On a new day, Mr. Fowler paced back and forth in the room, and the "Pinkerton Detective" that Sir Marlin called him really nerve-wracked, and he looked at John sitting on the bed, and he had a solution in his mind, but he didn't know how to say it.

John knew very well that once Detective Pinkerton set off from St. Denis, he had no room to maneuver, Detective Pinkerton knew all the facial features of the bounty target well, even Sergeant Malloy could guess a page of John's wanted book, not to mention Detective Pinkerton - those professional killers, once John met with those Pinkerton detectives invited by Sir Marlin, the matter could be revealed, maybe since John became a police officer, he did bury his original life story well, but this does not mean that the danger is over, Sometimes fate doesn't allow people to live too long with a dual identity.

"John, I have a hunch that you can't hide it this time, the identity of the police may have deceived some brainless people, but Detective Pinkerton, they can even suspect their colleagues, can they not suspect you?"

"I know, it's completely impossible this time." John smiled wryly.

"Not necessarily, I promised to help you to the end, and this time is no exception."

"Mr. Fowler, if you have anything you can do, I can't repay you." A glimmer of hope burned in John's heart.

"I don't think we can make peace with Detective Pinkerton or with them, and there's only one way left: one way out."

"The six of us leaving Annisberg together?"

Mr. Fowler nodded and shook his head: "Ugh...... This time you may have to leave Anissberg alone. ”

It doesn't matter, anyway, John is used to being alone, he is quite concerned about Mr. Fowler's safety, and if he says goodbye like this, won't Sir Marlin and the others be suspicious of Mr. Fowler?

Thinking of this, John looked up and asked, "What about you, Mr. Fowler?" ”

"You're the one they're going to arrest, John, and I'm not the target, but don't think I've betrayed you, we'll get together and come back when the limelight is over. Remember Owen Smith? I will never let Langer spare the demon who made you kill your Lady Fowler, and I will not abandon you on that basis. ”

In the early morning, when the sun had not yet risen and something had not yet seen the light of day, John and Mr. Fowler went to the lumberyard on the top of the hill, where there was no one for the time being, John changed into a clean civilian clothes, Mr. Fowler led a horse that he got out of nowhere, John called it boy, Mr. Fowler patted the boy, and handed the reins to John.

"John, you're leaving, I hope you can do your best to investigate the gold incident, I have a hunch that a lot of things will be involved, we are not good people, if you are in a hurry to use money, make money from this incident."

John said his final goodbye to Mr. Fowler, turned over and rode the boy forward, and saw Mr. Fowler's old figure growing smaller in the morning mist until it vanished.

"Everything is getting old." John didn't know why he was feeling.

There are two paths ahead of John: one is to continue to run for his life and become a penniless fugitive, and the other is to follow Mr. Fowler's suggestion to become a private investigator to investigate the matter and dig for gold in disguise. Anyone with a little adventurous spirit will choose the second path, and John is no different, although he used to be a Pinkerton detective, and Pinkerton detectives have the word "detective" in them, but it is no different from a bounty hunter, and it has nothing to do with detectives at all. John had learned some stories about detectives, especially private detectives, in the book, and their speculation about the logic of the case was convincing, but reality was not the same as fiction, reality had no logic at all, John had no clue about the attempted gold robbery in front of him and whether he wanted to get involved in this money game, and the glittering golden stone was so attractive to a destitute man like him that he blurred his mind and made a bold decision.

Anyway, get your hands on it! John promised in his heart.

John rode down the Ronock Mountains to the flat land at the foot of the mountain, where Annisberg and Valentine were on the way, and he saw a ragged vagabond-looking man sitting cross-legged in the grass by the roadside, with a tent beside him, and his coal lamp, dustpan with cereal, and water bottles, etc., and the stranger apparently noticed John approaching: "Your outfit doesn't seem to be in line with money, and the most holy friend, come and sit down, it won't delay you or anything." John answered and passed.

The homeless man observed John for a few moments, and in this intimidating silence John looked down at the flames, lest he should be recognized by eye contact with him, and then tied up and given to Detective Pinkerton for a bounty.

"Where are you from, friend?" The stranger broke the silence.

John raised his head: "It can be said that the four seas are home. ”

"I'm Mexican and I left because my good brother – someone I've known since I was a kid – betrayed me." The Mexican continued, "Then why am I telling you this? Because the company of strangers is often best. The closer people are to each other, the more they hurt. ”

"I agree, and I regret your sad past." John said.

"Look, you understand that, too." The Mexican lit a cigarette and smoked it freely in his mouth: "This is the last one, friend, I picked it up in Anissberg, so don't expect me to give you another one." I don't know what you're interested in...... Belch...... Anissberg knows a little, but there is a local story about three brothers who were close but were no match for greed: together they found the gold, but one of them ran away with all the gold alone. ”

"I want to hear about it." John who heard the gold immediately became interested.

"Now, all three of them are dead. It is said that the brother who ran away carved a mark in the tree to mark where he had hidden the gold, and that he was shot and killed by another brother who was following him when he went there. As far as I know, no one has ever found the gold, just like the corpse of my good friend. After a pause, he continued, "From then on, we campers had an unwritten rule: every time we passed by the graves of the three brothers, we would bury all the cash we had with us under the dirt in front of the graves, as a sign of our determination that we would never be greedy for money. This might be stupid and funny for a gentleman like you. ”

John didn't know what to say for a moment, his mind was full of the three brothers and the Anissberg mines, which seemed to have nothing to do with each other, but secretly seemed to be connected, and the two fell into silence again.

"Well, I've rested long enough." The Mexicans stood up and walked away.

All right...... The man from Mexico had not packed his things, and it seemed that he was living here, and when he was far away, John looked around to see if there was anything he needed, and he saw a page—a briefing, which seemed to have been cut from a newspaper.

John held the briefing in front of him.

New Hanover Gazette

August 12, 1896

Cannibalism

Bloody trifecta

According to credible sources, three brothers from the city of Annisberg on the Roanoke Ridge have died, and it is reported that the three died from killing each other. Friends of the family called the Bennett brothers, Gideon, Eyler, and Earle, who had been very close, but had recently fallen out over the gold issue, and everyone felt that someone else had stolen their gold. All three have criminal histories, and they ......

The word "they" is followed by a tear, and the paper is yellowed and stiff, which shows that it is indeed from 1896, and now it is 1900, and who would leave something as easily obsolete as a newspaper here?

Puzzled and curious, John flipped through the clippings and read them......