In the afternoon, outside of Valentine, Horseshoe Lookout.
This is a little-known place hidden in a dense forest, located on a cliff. Only those who really know the surrounding environment of Valentine know its existence. Because it is shaped like a horseshoe, the terrain is flat and the view is wide.
, so it was named Horseshoe Lookout by those who knew it.
Three days ago, the first group of members of the Van der Linde Gang arrived here. As of today, all the members of the Van der Linde Gang have been basically in place. All kinds of logistical support work and personnel placement work have been basically completed. They are just waiting for the last few members to return to the team.
, the Van der Linde Gang officially settled in the state of New Hanover, east of Grizzly, where animal husbandry, coal mining and oil extraction are the main industries.
Dutch Van der Linde, the legendary outlaw, sharpshooter, and excellent leader, is currently sitting in a luxury tent belonging to himself and his lover Molly, reading a book called "American Eden"
"book of.
The author of this book is the famous writer and university professor Evelyn Miller. He yearns for nature and freedom, opposes government and restraint, and even goes so far as to oppose the progress of human civilization.
Dutch admired Evelyn Miller very much and agreed very much with his views on "freedom". It was from these works of Evelyn Miller that Dutch gained a sense of self-identity, which made him believe in what he believed in.
Everything they do is striving for a great cause - to create a free country that belongs to themselves and belongs to the gang, or an anarchist utopia.
This may be the reason why the Van der Linde Gang is different from other ordinary gangs. Although what they do is generally the same, they have principles, ideas, and even a program. In this way, everything about the gang is different.
The crimes seem to have a higher explanation, which is the struggle against slavery and the American government that shackles the American people.
Because of this, Dutch has always believed that even if he is not as great as Washington, the founding father of the United States, and Abraham Lincoln, who liberated the black slaves, he can still talk to any powerful man in this country on an equal footing. Compared with himself,
Classified as a criminal, he prefers to see himself as a fighter, an unruly fighter who resists government oppression.
However, the failed business in Blackwater Town plunged him into an unprecedented low. The gang could only hide under his leadership. He was surrounded by brothers who once fought side by side and sisters who lived together day and night. He was once confused, and his mind
All the plan here is to find a safe haven and hide until those damn Pinkerton detectives lose interest in tracking them.
However, maybe there is no end to the road, they finally found a resting place in the blizzard, the team received supplies, the gang welcomed new members, and they even beat the dogs of the O'Drisco Gang hard
Fatty beat him up, and also robbed a train. Now that he's in a place close to civilization, the bonds he robbed from the train in Cornwall will be sold soon.
All in all, the gang should be back on track now and things are looking up for the better.
Fresh blood and successful plans all seem to indicate that the series of encounters in Blackwater Town are just temporary setbacks. Dutch Van der Linde and the Van der Linde Gang are about to return as kings.
However, because of this, Daqi must continue to think about the future and plans to make a fortune, because he is the head of this big family, and his eyes cannot be limited to the immediate food and clothing, the gang's final destination, and whether everyone can finally get it.
With the huge sum of money he robbed, he can live a good life without worrying about food and drink for the rest of his life. These must be included in the plan in his mind.
In the forest leading outside the camp, there was suddenly a loud shout and a shout in response to the shout. Dutch put down the book and looked at the source of the sound. He knew that this movement meant that his people living outside
The family finally arrived home.
A carriage filled with various supplies slowly drove into the camp and everyone saw it. It stopped steadily outside the camp, and the four men carrying it also jumped out of the carriage.
"Boys and girls, don't be stunned, come and unload the truck, today is a good harvest day!" the uncle with rosy cheeks shouted loudly.
"Uncle," Dutch emerged from the tent and said, "it seems you have finally done some real work."
"I took the most credit today," the uncle said as if he had made a great contribution. He patted Brandy who got off the car with him on the shoulder and said, "Here, look who I brought back."
"Boss, long time no see." Brandi held up the brim of his hat and bowed slightly, showing his respect for Dutch, the gang leader.
Dutch recognized the gentleman-dressed young man in front of him at a glance. He was very pleased that this young man had left the team for nearly half a month but still maintained respect for himself and loyalty to the gang.
"Welcome back, Brandi," Dutch patted Brandi on the shoulder and said, "How does it feel to live in a civilized society?"
Brandi smiled and said: "How should I put it, it's like being in a beautiful cage. I can get everything except freedom."
Dutch nodded in agreement and said: "It's very rare for you to feel this, kid. This is why our group of people are still wandering in the wilderness even though we have the ability to gain a better life in a civilized society.
"
As Dutch said this, he turned around and faced the open view of the Horse Palm Observatory. Wherever he looked, the sun was shining brightly, green trees, undulating mountains, gurgling water, birds soaring in the sky, and animals roaming the vast land.
Running and jumping, swimming fish often jump out of the water. The light of their scales and the light of the waves complement each other, and the beauty of nature can be seen in full view.
"Brandy, have you heard of Evelyn Miller?" Dutch asked.
After thinking for a moment, Brandy nodded and said, "I think I've heard of him, but I don't know much about him."
"That's a pity. He is a very good writer," Dutch said with emotion as he looked at the beautiful scenery in front of him. "In his famous "American Eden", there is this sentence: 'American Eden'
The whole point is freedom. Freedom of thought, freedom of contract, freedom of action'."
"Great motto," Brandi commented.
"Yes, this is a great saying," Dutch said, "but the current civilization and progress of the United States are gradually deviating from the description of this motto and the path this country should take. Those who are high above, in that white room
Those who flaunt their power and give orders but achieve nothing are all sinners through the ages."
Dutch's palm gently patted Brandi's shoulder and said: "I have a plan, kid, a big plan. We are going to make a big sum of money, a huge sum of money, enough for us to fly far away, or to live happily ever after."
Cross the ocean, go to the west of this country, go to Australia, or Hawaii, or Tahiti, wherever, and then build our own country in that virgin land that has not been invaded by civilization, a truly free and equal home.
"
"What a touching goal," Brandy said inwardly, "I hope you can still remember your dream in the end, haha, but I think you will definitely forget it."
Just as Dutch was instilling his plans and dreams, the gang's philosophy and future and other high-sounding things to the gang's newcomers, an old man's gentle and magnetic voice came from behind them: "We are here, gentlemen, come back
It’s a great home.”
Dutch and Brandi turned around together and saw Hosea. Arthur jumped out of a carriage filled with various luggage. As soon as the two got off, Susan Grimshaw, who was in charge of logistics, took command of the camp.
The boys and girls there unloaded the trucks together and continued to improve the already impressive campsite.
"You're right, Hosea," Dutch shouted, as if to welcome his old friend, "this place is perfect."
Brandi greeted Hosea and Arthur respectively. Although they were separated for a long time not long after joining, Brandi felt that both Arthur and Hosea were like welcoming their closest relatives home.
Welcoming him made him feel touched.
After saying hello to Brandy, Arthur went with him to help unload the truck. Hosea automatically walked to Dutch and said, "I hope this place will be as good as we imagined."
"No matter what, we survived, gentlemen." Dutch still loudly expressed the joyful feeling of the rest of his life.
Hosea replied calmly and almost ruthlessly: "That's it for now."
Dutch, on the other hand, always maintained his interest in getting rich. He turned around and sat in front of the table placed in the center of the camp and said, "Now, the time to get rich has arrived."
"Arthur and I were originally going to prosper in Blackwater Town." Hosea said this and glanced at the people who were busy with Brandi, Javier, Charles, and Lenny while doing chores in the camp and chatting.
, making an exaggerated joke, and in a daze, he felt as if he had seen the Arthur who was a child more than ten years ago. For a moment, he only felt that his disabled body was even more aged.
"At that time, we had a big plan. As long as it comes true, we will now become rich people in the western United States," Hosea continued what he had said before, and his words were full of mistakes about Dutch's leadership.
accuses, "But Micah got you interested in that ferry, and then we ended up here."
"We've all made mistakes over the years, Hosea, every one of us," Dutch said plausibly, "but I kept everyone together, kept everyone alive, kept everyone evading capture."
Dutch stood up from his seat and walked towards the cliff with a wide view at the Horseshoe Lookout.
Hosea followed closely behind, caressing Dutch's shoulder, and said worriedly: "I'm just a little worried, I'm afraid I won't be able to see that day, Dutch, I want everyone to be safe before I die.
Safety."
"Me too." Dutch agreed.
"But we are trapped now," Hosea said, stopping in front of Dutch. "Trapped in the east of Grizzly, penniless, and still far away from the virgin land in the west of our dreams."
"I know, my brother, but we're safe now," Dutch said in a persuasive tone. "Let's get some money here, and then we'll go on, head over there, and we'll reach the American West in a few months.
How many pieces of land can I buy?"
"I hope so." Seeing that Daqi seemed to be confident, Hosea said nothing more.
"Can you look around you?" Dutch stretched out his arms, as if to show Hosea the Horseshoe Observatory, which was filled with the afterglow of the setting sun. He led his old friend who had known each other for decades.
Go to the cliff with a wide view and say, "This world has its comfort."
At this time, Leopold Strauss, who was wearing a pair of silver-rimmed glasses and dressed like a city man, came over and said to Dutch and Hosea: "Gentlemen, I am going to the town.
You know, let’s see if we can negotiate a small business.”
"Of course, Mr. Strauss," Dutch agreed readily and asked, "Do you need me to send a young man who is familiar with the situation to escort you to the town?"
"Although I'm older and not as good at fighting as you, at least I can still ride a horse." Strauss declined Dutch politely and turned to leave.
After Strauss left, Dutch whispered to Hosea: "I prefer robbing banks to lending usury. Somehow, it seems more dignified."
Hosea said nothing, but nodded in disbelief.
"Now, everyone put down their tools and gather around. Come here quickly." Dutch turned around and raised his voice to focus everyone's attention on him. He led everyone to his tent. In front of the tent
There was a delicate wooden box placed on a large wooden barrel, and Dutch said loudly, "I know this period is difficult, but we are safe now, but we are also very poor, so everyone should do it now
Alive."
"However, work is work, and don't get into trouble," Dutch emphasized. "Brandy doesn't need me to say more. It seems that he already has a very reliable identity, but other people, if they are asked
Dao, you have to remember that we are migrant workers. After the factories in the north were closed down, we were fired. It's a little late now. Starting from tomorrow, everyone should go out and look for opportunities. See what opportunities you can find.
.”
"And you, uncle, Pastor Swanson," Dutch highlighted the two people, which caused others to snicker at them, "Stop idleness, everyone is working hard for a living now.
It’s time.”
"Brandy, I remember that when you left, I gave you the task of gathering intelligence. Now it's up to you to briefly tell everyone about the situation in the town."
Brandy nodded and said: "I have been in Valentine for nearly half a month, and I know the situation there quite well. It is a livestock town, very small, so small that there is only one main road in the town, and the town is also very small.
It's so dirty that the only main road is also muddy, but I think it would be a good starting point, because although it is small and dirty, it has all the facilities that a big city should have, and the most important thing is
The thing is, there are indeed idiots everywhere, so I believe that there are many opportunities in Valentine, it just depends on whether everyone can seize them."
Hosea nodded, indicating that he was satisfied with the answer.
"Also, we need food, real food," Mr. Pearson, the chef in the gang, said. "One person has to go out to find food every day."
"Also remember, whatever you find," Dutch said, showing the wooden box on top of the barrel, "the camp needs a share."
"By the way, I have a few more words to say about making money," Brandi said while taking out the blue steel card that represented his status as a bounty hunter. "Thank you Valentine, who is relatively upright but still has no brains."
Sheriff, I am now a regular bounty hunter registered with the U.S. federal government. I can help you receive some bounty tasks that are only open to regular bounty hunters. Don’t have any resistance. This is
The job that is most suitable for us can not only harvest the wool of capitalist society, but also attack our enemies, so why not do it?"
"Brandy is right, everyone can actually show their faces to him," Dutch said with a smile, "Maybe we can transform into a bounty hunter group here. In this way, even if we are
I dance the cancan in front of Detective Pinkerton and taunt them with the most vicious words, and they won’t do anything to me because we are now legal bounty hunters.”
When everyone heard this, they all burst into laughter thinking about themselves dancing the cancan and mocking the Pinkerton detectives who had driven everyone into despair.
"Okay, now, let's go and finish the last bit of work. Mr. Pearson, it just so happened that uncle and the others brought back a lot of supplies today. You can prepare a good meal for everyone so that everyone can work with full energy tomorrow. In order to
For myself, for everyone, and for the future of the gang," Dutch concluded his words with an impassioned statement. When everyone dispersed, he stopped Brandy and said, "Brandy, please stay here, I have something to say.
ask you."
After hearing this, Brandi stayed and asked: "What's the matter? Boss?"
"You did a good job in Valentine. It seems that you have perfectly completed the tasks assigned by Hosea and I." Dutch praised him for a few words and then asked, "I'm just a little curious about the one you took."
How can a bounty hunter be a third-class 'veteran'?"
"Oh, well, speaking of it, it's just luck." Brandi had long expected that Dutch would ask about this, so he first briefly explained the rules for bounty hunter promotion and skipping application, and then carefully explained himself
The adapted experience of capturing Obadiah Fitch was narrated to Dutch.
What is different from the truth is that in Brandi's mouth, he was able to capture Fitch entirely due to luck. He described a scene where a bounty hunter and a criminal had a fierce exchange of fire and both ended up injured, while he hid aside
Pick up the missing one.
Of course, nearly half of what Brandy said is true. He is good at weaving stories that blend truth and lies, because lies based on truth are the hardest to see through.
After listening to Brandi's narration, Dutch nodded and agreed with what he said.
"Well, if that's the case, then I have no doubts," Dutch educated Brandy, "but I still have to remind you, kid, loyalty is very important to a person, and can even be said to be the most important.
The virtue of virtue, you must remember this and practice it as a creed.”
"I suddenly remembered that Hosea seems to have trained Lenny according to the standards of a lawyer," Dutch suddenly laughed, "Now, we have you as an official bounty hunter again, haha, maybe one day,
We people will become the defenders of the law."
"As long as you still lead us, you should have the final say on who we should be." Brandi flattered Dutch without leaving any trace.
Although Dutch usually behaves calmly, shrewdly, and fairly, in fact, an arrogant person like him is always very useful for flattery. He happily patted Brandi on the shoulder and said: "Haha,
Say it well, do it well, and follow me, and you won't bury your talents."
As night fell, the bonfire was lit. Everyone sat around the warm campfire, eating stew and drinking beer. Someone played the piano, and everyone sang songs that were familiar or shameless to the sound of the piano. The atmosphere was
It's warm and fun, like a family.
Or, they are already a family. This chapter has been completed!