the White Elephant on February7, 1887. Jake Johnson was an assured source for the kind of cash Short needed and had no interest in again being a partner in the White Elephant, but Short needed help, so Johnson agreed to buy Short's share. The press informed the public that Short had no intention of leaving town, "but will continue to call Fort Worth home." Duel with Jim Courtright On the night of February8, 1887, another argument broke out between Luke Short and Jim Courtright about the latter's persistence in demanding money from Luke's establishment for "protection". An infuriated Courtright stormed from the saloon, but later returned with two pistols visibly holstered in his pockets. He yelled for Luke Short to come out, but Jake Johnson, a friend of both men, tried to calm Courtright down. Short met with the two men outside and talked about their dispute as they walked through the street. The group, however, suddenly stopped at Ella Blackwell's Shooting Gallery. Luke Short was facing Courtright three to four feet away when the latter suddenly went for his pistol, making the former draw his own in return. In the celebrated gunfight that followed, Short was the last man standing. In his own words, Short described what happened: The showdown was also witnessed by Bat Masterson, who was with Luke Short at the time. In 1907, Masterson published his own account of the events, where he stated that Jim Courtright, carrying a "brace of pistols", challenged Luke Short to a duel: Investigations of the gunfight concluded that while Courtright went for his pistol first, Short ultimately outdrew and killed him. Courtright's inability to fire off a shot was due to a number of possible reasons; one was that his pistol broke when one of Short's bullets struck it and his thumb, or that his pistol got caught on his watch chain for a second as he drew it, which Western historian DeArment considered to be unlikely or a "feeble excuse". The gunfight became well known due to the notoriety of both men. Courtright's funeral was attended by hundreds of Fort Worth residents. Short was arrested for the shooting, and though he was almost lynched after the shootout, he was never brought to trial. Finally, Short was able to settle his legal problems with the court in Dallas. All of the cases against him were dismissed with no explanation. Marriage