Act II: Code of Honor
Lemoyne was hot, but the air smelled cleaner, somehow. They were now far away from the Heartlands where one could catch a whiff of Cornwall's Oil fields.
But with the heat, came heated tempers.
"Unbelievable!"
Sam hurriedly closed the newspaper he'd been reading at one of the camp's tables and tossed it onto the surface. On the cover there were sketches of himself, Arthur, John and Dutch. They weren't drawn that well, but each wanted man managed to recognize who was who.
With the weather warmer, Sam had taken off his blue duster for now, but felt vulnerable somehow without another layer. He tried putting a black handkerchief around his neck, but something still felt missing. Then he put on a spare black vest and somehow, it felt a lot better. To take away at least some of the heat, he rolled up his sleeves to his elbows.
"After everything we've done?!" Sam pouted.
"I mean, you did kind of… shoot up the town?" Kieran said, nervously.
"Were we asking for your opinion, O'Driscoll?!" Bill snapped.
"N-No, sir!" the former O'Driscoll said, before scurrying off. The former veteran leaned forward, seeing the not very accurate sketches of them.
"Well, look on the bright side, Hawkeson," said Lenny. "You're famous!"
Sam huffed. "Well, I didn't… Cornwall's men were shooting at us. They could've killed Arthur, John, or Dutch. What was I supposed to do?! But… I guess it wouldn't be a surprise if that man had his fat fingers in the newspapers, as well… but I helped shoot up that town… even if Cornwall was the attacker, he has the money to write his own story."
"Well, if you ever started your own gang," said Bill. "We're more likely to be famous, too."
"You mean, I could have people coming after me, because of who I am… and not what I am?" said Lenny.
"Wait, would you ever start your own gang?" said Sam.
Bill shrugged. "Maybe. Someday."
"Hm. Well, I don't wanna stick around here much longer. It's pretty, but if I don't leave camp soon, I'm gonna go crazy."
Lenny shook his head. "I think I'll pass, considering where we are."
"Hm. Okay." Sam understood, but wasn't sure of the severity of what could await them. The war had been over for some time, but it didn't mean that all the wounds had healed, and all the hate would just vanish.
Sam managed to get Sean to tag along with them. He walked around the camp to see if anyone else wanted to explore, but he was still keeping his distance from Arthur and the others seemed busy with chores, or patrolling the entrance to camp.
"...that woman… nags, life is… brutal, brief… and random. But liquor… is wonderful."
Sam found John drinking at the table with Javier. He didn't look like he was doing anything.
"Hey, John. Sean, Bill and I were about to check things out," said Sam. "Wanna tag along?"
John sighed. "I don't know. I think I already had two of-"
"Jooooohn!" a voice called. It sounded like Abigail. "John!"
"I'm in," he then said. "Let's go!" He turned to Javier, before following Sam. "You haven't seen me."
They mounted their horses and rode towards the nearby town on their map. It seemed about as peaceful as Valentine, but more quiet, since he didn't hear any animals. The nearby sign said that the town was called Rhodes. The houses were colored a bit more vibrantly than Valentine, and the Rhodes weren't as muddy.
The train station, which was also the post office, was at the entrance of town. Along the neatly set dirt road with patches of grass was the bank, the gunsmith, and some other establishments on one side, and the general store, a hotel and the police station on the other. There were several beautiful properties past the main street, and around the corner was the Rhodes Parlor House. It was made with white wooden walls and green roof, and was two floors with a balcony.
"Dutch said to make sure we don't cause any ruckus this time," said Sam.
"What does that mean?" said Sean.
"No guns."
Bill huffed. "Fine."
Soon, the three had stopped at the saloon and stepped inside. The floors were wooden and draped with fancy carpets. Chairs were set up with white cloth covered tables with some of them having candles placed at the center. The u-shaped bar still looked new and clean with a fancy wooden trim along the bottom and the shelves that were in the back. A set of stairs was near the middle that spiraled up to the second floor where there were more places to sit, a table for Blackjack and a separate room with a bath.
"Just try not to start another fight in here," John said, chuckling to himself.
"Yeah, well don't trip and hurt yourself," said Bill. "A little nick might put you out for the rest of the summer."
"Settle down," Sam said, quietly. "Keep a low profile and see if you can find any leads on anything." He smiled. "Besides, places with good old alcohol are bound to have a few at least."
Sean chuckled. "Now you're speaking my language, Samuel!"
"I'm having second thoughts about bringing Sean along…" John grumbled.
"That's because you've forgotten how to live!" Sean quipped.
Their point was to just blend in, enjoy a drink or two, maybe a meal, and make light conversation with folk and find out some intel about leads that could lead them to money. It didn't, however, mean that they couldn't have some fun.
"Ha! Ha! Blackjack!"
Sam shoved his chips away at the winner. "Damn…" he grumbled.
Bill just laughed, his voice cracking as the winner took the chips. "You ain't very good at this, ain't ya, greenhorne."
"Hey, I won the last two times."
"And then lost it."
"Shut up and give me a drink!"
"Well, I can help you with that," said Bill. Luckily, he had ordered another drink while he was downstairs on the first floor. "I think Sean and John are on the balcony out front."
"Fantastic," Sam said, getting up from his chair at the Blackjack table.
A bottle of whiskey in his hand, he stepped outside, his eyes adjusting to the sunlight, but quickly realized how long he had been in there, because it was sunset. At least this parlor house had some decent grub, but he hadn't heard much of anything in terms of getting money.
His doubts were only raised once he heard drunken laughter from the others. John and Sean were leaning over the balcony. Sam never thought that the redhead could make John laugh. Then again, he only ever heard John laugh that hard when he was drunk.
"Well, Dutch is gonna kill us," said Sam.
"And why's that?" John said, turning toward him, but keeping his arm on the balcony railing. His face was flushed a little and his sights unfocused.
"Because we were supposed to be gathering information on some leads here."
"Hey, relax," said Sean. "I got something. The bartender was wanting to keep his yapper shut about some other family or something."
"Other family?"
"This saloon is owned by the Grays or something like that," said John. "They're everything or… everyone?"
"John, just let Sean, who can hold his liquor, talk," said Sam.
"I can hold my booze!" he insisted. "How else did I drink it?"
"Just sit down."
"Pfft. Whatever…" He walked over to the nearest chair with a wheeze before plopping right down on it.
"There's these two families: The Grays and the Braithwaites," said Sean. "They seem to hate each other."
"Hmm. I wonder why?"
"Could it be money?" Bill said.
Sam shrugged. "I'm not sure, but it might be worth looking into if they're both a big influence around these parts. I guess we can return-"
"Well, hello there."
The doors to the balcony had opened, and three deputies stepped in. Everyone tried to act natural, except John who was too busy resting his head on the table to even care.
"Is that him, Archibald?"
The leading deputy nodded. He looked young, his dark hair kept neatly, and was mostly clean shaving. The rest of his clothes looked dirtied from the outdoors.
"Hey, what are you doing, barging in here?" Bill growled.
"You there, ponytail!" Archibald commanded. "You're coming with us!"
Sam turned around, hand briefly reaching back to touch the little tuft of tied back hair sticking out that was just that. He thought to himself, about what they wanted, but his heart was beating really fast. Did they recognize him from the newspapers?
"What?" said Bill. "He ain't even done nothing! We've been with him all day."
"Sir, this doesn't involve you," said Archibald, "so I ask that you don't get belligerent."
"But-"
"Stop it!" Sam then spoke up. The arguing pair silenced themselves and stared at the man in question. "I'll go. I don't wanna make a scene."
Bill scoffed, but remembered Dutch's warning about keeping a low profile and not making a scene.
"Thank-you for your cooperation, sir," Archibald complimented.
"Get John home," Sam muttered. "I'll be fine." With a deep breath and a heavy heart, Sam closed his eyes briefly, before following the officers out.
"Shit…" Bill muttered.
"That leg is looking much better, Mr. Strauss," said Lily. She just cleaned the wound at her tent and dressed it with new bandages before pulling her patient's pant leg back down. "I think you should be okay to walk on it, now, but take it slow."
Strauss stood up slowly, a small grin on his face at the fact that there wasn't much pain this time.
"Of course. Thank-you."
"No problem," said Lily. "I… Reverend, shoo!" She raised her voice at the man, shooing him away from her medicines.
After her patient left, and tending to Kieran's daily cuts and bruises he would often receive from some of the other camp members, she began to clean up.
"I ain't complaining."
"You are! Complain, complain, complain."
Lily turned around, knowing the voices were from Sadie and Pearson. She walked out of her tent, and saw the pair getting loud near the food wagon.
"I ain't complaining, I'm just saying…" Sadie said, sternly.
"You're not saying miss," said Pearson. "You're shouting!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, 'Captain'. Did they do things differently in the navy?"
"Yeah, they left the ladies in port."
"And you preferred that, did you?"
"Sometimes… depending on the ladies."
Sadie huffed. Lily's blood ran cold as soon as she saw her pick up a knife. She wasn't going to wait another second and ran over.
"Say whatever you damn well please…" said an irate Sadie, "but I tell you, if I don't get out here soon, I'm going to kill somebody."
"U-Um… You two," Lily stuttered. "Please… Stop." They weren't strangers, and they were in the middle of camp, so she wasn't sure what to do.
"And if you don't stop hissing at me, I'm gonna kill you," Pearson warned.
"Come near me, sailor… and I will slice you up!
"Sadie!" Lily pleaded.
"You put that knife down or you're going to be missing a hand, lady," Pearson yelled.
"What is wrong with you two?" Arthur then interjected. He had taken off that coat he'd been wearing, showing that blue collared shirt and rolling up the sleeves to help stay cooler in this warmer part of the country. His voice was so sudden, Lily jumped a little, but she was relieved that it made the two disperse.
"I ain't chopping vegetables for a living!" Sadie hissed, stabbing the knife into the cutting board.
Arthur shrugged. "Oh, I'm sorry, madam… was there insufficient feathers in your pillow?"
"Okay, Sam." She recalled Sam saying the same thing when they were up in the mountains. Still, Arthur looked confused. "I ain't lazy! I'll work, but not this!"
"Well, ain't cooking work?"
"Well, Sadie, I think Dutch is still mad about what happened with those O'Driscolls," said Lily.
"Well, it's over now! Sam's fine and the O'Driscolls are dead, right?"
Lily glared. "Sam almost froze to death!"
"He didn't have to go out there!"
"You were shot!"
"And I'm better now!"
Pearson rolled his eyes. Now, she was bickering with someone else. With every sentence, they were stepping closer to one another.
"Sam is all I have!" said Lily. "If something happened to him I don't know what I'd do with myself."
"Well, I don't have anyone!"
"Alright, alright!" Arthur said, stepping between the two women. "Look, I'll speak to Dutch, but would you just calm down?"
Sadie sighed, crossing her arms. "Fine…"
Arthur nodded and stormed over towards Dutch's tent.
"We can go out for a bit," Lily spoke softly, wanting to break the awkward silence.. "I don't think anyone needs any medical attention at the moment. Ooh! We can check out the nearby town I saw on Dutch's map. Rhodes, I think it was called." Suddenly, she was excited, running to search for a map at Pearson's wagon.
Pearson was still calming down from his argument with Sadie. After a few deep breaths, he grabbed a note with a list of things and handed it to Lily.
"Here," he said. "Maybe you could pick up a few things for me. Oh, and could you post this letter?"
"Sure," Lily said, taking the envelope. "Okay, let's get a wagon and go, Sadie."
"So, I've graduated from chopping vegetables to shopping?"
"Oh, stop whining…"
Arthur joined them at the wagon. Lily rode in the back while Arthur and Sadie sat up front. The outlaw took the reins and they were off.
Dutch saw them off from the safety of his tent, while Molly was putting on her makeup at the nearby mirror. She looked pretty, but he didn't feel anything, and lately, he's been making sure to be asleep before or after she is.
He sighed, running his hands through his hair. He just hoped Sadie wouldn't cause a ruckus.
"Dutch, we got trouble!"
He had too much hope in that not happening. Bill was riding into camp with Sean, with John riding behind him. His horse was trailing along behind them. The gang leader stood up, knees cracking as he did, and approached them.
"What's going on?"
Bill was the first to get off his horse, Sean had to help John down, who just shook off his help and hobbled his drunken self to safety.
"It's Sam, Boss," said Sean. "We were in the saloon and-"
"What did you do?!" Dutch asked, sternly. "I told you not to cause trouble there!"
"We weren't!" said Bill. "We walked in, had a few drinks, and then the local law just stormed in and grabbed Sam. He just walked off with them to avoid making a scene."
"Damn it…" he muttered. "Both of you, and John, stay here. Let me handle this." He didn't know what happened at the saloon for sure, but he was going to need a drink after this. "Hosea! We need to head into town!"
Arthur, Lily, and Sadie arrived in town, having passed by Bill, Sean and John, on the way. They didn't have to ask what was going on, since it looked like they were in a hurry, but they were sure they would find out soon enough.
Sadie and Lily decided to go shopping, while Arthur walked over to the post office.
"Hello," said the shopkeeper. He didn't seem too chipper about his job. "Mostly everything is for sale, minus the floorboards. If there's anything you can't find, you can look in the catalog here."
"Yes, I just need a few things here," said Lily. "It's on this list."
Sadie briefly looked over it and then counted the money that Pearson had given them. The shopkeeper had a look at the list and went off to gather what they needed.
"And, uh… What kind of clothes do you have in stock?"
"Clothes?" said Lily.
"Well, I think, since Pearson is generous enough to let us use his money, it would be a crime if we didn't treat ourselves. I think a makeover is an order."
Lily looked at herself. "But what's wrong with this? Aaaah!" She didn't have time to protest, before the widow was pulling the girl to the dressing room.
"Well, we're outlaws, now ain't we?" Sadie said, looking through the clothes hanging off the rack. "That ain't gonna hold up long in our line of work! Now what do we have here?" She squatted down and pulled out a dark pair of pants.
"Pants?" said Lily.
"Yeah, what's wrong with that?"
"N-Nothing, just…" She looked to the side, rubbing her elbow. "Well, I don't… normally see women with-"
"Well, I say we can wear whatever we damn well want!" Sadie insisted. "You're an outlaw, Lily. You gave it all up to stay by Sam's side. If Archie ever sees you again, you gotta show him that you don't need him. We live outside the law, now!"
Sadie was right about one thing: They were outlaws. Therefore, they weren't confined to the restraints of what society deem "ladylike." There were days where Lily still missed Archie, and she doubted they would ever fade away completely, but she had to start living her own life… with or without him. She placed her hands on her hips.
"Let's see if there's any jeans!" she exclaimed, joining Sadie at the clothes rack.
Sam followed the officers down the street. He wasn't bound, which he could only see as a rare consequence of going peacefully. He had seen his fair share of people still getting hogtied and humiliated, regardless if they resisted or not.
He entered the sheriff's office, following this Archibald feller. The office was kind of dim, given the time of day, despite no curtains being on the window. The wooden floors were old and creek and the blue walls had also seen some better days, but still looked functional. To Sam's left were the cells and to the right was the sheriff's desk, with a bed and fireplace in the back, along with a backdoor.
Actually, there was quite a finely dressed man behind those bars. He reached his gloves hands to the bars, upon making eye contact with Sam.
"Hey!" he whispered. "I've gotten myself into quite a predicament here."
"Quiet, you!" Archibald then raised his voice. He turned to the man at the desk. "Mr. Gray! We found him!"
Gray? Sam then thought.
The sheriff stood from his chair. He was about the same height as Archibald, maybe a bit taller. His orangey yellow hair was combed and his mustache was kind of long. His shirt was white with black checkered patterns, and, like Archibald, was wearing a police badge on his vest. His pants were black and the leather of his boots were worn.
Before Sam could even think of anything to lie his way out of this, the sheriff spoke up.
"There he is! If it ain't Samuel Hawkeson, Slayer of O'Driscolls."
"Uh… What?"
"Oh, don't play coy with me," the sheriff said, shaking his head with a smile. "It seems people around here know who you are these days."
"That so?"
"I must admit, you seem far less scary than the rumors say. You look like you wouldn't swipe a cookie from the cookie jar without asking."
Sam just replied with a chuckle. "So, am I in trouble or…"
"No, not at all. If you were, you would've been brought in over Archibald's shoulder." He held out his hand, and Sam gave him a firm handshake. "Sheriff Leigh Gray of the Rhodes Police Department." With that, he sat back down, and gestured for Sam to sit in the nearby chair. "These 'O'Driscolls'..." said the sheriff. "It seems they've made their way over here, and have been causing trouble."
Sam leaned back, placing his foot over his knee. "Yes, I heard as such from one of their enforcers…"
Before I killed him… Sam thought. But his fingers still shook at the memory up in the mountains.
"Well, I assume that's why you're here in the area," said the Sheriff.
Sam raised his brows. Had he not read the papers? Or were they overlooking it for his help?
"We've already got problems of our own with the locals, and those damn Lemoyne Raiders, and there's those wretched Braithewaites to the west of here. We have a pair of bounty hunters willing to help, but when I saw you riding through town earlier, I figured we could use all the help we can get. What do you say? You'll be compensated for your trouble, of course."
"Sure," Sam said with a nod. "It's better than doing it alone, as long as I can bring in a few of my friends along." He didn't want to spill too much, but if the police were on his side here, it was worth a shot. "I wasn't able to do it alone, you know."
"Wonderful," said the sheriff. "I just need you to sign a few things for legal reasons, and we can get started on working together."
"Sure," said Sam.
"The mostly good citizens of Lemoyne… we welcome you."
"Well, it's just nice to be here."
Sam breathed a sigh of relief once he was out of that police station. He whistled for Aurora, who shook from the hitching post at the saloon, rounded the corner and came to his side promptly. Hopefully, he could get to the others before he caused a panic.
"Hell, my sister's newborn had more strength than you, and he came out bright blue."
"I'm trying."
"Well, try harder."
Sam was leading Aurora down the street when she saw Sadie being rude to the shopkeeper. He was loading the supplies onto the wagon, but Sadie and Lily seemed to have helped themselves to some new clothes.
Sadie had bought herself a yellow long-sleeved shirt, with some black pants and boots, with suspenders that went over her shoulders. She wore a belt and a gun belt with her cattleman revolver stowed away in it. The hat on her head was a beige color with a dark band around the rim.
Lily had bought a white blouse that exposed a little more of her neck and the ends were frilly. Her neck was still protected by a purple handkerchief she wore. She also had a gun belt, as well as a pair of jeans and some leather brown boots.
"Whoa…" said Sam. "Uh, Lily?"
"H-Hi," Lily said, with a shy wave. She had dark gloves on her hands.
"What… uh, nice clothes?" he said, scratching his scalp.
"I-Is it too much?" she said. She looked to the side, a small blush creeping onto her face.
"No, no. Not at all. Just… whoa. I never thought I'd see you wearing pants, is all."
"I think that's everything," the shopkeeper said, loading one last bag of goods onto the cart.
"Thanks…" said Sadie, "here, take that for yourself, okay?" She reached into her pocket and tossed a coin to him.
The shopkeeper looked at the coin, and then at the lady. "Thanks…" he said, flatly before walking back inside.
"Well, give it back then. Jesus… I didn't ask for his goddamn help."
"You didn't tell him to stop, either," Lily spoke softly.
Sadie scoffed. "Well, you see, Lily? I told you you'd pull off those jeans, nicely."
"We all finished here?" Arthur said, approaching from the direction of the train station. "Sam."
"Arthur," Sam said, tipping his hat. "I was just on my way back from gathering intel."
"Well, you wanna ride with us back to camp?"
Sam shrugged, but consented. "Sure, why not?"
"Okay," said Sadie, "get on, I'm about done here."
Lily cleared some space, so Sam could ride in the back with her. Sadie and Arthur were up front, and Arthur let Sadie drive them back. Aurora followed behind the cart.
"So, you get everything?" said Arthur.
"I think so," said Sadie.
The outlaw glanced at her and Lily. "And some… new clothes, I see?"
"Don't start. I can wear what I damn well want."
"Of course. So, did you find anything out here, Sam?"
Sam turned to him. "It was odd really. The police pulled me aside while I was at the saloon with some of the boys."
"Are you okay?" said Lily.
"Yeah. They didn't do anything. Actually, they wanted my help. It looks like the O'Driscolls really have gone this way."
"Maybe for the same reasons we have," said Arthur.
Sam nodded. "The sheriff said he wanted our help, with his hands full with Lemoyne Raiders and such. There also appears to be two huge families in these parts: The Grays and Braithewaites. The Grays seem to run the saloon and the police station, but I'm not sure what the Braithwaites have, yet."
"Hm." Arthur ran one of his hands through the stubble of his beard. "Could be worth looking into. If they're big families around these parts." He turned his head to face Sam and the girls. "But remember, the gang comes first, before the O'Driscolls."
Sam sighed. He stared at trees and grass and watched everything go by. He wanted to speak up, but Lily's gloved hand placed gently on his stopped. "Sure…"
"Of course…" said Sadie. "It's not like you had your home and everything you own burnt to the ground."
Arthur sighed. "Never really had a home, but… revenge ain't really worth your time, is all I'm saying. But if you three need to learn that lesson the hard way, so be it."
Sam turned to him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Hey there."
A strange man rode up to them wearing some kind of old uniform.
"Hey," Arthur greeted.
"What are you folks up to?"
"Just heading home."
"You're in Lemoyne Raider country. You need to pay a toll to pass through here."
Sam's hand slowly drifted to his holster. He had just heard about them from the sheriff.
"No, I don't think so," Arthur responded.
"You don't think so?" said the man, his voice getting stern. "How about you pull over right now?"
Lily tried to stop herself from fidgeting, especially when another man on a horse, dressed similarly began to ride alongside them from the other side.
"Pull over?" said Arthur.
"That's what I said," said the man.
"Hey, how's about this?" said Sadie. And before any of the others could react, she pulled out her gun and shot at the man, making his horse rear up. Sam was quick and drew his pistol to shoot the man on the other side. "Go, go, go!" Sadie shouted.
"Shit, let's get the hell outta here, go!" Arthur yelled.
The woman urged the horses to go faster. Lily and Sam knelt down into the cart, guns out, while Arthur pulled out a repeater.
"What the hell was that?" said Arthur.
"They was gonna rob us," said Sadie.
"A new pair of pants and you think you're Landon Ricketts."
More Raiders were up ahead. Lily and Sam kept up the rear and Arthur was shooting at some up ahead that were hiding behind rocks. One stepped out into the road, trying to stop them or wave down some back up.
Despite this, Sadie sped up driving towards that Lemoyne Raider pedestrian.
"What are you doing?!" said Lily.
"I'm gonna run this son of a bitch down!" Sadie declared.
Sam nearly fell forward when the cart collided with the man. Lily grabbed Sam from the back of his pants and pulled him down the cart's floor. They were pretty sure the man was dead, when he came out the other side, but Sadie's tunnel vision ran them off the dirt road, and almost into a tree. Luckily, she pulled on the reins and brought them to a stop. More of the Lemoyne Raiders were coming.
Everyone piled off of the cart. Arthur and Sam took cover on one side of the cart, while Sadie and Lily ducked behind some giant rocks. Right as Arthur's feet hit the ground, he held up his rifle and shot a man in the rocks up ahead. Sam kept close to the cart, rounding his head to see anyone coming, and kept them away from the girls.
One had crept around the cart and was sneaking up behind Sam. The young man noticed and turned, smacking the man in the face with the barrel. He fell against the cart, before Sam, silver eyes narrowed and glaring, shot him in the head point blank.
Suddenly, the noticed stray bullets were shooting some of the remaining gang members. The last of them took off running, and Sadie didn't seem to care who had shot them.
"Yeah, you run, you goddamn coward!" she shouted.
"Uh, Sadie?" said Lily. She rose up from the rocks once the coast was clear. "I think we're in trouble," her voice growing quiet as she saw Dutch and Hosea approaching them on the Count and Silver Dollar.
"What the hell is going on out here?" Dutch boomed.
"Uh, hello," said Sam.
"They was gonna rob us!" Sadie shouted.
Dutch was the first off his horse and ran up to the scene. "Is everyone okay?" He patted Sam on the shoulder, suddenlying noticing blood splatter on his face and shoulders. "Sam? Arthur?"
"I'm fine," said Sam. He was grinning like it was nothing, but Dutch soon noticed the dead Raider with a bullet in his head and sighed in relief.
Arthur nodded. "Yeah, Mrs. Adler did okay."
"That's a lot of noise to make near camp, though," said Hosea. "We should get back in case more."
Dutch sighed. "Very well. Get on the cart and follow us back. We'll talk there."
"Alright, I'll drive us back," Sadie said, walking towards the cart.
"No," Arthur said, sternly. He hopped on before her and grabbed the reins.
"Why?"
"Because you've caused enough trouble already."
"I'm fine."
Dutch and Hosea took up the front leading the cart back towards camp, with Sam hopping onto Aurora with Lily and taking up the rear. They made it safely back to camp and helped with unloading the groceries to Pearson's wagon.
Afterwards, Arthur, Sam, Sadie and Lily were all lined up by Dutch's tent. Some of the other gang members walked by, laughing like children watching their siblings getting scolded. Sam was given a rag to wipe off some of the blood splatter from the point blank shot.
Hosea stared in both awe and concern. Sam and Lily had only been with them for about two months, and Sam was already losing his early habits of shock of taking a life. Lily was, as well. In fact, she took to it easier than her cousin.
"We've only been here for about a week," said Dutch. "We can't be causing a ruckus, especially near camp. You'd better make damn sure no one comes sniffing around."
"Come on!" said Sadie. "They was clearly planning to bushwack us!"
"You've been back on your feet for not too long and you're causing trouble."
Sadie crossed her arms. "So, it's okay for Micah to do the same thing?"
"She has a point there, Dutch," said Hosea. Arthur grinned in agreement.
"Oh, come on," said Dutch. "This is a goddamn witch hunt." But, he couldn't ignore the staring faces. "Fine. Mrs. Adler, since you've clearly shown you want to be more of an active participant in the gang, you can go ahead and take up patrol, as well. Maybe you can switch out with Karen or Bill on occasion, if you're out and about try to see if you find anything that might lead you money. Any of it. No more guns near town, or near camp, do you hear me?"
Sadie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright. Whatever you say."
Dutch nodded. "Thank-you. Now, Sam, you were talking to the police in town?"
"The sheriff," Sam explained. "Apparently, the O'Driscolls have moved over here, like us, but I don't know where they are and neither do they, but I think they know about our adventures out there, and wanted my expertise. They said, I could help, and even bring some of you along. Sean and Bill told me about the two big families around these parts. The Grays and the…"
"Braithewaites," said Hosea. "I'm somewhat familiar."
"Hm. Seems worth looking into," said Dutch.
"There was also a strange… foppish looking gentlemen in one of the cells," said Sam. "He tried to get me to help him. And he sounded like this." Sam tried to make an impression. "'Oh, put a sock in it.'"
"Foppish gentlemen?" said Arthur. "Oh." He stifled a laugh. "I think I know who you're talking about."
"Huh?" said Lily. "Who?"
"Oh, trust me. You won't forget him once you know who he is."
"Tomorrow, we'll see what we can do about ..that," said Dutch. "Let's see if we can sort that out."
"I've already got something in mind," Hosea said.
"Arthur, Hosea, both of you start poking around. Knowing you, Hosea, if there's money to gain at the end of this, you'll be able to play those families like a fiddle!"
Sam's eyes lit up. He'd finally get to see the legendary conman in action.
"I think it's best if we stay in the local law's good graces," said Dutch. "So Sam, go ahead with your hunting, but let me know if anything comes up."
Arthur sighed, but rolled his shoulders.
"But remember, boy," Arthur's ears perked up at how stern his mentor's voice was getting. "The gang comes first."
"But-" Dutch's brows furrowed and narrowed his gaze. Sam quickly shut his mouth and his head drooped downward a little. "Y-Yes, sir."
"Good. Now, get. Go finish up your chores, and get ready for bed."
The four ran off. Dutch lit a cigar, chuckling to himself. Hosea was, as well, and pulled up a chair. Together, they sat at the entrance of the gang leaders tent, watching the campfire that was on the other side of the camp. They could faintly hear Javier's guitar playing, and some of the others singing to a song or two.
"Children, all of them…" Dutch said, with a smile. Hopefully, if things go right, they wouldn't be stuck here for long, but it was nice and quiet. Being by the water was a nice change of scenery.
Sometimes plans change, but he'd just have to adapt.
They all were.