Death and Retribution, 1926

Al was approaching nine when the shadows returned. His grandfather was the breadwinner in the family, but his mother, Lillian, was the center of the universe. Lillian was always the center of the universe. She was strong and steady, and he knew she looked out for him. Now though there was trouble. Albert was quarreling with some men, brothers, a group of locals. They seemed to be always arguing with Albert.

Albert became concerned enough about the developing fight that was brewing between him and the other family that he decided he had better take some action. He was an outsider. If things heated up too much, and it certainly appeared headed that way, he would not be getting any help from the sheriff or his neighbors. They all would either side with the brothers or would just look the other way. Albert sent for some help he could trust.

Soon two men arrived in Offut. One was Bob Nicholas. He was a moonshiner from Ohio. The other was William (Will) Nicholas, a sheriff from Colorado. Both came armed. Both men moved into the Nicholas shack in Offut. They made themselves comfortable, but they were wary and ready for whatever situation arose. With their arrival, tempers seemed to ease and the feuding took a back burner.

A couple months after the brothers had come to town, one morning a miner albert knew came running to the house. He told Albert there had been an accident in the min and Albert was needed right away. As superintendent, Albert had to go. He dressed and left, following the miner to the mine entrance.

As he entered the mine, several of his antagonists were waiting, hidden behind rocks and such, armed with rifles and shotguns. As he entered the mine, they opened fire on Albert, killing him immediately. As he fell, they scattered to their homes, leaving his body at the entrance to the mine, with a shotgun blast in his back.

Soon word came back to the Nicholas home in Offut that Albert had been murdered and his body lay in the mine. Bob and Will left and went and collected their brother's remains and brought him back to the house. They helped the women lay Albert's body out on the kitchen table, as was the practice in those days. When they had finished with that task, they prepared for their next one.

Bob and Will carefully and calmly armed themselves. Beginning that very day and for the next two months, they traveled through the nearby hills, as they hunted their brother's murders. Even the day they paused for his funeral, they returned to the hunt. In the course of those weeks, it was reported they killed 4 or 5 men involved in the murder and severely wounded several more. The feud was now very much out in the open.

One evening, after a couple months of the on-going feud and fighting, the sheriff finally came to the house to speak with the two brothers. At that time, he cautioned them that he could no longer ignore the continued feuding. The escalated shooting warranted public scrutiny now. As outsiders, they were subject to arrest and prosecution. He strongly suggested they both move on. After he left, the family discussed the situation. It was agreed it was time for Bob and Will to leave, so they depart immediately, with both returning to Ohio and Colorado.

The rest of the family continued to talk about the local situation. They also knew their safety was compromised. With the two brothers gone, the other family was likely to come looking for them to take revenge on them. However, there was disagreement as to where to go. Flora and her mother wanted to move out west. They had relatives in Colorado. Lillian did not want to move out west. In the end the family split. Flora and her mother did go to Colorado. Lillian, Clifford and Al moved to Ashland, Kentucky. This would be the last time they would see or hear from each other again.