The Durham recorder. [volume] (Durham, N.C.) 1879-19??, 1910-06-23

v
have heard"
Young Randall nodded duly, ant
Morenu, entering into the spirit Of thu
taIe, continued: II fohmed an acquaint
ance, sub, with yoh poh father when
be came aboard at New Orleans. Hf
con6ded to every one that be had solo
bis sugar crop fob ten thousand and
had the cash with him, and he was
In mighty high spirits because he was
on his way back home to see his chill
dren.. Poh gentleman! As delicately
a. can | must state that he was moi
quite himself, and by that. sub. mean
that he had been imbibing little tor
freely. don't have to tell yoh. sub
that there are certain characters on all
the big boats who keep pretty SHARP
lookout fob gentlemen with money who
are in the condition yoh poh father
sub, was in tonight and ] expect there
was more than one river gambler on
board who would have liked to get his
hands on Mr.. Randall. But the ont
who got him was the slickest and cley
crest Of the lot, the Cameo Kirby
whom l have mentioned. This rascal
sub, inveigled yoh poh father into q
private stateroom, piled him with mol
liquor and won from him not only all
his money and personal effects-eyen
including a miniature of yoh dead
mother, suh-but also deed to his en-
tire plantation and all his slaves, every
thing which he owned. | was too late
to save Mr.. Randall, but knew Kirby
by repute, and l was SO screamingly
outraged by the whole affair that de
nounced him fob the low scoundre
he was. Thereupon he drew on me, bu
i was the quicker and shot him down
Ike a dog. They carried him ashore
sub. at the landing below this, and the
river is cleaner fob his DEATH"
"You have taken vengeance out Of
my hands," ssid young Randall un
steadily. The coward and villain
For stranger. sir, the attitude which
you have displayed toward my family
has been most considerable, and will
never forget 1t. Tbe-the hospitality Of
a house In mourning
mo. no, my boy" interrupted Mo
reau, again employing his fatherly
hand Il am sensible of the honor
but I couldn't think of 1t. This Is 9
time when yoh all must wish to b.
alone, and business calls me north.
merely stepped ashore In yoh interests
as any gentleman would have done
There goes the bell. and I must rur
for 1t. Honored. sub, to have made
yoh acquaintance, though Of co'se
deeply deplore the necessity which &C
casioned 1t. I VIII venture to pay my
respects to yoh family when I returr
south, and pray command me in any
| occasion yoh may have. Yoh servant
sub" And with magnificent bow
the colonel turned and raced for th,
gangplank. boarding the Shotwell witt
a leap that slammed his fifty odd years
Meanwhile Cameo Kirby, bulle
through his right lung. was making ,
desperate battle against death, fight
| ing for the life which he had consid
cred little better than worthless. II
bis efforts he was materially assiste,
by the crude but faithful Bunce, hi
gambling partner, with whom be ha,
played up and down the Mississippi
for years. For two weeks this com
bat ragged. Kirby lowering between III
and death. but at the end he emerge
triumphant as. over the gaming tabl,
when the odds were as heavily agains
him, he had emerged from many {
hotly contested conflict.
To those who judged Kirby's charac
ter from the evil reports which GOSSIP
had spread concerning him and to 9th
ers who. In their righteous ignorance
considered all gamblers legitimate chill
dren Of the devil his remarkable re
covery would have been accepted mere
ly as another proof that the evil one
favors his own, that the mills Of tho
gods grind slowly, that justice is blind
and that scoundrel Is difficult to kill
together with many similar ancient
and redoubtable maxims which igno
rance and self righteousness love Il
distribute on every fitting occasion.
Among possessors of the last men
toned attribute Eugene Kirby was
regarded as a black sheep who, re
llgiously avoiding the whitewash
brush, was deemed beyond redemp-
ton, for what man worthy Of the
name would have acted as had the
last of the Kirbys? What IL he had
been but fifteen when his father died
a bankrupt? What II he had been
left an orphan. pauper. with no i'm.
mediate relative TO care how he acted
Wasn't the heritage Of an ancient and
honorable name. the knowledge that
some Of the Oldest and best blood IN
all the south flowed In his veins.
enough TO keep him straight? Most
assuredly Il was. There was abso.
lutely no excuse for his drifting II.
with wild and dissolute companions.
becoming a common river gambler and
rendering notorious and obnoxious a
name which had hitherto been the
synonym for honor and integrity.
Kirby had been kept In ignorance
Of Mr.. Randall's suicide. but when al
length he became convalescent Lar
kin Bunce. barking back to the events
Of that memorable night. informed
him. and the invalid. on his part. re.
counted the occurrences preceding
Colonel Moreau's precipitation Of the
honorable" combat.
ssTho nexs az Mr. Rapdailsa death fe