There he became acquainted with a gentleman who had recently left New Orleans for his health, having slain his distinguished foeman in a duel, and who intended staying away until the affair blew over.
In a conversation with this man, the giant became acquainted with several things that entirely changed the tenor of his ideas, and an understanding followed between them.
When Red Goliath started on the trail of vengeance, he had no intention of restoring Adele to her mother for a ransom, as a much larger sum had been offered him than he could ever expect from the lady, to carry her away to a point from whence she should never return, and the duelist had even hinted that he should not weep very much should news of her death reach him.
The truth of the matter was that Adele Pierrepont and her brother, Mason, stood between Luke Camden, the duelist and an immense fortune, and the idea of getting rid of the two had only entered his head when he heard through the giant that the girl had already been carried away.
Red Goliath proved a true traitor.
He had tracked his treacherous companion all the way from the plains of Texas to the pastures in the north, where the white man joined teams with Sitting Bull's gang of plunderers and thieves, where his merits in the peculiar line of business he dealt in were duly appreciated.
No wonder, then, that the creole shivered in dread when he saw the man whom he had attempted to murder standing before him with a deadly revolver in his hand, and cruel vengeance flashing from his eyes.
At first Pedro's hands failed to do their duty, and hung limp by his sides.
"Aha! it is thus we meet, my fine chicken," said the giant, who evidently had a tinge of the dramatic in his nature.