No Laws in the Texas Desert – Extended Epilogue

---

OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!

Grab my new series, "Blood and Honor in the Wild West", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!

---

“Why is Daddy dressing like that?”

“Daddy is going to make a speech today,” Claire Masterson said. “Besides, you shouldn’t be surprised. You’ve seen your daddy dress up nice before.”

“But this isn’t Sunday, Momma.”

She laughed out loud as she looked at her husband, Drake. He was in his Sunday go-to-meeting suit, with his hair combed perfectly (she had combed it) and a sparking new blue and white vest to go with the dark coat.

“No, Davy, but your father is making a short speech today.”

“Why?”

“Because Texas will officially become a state in the United States of America, so the town and most of the towns in Texas are having official celebrations. This week the town will have something like a county fair, and there will be great food and festivities for all,” Masterson said.

“But isn’t Texas already a state?”

He picked up his son and swung him around. “Yes, let’s do go into a long history lesson, but Texas left the Union a while back in eighteen sixty-two over some disagreements, but now everything is settled, and the state is ready to rejoin the Union. We will rejoin this month, but cities are holding a series of celebrations. Now we’re having a brief speech in the city hall. The food will be given out this weekend when it will be more like a celebration than a speech.”

“OK, I can’t wait for the food, Daddy,”

His father laughed. Davy had been named for David Crockett, one of the state’s heroes. His younger sister, three years old, had been named Melanie. Unlike some brothers and sisters, they got along well together and seemed to enjoy being in one another’s company.

“You look very handsome,” Claire said. “And very, very impressive.”

“Thank you, honey, but I think you are exaggerating.” He laughed. “And thank you for doing so. I don’t think I will win the crowd over by being impressive, but I may win them over by giving only a short speech, so I won’t keep them long. I’ll just go up and say, ‘It’s a great day that we will be welcomed back into the Union. We must put all bitterness behind us and work together with all the state to produce a more perfect union for all Americans.”

“That sounds wonderful and so appropriate to say today.”

“How long will you talk? I’m sorry, but I don’t like long speeches,” Davy said.

“And you won’t hear one,” Masterson said. “I am not going to drone on. No one wants to hear long speeches. They will shoot a few guns, wave some balloons, have a few festivities, and leave happy. That’s all it is. There will be a longer celebration this weekend, and in that one, I won’t be giving a speech.”

“Well, this county does have a lot to celebrate. We’ve been prosperous during these last five years. The county has had a mini-boom,” Claire said. “We have cattle, pigs, farming, stores, and a newspaper, and the town is much bigger than it was. We seem to be picking up new residents every day. And real nice people.”

Masterson nodded. “We have experienced a period of good times,” he said. “Truly, most people seem to have prospered during that time.”

His wife nodded. “And, to be honest, I must admit the gunfight between you, Ryan, the sheriff and the Dunlap bunch. I regret that bloody battle started a chain of events that really … well, started some real growth in this community, and it’s been on the road to prosperity. One of the main advantages came when the Dunlaps died and left the ranch to the county, which profited greatly since they had no heirs. Have to give credit to the mayor and the council who made some very shrewd investments and deals with the land the country now controls.”

Masterson nodded. “And I hate to say that Mr. Hawkins picked a very good executor who made some shrewd decisions and a few fortunate business offers and helped the town on the path to prosperity. Hate to give Hawkins credit for that because I never liked him that much, but he did have some fiscal wisdom.” He shook his head. “To be honest, I figured anyone Hawkins picked would be trying to make some personal money during that, but he didn’t. He was totally honest and wise in business. The town and many people in the town benefitted from those deals. One deal seemed to lead to another. One business seemed to lead to two others. There was also a feeling of optimism that spread through the city and the county. The optimism seemed to grow and create even more opportunities. But I hate to think a gunfight started the prosperity.”

His wife gave a sly smile. “But that gunfight would have happened whether or not prosperity followed. The sheriff went out there to do his duty, and it took some guts to do so. Other sheriffs would have run the other way. The sheriff and other good men in his county paved the way for that to happen, for prosperity to come here.”

“And I’m somewhat surprised Paul Law is still in this county. Over the years, he has established an excellent reputation as a lawman. He’s been offered more than a few jobs at bigger cities and even with the Wells Fargo Agency, and not as a field agent but a supervisor and an expectation he’d be a vice president one day. He had been given other opportunities too. I think he must just have come to like this town, maybe love his town. I know the sheriff enjoys fishing; maybe we just have great water holes in this. He could be making twice the money at some of the other jobs offered him. But when you look at him and speak to him, he looks very happy and content. Doesn’t seem to have a care in the world. But I guess that’s what everyone’s seeking. Contentment and purpose. He has both here.”

*

At that moment, Sheriff Paul Law was being interviewed in his office by Jud Harlow, a reporter for the Austin Times. He wasn’t on a story, though. He was seeking information for a book he was writing. A non-fiction that had Sheriff Law as one of the main characters.

“I’m curious, Mr. Harlow, how did you get interested in this little city and county? Texas has a lot of counties, and many have had rather spectacular gunfights in them. I don’t think we’re that unique,” the sheriff said.

“Well, in ways, you are. I know a bit of Texas history and some of those gunfights and the exploits of many outlaws, but the shootout at the ranch here was notable. One reason is it was final. There was a clear winner and loser. You and your posse won; the men from the Dunlap ranch lost. And two, and this was also distinctive, there was a woman involved. In fact, the outlaw leader was a woman. That was unusual in itself. She didn’t survive the climax, but what an ending. And her grave is at the cemetery?”

He nodded. The grave of the famous or infamous Emily was next to her father. The woman had taken on a bit of local and area fame. Chances were everyone in that part of Texas had heard of Emily Dunlap, and more than a few people wanted to see her grave.

Sheriff Law had never understood the cemetery curiosity of the human race. Who would want to see the grave of a famous bad man or woman? A lot of dead people had headstones, and they all looked about the same, only the letters were different. Plus, all looked rather dull. Gray was the usual color. It wasn’t like the headstones were in blue, red, or green. A green headstone might be work looking at.

“Father and Daughter are buried together, side by side. And that ended the family. There were no other relatives. The end of the clan ended that day on a farm.”

“Before the fight, did you ever think you could kill a woman?”

The sheriff nodded. “If she were planning to kill me, yes, I would do my best to kill her. I wouldn’t want an enemy getting a second shot to put me in the cemetery.”

“You, and the battle that is, got a good deal of publicity when it happened. And a few dime magazines copied a few stories about it. The stories were clearly modeled on the shootout.

“We were the focus of attention for a few days,” Law said.

“Sheriff, I really appreciate the time you’re giving me. Because of those dime novels, a lot of writers are looked down on my lawmen.”

“Well, you have an advantage. There are political speeches and such and a meeting starting in a few meetings at the church to celebrate this day when we will officially join the Union again. There will be several speeches. I like Drake Masterson; he’s a friend of mine and will be one of the speakers. Frankly, I’d rather not hear any of them. You give me a reason to avoid the speeches, so I don’t mind hearing you ask questions.”

The reporter laughed. “Then I will ask this, although I know you have been asked it before. Is your real name Paul Law?”

“Yes. It may be odd, but the name is really Paul Law. My daddy’s name was Law, and his daddy’s name was Law, and so on. I do have a second or third cousin named John Law and he is a clergyman. But I’m the only one in the family wearing a badge. Once in a while, a few people have done a double-take at the words.”

“And you said the two men here who were the most help to you were named Drake Masterson and Ryan Townsend?”

“Yes, Drake fought for the South; he is from here in the county. His father lived here and, sadly, died during the war. Ryan fought for the Union when he came. Frankly, I forget most of the details, but I think the Confederates captured Ryan, and Drake was one of the prison camp guards, and they struck up a friendship that lasted through the war and beyond. He came by to say hello to his friend and wound up renting a farm that Drake had inherited. So the two went into business together. But the two men stuck by me when we went into battle here. And they still are very good friends.”

“They make out well?”

“Sure, they have a corn and crop company. Ryan married a local girl, and now they have two boys and a girl, and are happy as can be. But they are two fine men. I’ve used them on posses several times since I’ve been sheriff. It’s a great feeling to have men you can count on. They were with me during the Emily Battle. We have nicknamed it that, but she deserves the honor.”

“What happened to the previous sheriff who left right before the excitement started?”

“He’s still here. He has a few friends he pals around with. I have a friend with the bank who tells me that the previous sheriff deposited a ‘substantial’ amount of money on the day he gave up the badge. He always had a kind of a love and hate relationship with the council and the Dunlaps. He did a number of good things. I don’t mean to paint him all black, but I suspect he was paid off to step down. I think he thought he was owed it after all he put up with, and he might have had a point. He lives quietly now and has a few horses he likes to ride and goes down and plays a little poker from time to time. Everybody else in town is about the same, with no great changes. Well, we always believe there are a few improvements as the weeks and months go by.”

“As long as you have improvements and not declines,” Harlow said.

The sheriff nodded. “But I’ll tell you the real heroes of that day were the men who helped us and went with us to face the outlaws. You have read about the case, and you know all their names. If you do write a story or book on that county gunfight, give them the credit. Without those brave men, we would not have won. The law would not have won. Civilization would not have won. They were men from the community who took a stand for justice and decency. The law is useless unless you have men who will put their lives on the line for it. That’s what those folks did. They should not be forgotten.”

Readers who read this book also liked

---

OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!

Grab my new series, "Blood and Honor in the Wild West", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!

---