A month passed like this, during which John received two bounties, one was the Black Widow Ellie Anne Swan, a sweet lady who had killed her mother in order to elope with her boyfriend, but after all, she was a weak wild girl, and John subdued her in two or three blows. Another time was a ruthless one, Edmund Delerik, a psychopathic murderer active in the southeast of Valentine, whose bounty had been posted two years earlier, and the few bounty hunters who received the bounty were never heard from later, this time John used ingenuity and Sheriff Malloy to kill him, so Valentine's disappearance was much less.

One afternoon, when the sun was shining and the weather was clear, John freshened up in the town and planned to go to the police station to hang out to see if there were any new cases. As soon as he walked into the police station, John saw that more than a dozen police officers had arrived, Thorm, Williams, Sam, and Rook were talking there, Sheriff Malloy looked serious as if something big had happened, and when he saw John walking in curiously, Malloy slightly stretched his eyebrows.

"John! I haven't seen you in a few days, and there's a new case. Sheriff Malloy said.

"Everyone is here, it seems that this person is extraordinary, so where is the poster?" John asked, he had the impression that there was no bounty target worth being pursued by so many people.

"No, it's not the same as just arresting, it's a strike of mine workers from Anissberg, and Ambarino, New Hanover, and Lemon have a duty to send police officers to suppress that damn strike movement." Sheriff Malloy said.

"Are we all going?" John asked.

"How is it possible, you and your old partner Fowler are going to explore the wind, I will stay with a few police officers to continue to maintain law and order in this town, if the situation is not right, I will rush here." Sheriff Malloy said.

"Did you hear me clearly, John? We're going to get going. Mr. Fowler said.

Sheriff Malloy stretched out his hand to stop the people who were about to leave: "Wait, don't be stupid enough to ride a horse across dozens of miles, you go to Wallace Station to catch the train, someone will receive you, and your horses will only have to stay in Valentine to enjoy the delicious forage, do you hear, John Milton?" It's your new name. ”

When everyone walked out, Sheriff Malloy called John to his side.

"I had another purpose in letting you catch the train at Wallace Station, I think you guessed that, right? Do your best to investigate the train robbery, I'm not done with the so-called "pioneers". ”

Half an hour later, John and his party arrived at Wallace Station, and Mr. Fowler went to hand over the work with the special person arranged by Sheriff Malloy, and John bought some chewing tobacco and tequila in the store attached to Wallace Station, and it could be seen that the owner of Wallace's store had obviously just been replaced, because the new owner was very difficult to use his hands and feet, and while looking for goods, he looked up from time to time and looked up at John muttering sorry and something like that, so John knew that the original shopkeeper was probably killed by the pioneers.

Anyway, they boarded the train on time, and it didn't take long to see the sparse houses and smoky chimneys lining the tracks.

"Some say that sooner or later these towns will come together." Mr. Fowler said.

The Annisberg railway station seems to be a transit station, where the conductors buy a lot of coal and other supplies, John gets acquainted with an old Indian named Luoyu, and from the conversation, he learns that Luoyu has returned from Canada to mourn his son, and will take the train back tonight.

"What a long journey!" John sighed.

Seeing that Anissberg did not send any receptionists, Mr. Fowler told John and Williams to go out into the streets to investigate the strike, while he and the rest of the people went to the local police station or sheriff's office, so John planned to visit the first industrialized city in his life.

In the residential area near the hill in Anissberg, John overheard the following conversation.

"You never listen to me! I'm like playing the harp to a cow. A female voice said.

"And what do you want me to do?" A man said, the man's voice was rough and thick, it should be a conversation between the couple.

"I don't want you to be a miner anymore, okay?"

"Do you want me to go back to being a pickpocket? Well? John saw that the man was not tall, with a miner's lamp on top of his head, and his clothes were dirty. I'm raising a family. ”

"But if your lungs are bad, you won't be able to support your family." The woman almost shouted, "What if it collapses again?" ”

"Well, how many times have I told you...... It will be fine, and when I earn enough money, we will move to Valentine, find a clean and easy farm job, and we will not have to worry about my health. ”

"Oh yes, who's going to change all that? …… It's you? Or Jameson? He's just going to make you work to death!" The woman sobbed.

"I've had enough! I went to work and made money. After the man finished speaking, he walked towards the mine with a helpless face.

"Then you go! Look if I still care if you can come back! Isn't there a single person of normal intelligence in this town? That fool, I love him and hate him, covered in soot every day, coughing until midnight. ”

Seeing this, John and Williams stepped forward, trying to comfort the wife as much as they could.

When the woman saw two men in police uniforms approaching, she immediately wiped away her tears.

"Oh, gentlemen, I don't see you over there."

"It's fine."

"Don't strike because of the strike...... I arrested my husband, who was one of the few people who was still working, and Jameson said that the workers who returned to work were paid as usual, and our family was struggling...... He was totally against the strike! Don't arrest him!"

"Ma'am, no."

The miner's wife told John that the strike had begun a week earlier, when a guard's negligence caused the mine to collapse, killing nine miners and surviving her husband. The workers then refused to work the next day in great grief, and Jameson, the head of the mine, doubled wages to incentivize workers to return to work, with little success.

"John, it's time to go, Mr. Jameson has Sir Marlin come and meet us." Mr. Fowler walked over.

Mr. Fowler said that Sir Marlin was waiting for them at the mouth of the mine on the hill, and that the way up the hill was a staircase made of wood, beside a round pipe that I did not know what to transport, and along the way there were red-painted huts, which were said to be temporary quarters for the mine guards and miners.

"After the general strike, some of the workers went home, some of them still live here, and the guards were well-equipped and numerous, but there was nothing they could do with the workers." Mr. Fowler explained.

Reaching the top of the mountain, a smell of coal tar mixed with anthracene oil came to my face, and of course there was an endless smoke, and among the countless fine gray particles, a gentleman with a walking stick and dressed formally made a bow.

"Gentlemen from Valentine, I am Sir Marin, Chief Enforcement Officer of Annisberg, and welcome to this city where capital and development are paramount." Sir Marlin gave John them a contemptuous look and continued: "It is no exaggeration to say that we are the pioneers of southern industry, and we supply almost all the iron products of New Hanover and the surrounding states. ”

"And this black smoke that you are most proud of...... Ahem...... It's not hard to imagine that most of you are suffering from lung disease. Salm was not accustomed to the man's arrogance, and he pretended to cough for it.

The face of the Sir Marlin immediately darkened, and the anger in his chest could be seen in the tense muscles of his face, but as a master, he must not lose his posture, and Sir Marlin put his hands on his cane and slammed the floor with it a few times, and said, "It is indeed smoky here, but if it is for the development of the mining industry, I am sure the workers will be proud of it." ”

"No one is proud of being sick, they just go on strike." Williams retorted, knowing that both he and John had seen what happened to the miners' family.

Sir Marin straightened his face and said, "I think you all know that the present thing is not a joke. And Sheriff Fowler, please take care of your people and don't let your subordinates indulge too much, which will only bring you a rough ride. For this brother, don't look at the cost of pollution without putting aside the essence of production, there are some things that hillbillies will not understand. ”

"It's true or false." John thought, "If Sir Marlin had been right, he would have dealt with the strike on his own, but no one would allow this wretched creature to call in foreign aid and try to put on a show." ”