Leaving Epitaph: The Sons of Daniel Shaye

55

Shaye and his sons checked all the upstairs rooms. There was evidence that the Langers had been in one of them. On the floor, left behind by accident, was a twenty dollar gold piece. Shaye knew that part of the haul taken from the bank in Epitaph had included gold coins.

“The livery,” he said.

He ran back downstairs, again followed by his sons. The sheriff had not returned with the doctor, and Deputy Winston was standing guard over the fallen man still holding his arm.

“Where’s the closest livery?” Shaye asked.

“South end of town,” Winston said, pointing. “Go outside, turn left and keep going.”

“Tell the sheriff we’ll be back.”

They all went out the door.

When they reached the livery, the doors were wide open and some horses were wandering about. Apparently, the Langers, in a hurry to saddle their own mounts, had let some of the others loose.

“We gonna follow them, Pa?” Matthew asked.

“Not in the dark, Matthew,” Shaye said. “We’ll track them in the morning.”

“We don’t know how many there were,” James said.

“Ethan and Aaron for sure,” Shaye said. “If the doctor keeps that other man alive, maybe he’ll tell us.”

They went into the livery, rounded up some of the loose horses, and put them in stalls.

“A lot of horses,” Shaye said. “Most of the gang must have boarded them here.”

They left the livery and closed the doors behind them.

“We better get back,” Thomas said.

“Before we do,” Shaye said, “I want to tell you boys how proud I am of you. You stood up like men tonight, and none of you backed down.”

Matthew and James looked embarrassed.

“Pa,” Thomas said, “let’s go back to the saloon. The doc’s gotta take a look at you too.”

“All right, Thomas,” Shaye said. “Let’s go.”

Outside of town the Langers slowed their horses, then reined them in. Morales and Branch stopped as well.

“What the hell happened back there?” Aaron demanded.

“You said there were only three lawmen,” Ethan pointed out.

“Maybe they recruited some help,” Branch said.

“And maybe you were trailed here from…what town did you hit in Texas, anyway?” Aaron asked.

“A place called Epitaph,” Ethan said. “I never heard of it before, but—”

“Epitaph?” Aaron said. “You robbed the bank in Epitaph?”

“That’s right,” Ethan said. “It was a good haul.”

“Did you bother to find out who the sheriff of Epitaph was before you hit it?”

“Well, no, but—”

“Do you remember the name Shaye Daniels, Ethan?”

“Shaye…yeah, from a long time ago. He was, uh…”

“Shaye Daniels was the best man with a gun I ever rode with,” Aaron said. “I wanted him to be my partner, but he walked away.”

“And he ended up sheriff of Epitaph, Texas?” Morales asked.

“That’s right, as Dan Shaye.”

“Madre de Dios.”

“How do you know?” Ethan asked.

“Because I kept track of him, that’s how,” Aaron said. “I’ll bet he tracked you all the way here.”

“Why would he do that?” Ethan asked.

“You killed a woman,” Aaron said. “Even fifteen or so years ago he had his own code. God, if that was Danny Shaye back there…”

They waited for Aaron to finish, but he didn’t. He just gigged his horse and they moved on their way in the dark.