Chapter 34-Traveling and the new way
The gang rode through the Heartland and rode beside Valentine as they head down the path that leads to the Downes home. Colt looks at the house and sees that the plants were dead and the house looked abandoned. He knew that Thomas had died by that point. He wonders where his family ended up. Colt was riding at the front with Sadie. They were both on one side of the wagons. Charles and Sean rode in the back. Hosea had control of the wagon in the front as Kieran was in the one at the back. They were going at a decent past as they rode onto a bridge. Sadie looks at Colt. "How are you feeling about this plan so far?" Sadie asks. Colt turns and looks at her.
"Pretty good. We haven't run into any problems yet. Should be able to find somewhere in between Blackwater and Armadillo. Somewhere where we won't be seen," Colt says. Sadie nods.
"That money will run out at some point. How do you plan on us still making it?" Hosea asks.
"I can bounty hunt, and we can do jobs. Just small ones. Small couches that aren't too much. We'll just have to scope 'em out real well. We have got to keep the Pinkertons off our trail till I can figure out a way to get rid of our bounty's," Colt says.
"I have a big one," Hosea says.
"Maybe, but Colm has a bigger one," Colt says. Sadie heads turns and looks at him.
"No, that bastard dies by our hands. Your hands after what he did to you," Sadie says.
"I don't care about what he did to me. His bounty is big. Big enough to get us out," Colt says. Sadie shakes her head.
"And what about the man that killed Jake?" Sadie asks.
"He'll die," Colt says. Sadie nods.
"We don't even know where to look for Colm," Mary-Beth says from where she was sitting by Hosea. The gang crosses Cumberland falls.
"That is true. Once we get John out, we'll figure something out. Colm is plan A," Colt says.
"What is plan B?" Hosea asks slowly.
"Do what I was hired to do," Colt says. Hosea almost stops the wagon as he turns to Colt.
"You can't be serious," Hosea says.
"I am. Look, when and if Dutch does get back, he won't follow my plans. You know that. He will want to get away and rob more if that happens. I take him to Milton," Colt says.
"And how do you know Milton won't take you?" Sadie asks.
"Cause one Dutch is who he wants, and two Milton is a good man. I consider him a friend. We may not be on the best terms, but I do," Colt says.
"Colt, how do you know the gang won't stop you?" Sadie asks.
"I don't. I don't think Lenny or Arthur will. Bill, Javier, and Micah. I'm not so sure. Look, even the gang can see Dutch lost it. I mean, if they saw what he did to Bronte. They would have left," Colt says.
"What did he do to Bronte?" Mary-Beth asks.
"He fed him to a gator," Colt says. Mary-Beth gasps.
"Why do you think Milton didn't tell you about the bank?" Hosea asks.
"I don't know. I want to know who he knew," Colt says.
"You don't think we have a rat?" Sadie asks.
"No, we don't have a rat," Colt says. "And if we did, the only person I could think of would be Micah, and he is with Dutch," Colt says.
"You think Micah could be a rat?" Hosea asks.
"I do. I mean, they found us at Clemont point and Horshoe overlook. How? Micah is my best guess," Colt says
"He may be right," Sadie says.
"I know he may be. Let's hope we find out soon," Hosea says. The gang rides forward, and the sun begins to set as they near the river that goes into West Elizabeth.
"Let's stop and wait till nightfall," Colt says. The gang nods as they head into a small clearing and stop the wagons. The drives lay down in the back to take a small nap.
"How long till nightfall?" Tilly asks.
"Two hours. Nobody comes through he often during this time and not really at night ever," Colt says.
"You guys should sleep too. The rest of us got to. We can take watch," Karen says. Colt nods. He grabs a blanket from his horse and lays it down. Colt lays his head down and closes his eyes.
Colt is woken up later by Sadie, kicking him lightly. "Come on," Sadie says. Colt nods as he stands up and wraps the blanket back up. He puts his back on Thea and climbs on her. He moves his horse back on the path, and they cross the river back into West Elizabeth. Colt looks back at Hosea and sees that the older man was tense.
"Calm down, Hosea. We'll be fine," Colt says. Hosea nods as they turn away from Blackwater.
"What about tall tree?" Mary-Beth asks.
"No, that is a bad idea. The skinner brothers at up there and will attack us. They are crazy and sick; I don't want to deal with them. We head towards Mcfarlane Ranch. There are a lot of places out towards their that are off the path, and nobody will look for us there," Colt says. They were riding past a path.
"What about there?" Sadie asks.
"That's Beecher's hope. People check on it," Colt says. Sadie nods as they keep going. The night air sends chills down Colt's spine as they ride forward. Colt watches for people and the skinner brothers, who mostly attack during the night. It takes them about 3 hours before they get close to Mcfarlane ranch. Colt stops.
"Why are we stopping?" Mary-Beth asks.
"I was bounty hunting on here once. There's a well-hidden spot off the trail. Nobody should find us there," Colt says. They nod. Colt goes off the path and rides towards this area. They get there about ten minutes later. The area was blocked by small hills and behind a big rock that blocked a good amount of the view. Colt gets off Thea.
"This is a good place. Well hidden," Hosea says.
"Best we got. As long as we don't do anything stupid, we'll be fine," Colt says. Hosea nods as Miss Grimshaw gets out of a wagon and walks over to them.
"Should we build camp tonight?" Miss Grimshaw asks.
"No, everybody is tired. We should sleep," Colt says. Miss Grimshaw nods. The gang lays bed down on the ground, and everybody goes to sleep. They felt safe.
The next day Colt wakes up early in the morning. He rubs his eyes and stands up. The cold morning air hitting Colt right after he stands up. He grabs his hat off the ground. He grabs his coat, which he was using as a blanket, and throws his on. Most of the camp was still asleep. The only people awake were Charles and Sean, who was on watch. Colt walks over to the two men who were talking quietly. "You know right now we probably don't need a watch," Colt says as he walks up from behind them. They stop talking and turn to look at Colt.
"Old habits die hard," Sean says.
"I'm not saying we shouldn't have anybody on watch. Just not this early. Did either of you sleep?" Colt asks. They both shake their heads.
"Go get some sleep. It will be about an hour till we start to build camp. I'll keep watch," Colt says. The two men nod and walk away. Colt sits down against a rock and lights a cigarette. He smokes as he watches the sunrise. He sits down for a good thirty minutes by that time on his third cigarette. Sadie walks over and sits by him.
"Those things are gonna kill you," Sadie says.
"These or a gunshot," Colt says. Sadie doesn't say anything.
"I still think we should be killing Colm," Sadie says.
"I know. Part of me wants to kill him. But I know that we need him alive for my plan to work," Colt tells Sadie. Sadie nods.
"I know that doesn't mean I have to like it," Sadie says.
"Neither do I. Colm is a horrible person and deserves to die," Colt says.
"Regardless of if your plan works, Colm will die. By us or the law," Sadie says.
"That he will, Mrs. Adler, that he will," Colt said. The sun was up in the sun, and Colt could hear the camp moving around. "Come on, we've got work to do," Colt tells Sadie. Sadie nods as they both stand up. They walk over to camp. Miss Grimshaw was already shouting orders out to the gang. Everybody worked together and put the wagons and tents up. It took them a few hours, and by the time they were done. Colt was about to head over to Arthur's tent when Miss Grimshaw walked over to him.
"That is not your tent any more, Mr. Morgan," Miss Grimshaw says. Colt looks at the older woman, confused. "You will be taking Dutch's tent," Miss Grimshaw says.
"What about Molly?" Colt asks.
"She will stay with the other women. You are leading this gang now. This is your camp. Nobody will question it because they all respect you. Mrs. Adler will take that tent," Miss Grimshaw says. Colt nods. He walks into Dutch's tent and sits on the bed. It felt weird being where Dutch would sleep. He stands up and walks out of the tent.
"Can I get everybody's attention!" Colt shouts. The gang takes a moment, but they gathered around the front of the tent. "Look, I know for everybody this is weird where we are. Dutch and the others being gone. But this is where we are, and hopefully, the others will find us once Kieran gets his letter done. Now we need to be smart. Strauss that means loan sharking. Also, not bank jobs, we have to be smart about how we make our money. Not a lot of money, not enough to draw Pinkertons to us. Try to find small couches. Scout them well and make sure your information is on point and maybe an actual job. Mcfarlane ranch I know they could use help down their bounty hunt. We need to make enough money to keep us alive and well and until we can get rid of our bounties. I have a plan for that. Does everybody understand?" Colt asks. The gang nods.
"Okay, good, let's get to work. Charles, Karen go on a hunt and get some meat," Colt says. The two nod as they walk away. "Hosea, you and Miss Gaskill should head to McFarlane ranch and see what you can find out," Colt says. Hosea nods. Mary-Beth and Hosea leave.
"As for the rest of us. Let's finish getting camp set up and wait for them to get back," Colt says. The gang nods and get backs to work. They finish camp in about an hour. Karen and Charles are the first two back with two deers, which they take to Pearson. Hosea and Mary-Beth return about 30 minutes later. Hosea walks over to Colt.
"They said they could use a few hands over there. They offered housing, but we don't need that. They said mainly for horse care and moving things. They said three people. Who do you think would be the best?" Hosea asks.
"Kieran, for sure. He is great with Horses. Sean and Tilly. They should be able to work there pretty well. You should take them down there and let them meet Bonnie and Drew," Colt says.
"You know them," Hosea says.
"Yeah, I have helped them a few times. I'm friends with a lot of people around here to Tumbleweed. Good friends with the sheriff of Tumbleweed," Colt says. Hosea nods. He walks away to gather the others.
Hosea, Tilly, Sean, and Kieran ride into McFarlane ranch and hitch their horses at the house. Drew McFarlane comes out and shakes Hosea's hand. "I would like to talk to you and your friends inside," Drew says. They nod as they walk inside and sit down on a couch. Drew sits beside his daughter. "So, I'm gonna be honest with you. I know who you are. Hosea Matthews. Dutch Van der Linde right-hand man. I know who they are. Besides the black-haired one," Drew says. Sean lays his hand on his gun. Drew looks at the man with a small smile. "Calm down, son. I don't care about that. Look, I know about Blackwater, Valentine, Rhodes, Saint-Denis. You are back down here and looking for work. Why?" Drew asks.
"Dutch and some of the others got on a ship to avoid the law. Another man in our gang is leading now. Brought us down here is trying to save us get us out of this life. You know 'em, Colt Morgan," Hosea says. Drew and Bonnie smile.
"Yes, we do know him. Goodman, he is. He is leading the gang now?" Bonnie asks. Hosea smiles.
"Yes, Look, we know our time is coming to an end, and so does Colt. We just ask for a chance. For you not to call the Pinkertons on us," Hosea says. Drew nods.
"Your people will have that chance, Hosea. I don't judge people on what they did. I judge them on what they do after their mistakes. Here is your chance, you three. You start tomorrow early. 8:00 am. I have to ask, is Colt's brother Arthur still with you?" Drew asks. Hosea looks at him. "It's not that hard to tell," Drew says.
"He is on the ship. Hopefully, he will be back soon," Sean says.
"Well, what are your names?" Bonnie asks.
"I'm Sean, and this is Kieran, and that is Tilly," Sean says.
"Well, go to your camp and rest. Cause tomorrow the work starts," Drew says.
"Of course they will. Thank you, Drew," Hosea says. Drew and Hosea shake hands, and the four left.
They ride back into camp as Charles and Colt talked in his tent. "You want to start selling the skins we have?" Colt asks.
"Yes, you said we needed to make some real money. For a good pelt, the men in towns will pay good money," Charles says. Colt nods.
"You should talk to Pearson. I think it's a good idea," Colt says. Charles nods as he walks away. Hosea walks over to Colt.
"Well, we have three farmhands with us," Hosea says. Colt smiles.
"Good. Look, I have to make a small trip to Tumbleweed. Sadie is going to be going with me. But I have to talk to the sheriff there and hopefully the one in Armadillo," Colt says. Hosea nods. "You're in charge, Hosea. We should hopefully be back by tomorrow night," Colt says.
"Okay, well, be safe," Hosea says. Colt nods as he walks over to his horse. Sadie was waiting for him. They head out of camp and for Tumbleweed.
Thanks for reading. This was so much fun. I feel like I just started this story again. It feels so nice to write this, and I hope you guys are enjoying it. I'm thinking about making my own Oc's. Tell me what you guys think. As always, suggestions are welcomed. Until next time.
