people to
to accede to his claims to almost any
Of an education, he boldly laid claim to
all the learning of the times. Possessing
fine conversational power, he would have
made himself conspicuous in any circle
Of society, which, combined with his great
personal magnetism. made il easy for him
TO deceive the people into the belief that
he was profound lawyer, a graduate in
and a man in whose brain
learning had her seat, and whose tongue
was familiar with every language, from
Il