O'Hara jumped off his horse with some restraint, bowed to Mr. Howlett, and said nothing. James took a few steps and said, "Mr. Danielle has a half-day holiday today, you can't be wrong with us." ”

Mr. Howlett laughed heartily, rubbed James's hair, and said to Victor, "Montenegro's coat color has become purer and purer recently, and you have done a good job Victor." ”

"That's what I'm supposed to do, Mr. Howlett." Victor replied softly, and this steady look made Mr. Howlett bow slightly.

"Okay, I haven't moved for the past few days, take Montenegro out for a yo-yo, do you want to be with you James?"

"That's great, grandfather, I've always wanted to try riding on the Black Mountain!" James replied with a feigned amusement. He then told O'Hara to play by himself for a while and then go back, and followed Mr. Howlett out of the stable.

Even if it is an ordinary linen shirt and wide-legged pants that are standard with denim, Mr. Howlett wears it with a special taste, he is not the kind of elegance and nobility that has accumulated years of aristocratic precipitation, but has the arrogance of a veteran in the army, and his actions are neat. Stooping down to lift James on horseback, take the reins, and the two of them wandered across the vast meadows.

"Jamie, what do you think of Victor?" Mr. Howlett asked.

"Young and old, calm and powerful." James replied shortly and quickly.

Mr. Howlett looked at his little grandson in astonishment, and raised the corners of his mouth and praised: "It seems that you are really good at reading now, Danielle is not wrong, and you are really growing." Mr. Howlett nodded his head and strode forward with satisfaction.

Seeing this, James thought for a moment, and said to Mr. Howlett, "Grandfather, I have heard of Victor's father...... Well, not easy to get along with? Mr. Howlett did not answer directly, but said, "If you have anything to say, let's finish it first." ”

"That's right, Victor is a usable person, and I will need people to take care of the family business in the future, and the loyalty cultivated since childhood is naturally the strongest. It's just that I've heard that Victor doesn't have a good relationship with his father, Mr. Thomas Rogan, and it is said that Mr. Rogan often beats and scolds him except that he never takes care of Victor when he is drunk, and I hope that Victor's situation can be improved to a certain extent, so that he will be grateful to our Howlett family. ”

Mr. Howlett looked at James more and more differently, and he asked rhetorically, "Then what do you think should be done?" James thought for a moment and said calmly, "It's better to let Mr. Logan leave the manor and go farther." Give him a position where he has no rights, but where he can live a more nourishing life, such as taking care of the cattle ranches in the far north or the cotton plantations in the east. In this way, Victor can not only leave him, but also grow up under the nurturing of the Howlett family, and will definitely be able to serve the family well in the future. ”

Mr. Howlett, who slowed down, let out a long sigh: "I have estimated your growth as much as possible Jamie, but you still surprise me so much, I still underestimate you." Good, good, very good! Worthy of my grandson William Howlett! James lowered his head a little shyly, muttering in his heart whether this idea was worth such joy, and then thinking that he was only "twelve" after all, and he used to be a weak and introverted character, no wonder old Howlett was so happy.

Mr. Howlett, who was a little calmer, continued: "It's very good that you can think so, as the future heir of the family, you need to have such considerations. I've been thinking for a while that sooner or later this Thomas Logan is going to get into trouble if he stays on the manor, and you don't have to worry about it, grandfather will give you a satisfactory answer. ”

The grandfather and grandson wandered around for a while, and then went back to prepare for dinner. This was something James had been thinking about for a long time, and things had gone surprisingly well so far. He thought about all kinds of possibilities, the safest thing was to kill Thomas Logan, but as his real blood father in this life, although James did not have much resistance in his heart, he did not want to bear the consequences of killing his father.

He didn't want to do it unless he had to, and now that he was only a teenager after all, even if there was a way to deal with Thomas Rogan, he still had to take a great risk. Letting him leave the manor was the best option, even if he was reluctant or refused, Mr. Howlett had a way to deal with Thomas Rogan, and as long as Logan didn't go crazy or wanted to settle himself, he wouldn't talk about the affair with Lady Elizabeth.

James, who had a huge stone in his heart, ate an extra steak in the evening, and now he ate more and more, and the practice in the past few months has obviously promoted the development of his body, and he has not been as inexplicably sick as before.

After dinner, Mr. Howlett told John and Elizabeth that he wanted Thomas Logan to go to the northernmost cattle ranch to guard the forage and other supplies, and give him a relatively good weekly salary and a small house. Elizabeth was overjoyed to support Mr. Howlett, and insisted that it was all up to her father.

But John was a little opposed, saying something like Thomas would come out sooner or later. Mr. Howlett could not help but be dissatisfied with this weak and indecisive son, but he felt a little more comforted when he thought that his grandson was a material who could make things happen.

Things seemed to be in order, and the manor seemed to have escaped a possible storm.

In the face of such a promotion, Thomas Logan unexpectedly refused, but gritted his teeth and accepted it when Mr. Howlett indifferently told him to leave the manor if he didn't want to go. That evening he tried to approach Elizabeth and tell her all about it, hoping to advance their plans for an "elopement", but coincidentally, Mrs. Howlett had been living in seclusion lately, and had not given him the slightest chance to meet and talk.

Alberta's weather has been gloomy lately, as if something was brewing.

At night, a muffled thunderstorm sounded in the dense sky as black as ink. In this era, when there is no moonlight and starlight, it is really dark outdoors.

Thomas Rogan sat on his old cloth couch, his body sinking deep into it, holding a bottomed bottle of rum in his hand and two empty bottles at his feet. Victor was already lying in his room, not knowing if he was really asleep or deliberately not making a sound, as if he didn't exist.

Logan's cloudy black and red face was full of hideousness, and his heart roared, accusing everything. The alcohol burned Thomas Rogan's head, and his already muscular brain was full of power under the pouring of the spirits, he got up in a boil, grabbed the shotgun standing beside the bed, broke it and looked at the bullets pressed in the chamber, shook it with one hand, and put the butt on it.

Thomas Logan pushed the door open and strode out, and finally there was a thunderbolt in the sky, and the rain poured down.

After all, Mr. Howlett was old, and he had not fallen asleep on such a rainy night, and the old man was tossing and turning in bed, and his heart was a little restless. There was a faint sound of slamming the door downstairs, but it wasn't very clear under the heavy rain.

Rumble!

He was awakened by the loud sound of the door being blown open by a shotgun, and Mr. Howlett jerked over and got out of bed, took out the musket in the bedside table, examined it, and quickly walked out of the room against the wall of the hallway.

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth! ”

Thomas Rogen cried incessantly, wandering around the halls of the manor's main building, his head red like a fighting. John also put on his clothes and went out of the room, and he reassured his wife not to move and stay in the house. Bumped into my father on the side of the stairs.

"It sounds like Thomas, I'll go and see, father, go back and rest, it's all right."

The old man wanted to hold his son, but he only pulled the corner of John's clothes, and John said "don't worry" and ran down with his bare hands.

Mr. Howlett hurriedly went down from the other side, called the four men who had already woken up and got their weapons, nodded slightly, and led people to follow quickly.

As he approached the hall, there was a bang, and the shotgun burst again, and his heart sank, and the old man trembled his beard sharply, and stepped up the steps in two steps, only to see his son lying in a pool of blood in a white robe and pajamas, and his whole chest was soaked in bright red.

Thomas Rogan gasped and stood by with a gun, as if he were a spectator.

He watched as the four gunmen beside Mr. Howlett raised their shotguns and pointed them at him, and the muzzles of their guns flashed blinding sparks......