The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1925-11-17
I've been laying for your

tOrted; It was the cOuntcnance of a |
maniac. His words were loud and
uncannily distinct, and the sound of |
them had brought brcathlcss hush
over the place. At the moment of
Dorct's entrance the occupants Of
the saloon seemed pctriied; they
stood rooted in their tracks as if the
anger in that menacing voice had
halted them in mid-action. 'Poleon,
too, turned cold, for it seemed to
him that he had opened the door
! upon roomful of wax figures posed
in thcatric postures. Then in the.
flash OF an eye the scene dissolved
into action, swift and terrifying.
What happened was so unexpect-
ed, it came with such lack OF
warning. that few of the witnesses,
even though they beheld every
move, were able later to agree fully
upon details. Whether Kirby actu-
ally fired the first shot, or whether
his attempt to do SO spurred his
antagonist to lightning quickness,'
was long matter of dispute. In q
flash the room became a place of
deatening echoes. Shouts Of protest,
Wells Of fright. the crash OF over
turning furniture, the stamp of fee
ing feet mingled with the loud cx-
| plosion Of gunshots--pandemoniuin.
fortunately the troupe Of women
who had been here earlier were gone
and the tent was by no means
crowded. Even so, there were
enough men present to raise a
mighty turmoil. Some of them took
shelter behind the bar, others be-
hind the stove and the tables: some
boltcd heading for the door; still
others hurled themselves bodily
against the canvas walls and ripped
their way cut.
The duel wa. over almost as
quickly as it had begun. Sam kir-
by's opponent rccleG backward and
fetched up against the bar; above
the din his l1oarSe voice rose:
He started it'll You saw him !!
Tried to kill met
He. waved a smoking pistol-barrci
at the gambler. who had sunk to his
knees. Even while he was shouting
out his plea for justification Kirby
slid forward upon his face and the
fingers OF his outstrctched hand
slowly Embossed themselves from his
gun.
1t had been a shocking, sicken-
ing affair, the effect OF it had been
intensified by reason OF its uneX-
pcctedness, and now, although 1t
was over. excitement gathered fury
Men burst forth from their places OF
concealncnt and made Tor the open
air: the structure vonited its occu'
pants out into the snow.
'Poleon Doret had been swept
aside, then borne backward ahead
OF that stampede, and at length
found himself wcdged into corner
Hc heard the victor repeating: You
saw him. Tried to kill mel The
speaker turned Diancncu lace a::1
giaring eyes upon those witnesses
who still remained. "He's Sam
Kirby. l had to get him or he'd
have got me-" He pressed a hand
to his side. then raised it; it was
smearcd with blood. In blank stp'
pcfaction the man stared at this
phenomenon.
Dorct was the first to reach that
motionless figure sprawled face
down upon the floor; it was he
who lifted the gray head and spoke
Kirby's name. A swift examination
was enough to make quite sure tina,
the old man was beyond all help
Outside, curiosity had done its work
and the human tide was setting
back into the wrecked saloon
When 'Poleon rose with the body III
his arms he was surrounded by q
clamorous crowd. Through it l,e
bore tho lon,p figure to the cloth
covered card-tablc, and there, among
the scattered eniblems Of Sam kir'
by's calling, 'Polcon deposited his
burden. BY those cards and those
cclluloid disks the old gambler hac
made his living; grim fitness was IN
the fact that they should carpet his
bier.
Wien 'Poleon Doret had forced
his Way by main strength out of tho
Gold Belt Saloon, he removed hi:
cap and, turning his face to the
wind, he .breathed deeply OF the
cool, clean air. His brow was moist
lie let the snowAakcs fall upon it the
while he shut his eyes and strovc tc
think. Engaged thus, he heard
Lucky Broad address him.
j. With the speaker was Kid
Bridges: that they had come hithci
on the run was plain, for they were
painting.
whats this about Kirby?" Lucky
gaspcd. la
1--WE heard he's just been
croakcd!' the. Kid exclaimed.
I. 'Po1eon nodded. Il seen it all
He had it ,ccnlin' to him." and with
gesture he seemed to brusl, hid.
cous picture from before his eyes.
"Old Sam! Dead"
! Broad, it seemed, was incrcdulous
Hc undertook to bore his way into
the crowd that was pressing through,
the saloon door, but Doret seized
him.
.Wait!" cried the latter. "Da,
amt all: dat amt dc worst"
i "sayi Where's Letty:" Bridges
inquired. "Was she with him when
it happened? Does she know Z
Oats wat I'm goin to tell you. =
In few words 'Poleon made known
the girls condition, how he had hap.
pcncd to encounter her, and how lie
had been looking for her father
when the tragedy occurred. His
listeners showed their amazcmcnt
and their concern.
Il "Gosh! >That's tough" 1t was
Broad speaking. "Me m the Kid
had struck camp and was on our
way down to fix up our boat when
we heard about the KILN. We
! couldn't believe it, for Sam"