Wallowa County chieftain. [volume] (Enterprise, Or.) 1909-1911, 1910-07-21

IA fore Colonel MOreau. nsrk-
sS eniRg az length TO the call OF
t the river. returned 10 his old
haunts IN New Orleans When he did
so il was 10 learn that his supposed
victim had entirely recovered from the
effects OF the honorable combat" and.
in conjunction with his partner. had
reOccupisd his old niche OF fame
premier professional gambler OF the
Mississippi Quite aside from all tlDan-
cial reasons-the fact that z mere
skillful and successful rival was gar
nerius the major spOils OF the river
the news OF bis victims recovery was
seriously disquietinG TO the honorable
colonel. and had he been fOTewarned
he might have indefinitely prolonged
his acquaintance with the more health
ful climate OF Mexico He knew that
Kirby was NOT the type Of man 10 for
get or cOndoue 8 bullet in the back
or the smirchiug OF whsTeveT little ~
mained OF his once fair reputation.
and had he even remotely suspected
that he would recover he (MOreaul
huutu ubA u&l = N4tF - l-AlAtN 81
fully and with such abandon TO young
Randall How much did the boy now
know? That was the all important
question. Kirby. Of course. had learn
ed that he stood accused OF the late
John Randalrs suicide but had he
taken the trouble TO refute liz Mo
reau did not think so. and Moreau
was right
Kirby had but vaguely heard OF the
unjust accusation and having been
long since casehardened to calumny
in all its phases. paid little If any at
tsntion- Had any member Of the Ran
dali family sought him out he would.
as g matter OF duty. have proved his
innocence But they. believing him
dead. had not done so. and he refused
10 take the initiative. partly because he
could not give absolute credence To
the rumor. but in q greater measure
because OF the demands upon his
time After all. ii did not matter Ii
meant only another tally 10 the score
OF Jack Mereau. and all would be
wiped out by that gentleman's death.
an undertaking upon which he had
definitely decided What stood be-
tween them could be eradicated only
By the bullet
Meanwhile the passing year ha
brought with it many changes for the
surviving members OF the Randall fam
ily. Life Is tenacious. and they had
persisted in surviving as best they
could the shock incident upon their
fathers suicide. The one small meas
ure Of satisfaction in the whole ter
rible affair was the knowledge that the
despoiler Of their nome had promptly
met MS death and that In consequence
they We're AT least saved from pauper-
zatiOn. for they were entirely igno-
rant Of Kirby's recovery or the meas
ures he had voluntarily taken for their
protection.
To the only girl. Adele. had fallen
the brunt Of suffering The General.
child Of eight. was too young TO fully
comprehend his loss. while Tom. a
hot headed youth in his early twenties.
occupied all mis- time with the planta-
ton and devoted all spare moments TO
nursing mis- hatred against Kirby's
memory. While glorying in the lat
ter's supposed death he depiored that
his hand mad not effected il Where
grief had paralyzed Adele it had but
further aroused the boys militant and
aggressive nature. adding. moreover. a
veneer Of youthful and bitter cynicism.
He abhorred hirbyis memory with an
intensity passing the hatred Of man
and. even had he been z stranger to
the then prevailing and primitive no
ti0ns Of justice. would. had ne known
the other lived. have Immediately
sought him OUT and killed him. II his