Dunagan."
"Bull!" His finger tightened on the trigger.
"You can kill me if you want, but that's the truth."
"What'd you really come here for, Talbot? To rob me? Kill my family?"
"No, calm down…”
“Don’t you tell me to calm down!”
Dunagan lifted the twelve gauge threateningly.
“Look, I just came to talk to you. I need to speak with you because no one else can answer my questions. I only snuck in because I didn't want one of your hands seeing me and blowing me away. Half the people on your ranch would shoot me on sight. I need to ask you what happened that night before my hanging."
He considered this and let his grip on the trigger relax. In spite of what happened with Tom Logan, Dunagan had always seemed to like and respect me. Still, it was hard to lend a lot of credence to a known murderer who was breaking into your home in the middle of the night.
"You want to know about that night? Why?"
"Because it's driving me crazy! I can't sleep, I can't eat. Any other town would have hung me. They were dead set on it, but they hung that other guy instead. I don't even know who he was, or why they hung him. Why did he die when I was supposed to?"
"Sit down, Jake." His tone softened along with his eyes. He motioned to the breakfast table. "But take your guns out first and drop them on the floor. I'm going to put this shotgun down, but I'm going to take my .45 out and keep you covered while we talk. Hope you understand."
I nodded and we both sat down.
"Listen, Jake, you know I always took a liking to you, but I sure didn't cotton to what you did. Tom was my friend, and you shooting him was mighty wrong. Mighty wrong!" He thumped his fist down on the table in emphasis, but softly so as to not wake his family.
"Still, I have to admit what Tom did was mighty foolish. You just don't go unarmed to accuse a drunk man of rustlin’ cattle. As for that, I don't think you're a rustler, nor do I think your brother was.
“I did at first, mind you, and I'll tell you what, all the hands on my ranch are convinced you are. So's Bill Hartford and all his hires. Tom obviously did too. I don't. Call it intuition if you will, but I think something funny is going on, and I think we're all getting taken.
"To me, you're the man who murdered my friend, so don't think all's forgiven. I wouldn't even be talking to you now except for what happened that night. I think you've got a right to know.
"The night before your execution, we were all sitting in the bar talking and playing poker. By we, I mean the town council. We were enjoying ourselves pretty well at the thought of you gettin' what you deserved….and there was this boy there, you see, well, he wasn't really a boy. He was a man I'd say, especially after what he did.
"We shot the breeze a little with him, found out his name was Joshua Miller, that he was in town from up Colorado way with his sister. More than that, he wouldn't allow, just kind of kept quiet. Watched us more than anything. Not in a way that would make you uncomfortable, mind you. He was a very likable fellow.
"After a while, he just got up and left. I noticed, but didn't really pay it no mind. He came back a little later and sat with us until we all threw in our chips and headed home. He stayed after we left.
"I wouldn't have known any more about where he'd gone if the sheriff hadn't told us later. It seems that when he left, he went to visit Sheriff McCraigh.
"McCraigh said Miller strolled into his office just like anybody else and then calmly announced that he wanted to be hung in your place, but only if he could be guaranteed that you'd be spared.
"Well, needless to say, McCraigh just stared at him for a minute, mouth agape, and then burst into laughter. In all his years, why, in all our years, I don't think anybody's ever heard of such a thing. I mean, imagine it!
“It ain't every day someone waltzes into a sheriff's
"Bull!" His finger tightened on the trigger.
"You can kill me if you want, but that's the truth."
"What'd you really come here for, Talbot? To rob me? Kill my family?"
"No, calm down…”
“Don’t you tell me to calm down!”
Dunagan lifted the twelve gauge threateningly.
“Look, I just came to talk to you. I need to speak with you because no one else can answer my questions. I only snuck in because I didn't want one of your hands seeing me and blowing me away. Half the people on your ranch would shoot me on sight. I need to ask you what happened that night before my hanging."
He considered this and let his grip on the trigger relax. In spite of what happened with Tom Logan, Dunagan had always seemed to like and respect me. Still, it was hard to lend a lot of credence to a known murderer who was breaking into your home in the middle of the night.
"You want to know about that night? Why?"
"Because it's driving me crazy! I can't sleep, I can't eat. Any other town would have hung me. They were dead set on it, but they hung that other guy instead. I don't even know who he was, or why they hung him. Why did he die when I was supposed to?"
"Sit down, Jake." His tone softened along with his eyes. He motioned to the breakfast table. "But take your guns out first and drop them on the floor. I'm going to put this shotgun down, but I'm going to take my .45 out and keep you covered while we talk. Hope you understand."
I nodded and we both sat down.
"Listen, Jake, you know I always took a liking to you, but I sure didn't cotton to what you did. Tom was my friend, and you shooting him was mighty wrong. Mighty wrong!" He thumped his fist down on the table in emphasis, but softly so as to not wake his family.
"Still, I have to admit what Tom did was mighty foolish. You just don't go unarmed to accuse a drunk man of rustlin’ cattle. As for that, I don't think you're a rustler, nor do I think your brother was.
“I did at first, mind you, and I'll tell you what, all the hands on my ranch are convinced you are. So's Bill Hartford and all his hires. Tom obviously did too. I don't. Call it intuition if you will, but I think something funny is going on, and I think we're all getting taken.
"To me, you're the man who murdered my friend, so don't think all's forgiven. I wouldn't even be talking to you now except for what happened that night. I think you've got a right to know.
"The night before your execution, we were all sitting in the bar talking and playing poker. By we, I mean the town council. We were enjoying ourselves pretty well at the thought of you gettin' what you deserved….and there was this boy there, you see, well, he wasn't really a boy. He was a man I'd say, especially after what he did.
"We shot the breeze a little with him, found out his name was Joshua Miller, that he was in town from up Colorado way with his sister. More than that, he wouldn't allow, just kind of kept quiet. Watched us more than anything. Not in a way that would make you uncomfortable, mind you. He was a very likable fellow.
"After a while, he just got up and left. I noticed, but didn't really pay it no mind. He came back a little later and sat with us until we all threw in our chips and headed home. He stayed after we left.
"I wouldn't have known any more about where he'd gone if the sheriff hadn't told us later. It seems that when he left, he went to visit Sheriff McCraigh.
"McCraigh said Miller strolled into his office just like anybody else and then calmly announced that he wanted to be hung in your place, but only if he could be guaranteed that you'd be spared.
"Well, needless to say, McCraigh just stared at him for a minute, mouth agape, and then burst into laughter. In all his years, why, in all our years, I don't think anybody's ever heard of such a thing. I mean, imagine it!
“It ain't every day someone waltzes into a sheriff's
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