March 1, 1902: From the time we left Valentine, we lived a life of camping in the wild. The hordes of bounty hunters have increased markedly these days, and there are also some passers-by pointing fingers at us, we spend a lot of time climbing mountains and mountains, only settling down in the dead of night, we don't have a clear destination, we pay everything just to avoid being pursued by Detective Pinkerton. Recently, however, I have been disturbed by the emergence of a self-proclaimed "fugitive" voice in the gang......

One day we camped at Cumberland Falls and woke up in the morning to see the snow and ice in the north melting fast. Our bedding was damp and food was scarce, and I came to understand that wandering with a large group of people was not a long-term solution, and although I could adapt to this life myself, these people urgently needed to return to town and return to a human life, so we decided to fix it in Strawberry Town for a while.

Two days later, the Strawberry Town Police Department:

It was a small, confined space, with the sheriff's desk next to several cells, and the smell of sweat and smoke filled the room, making John sick for a while.

After they decided to enter Strawberry Town, Mr. Fowler insisted on visiting the local police station, and according to him, he was considered friends with the sheriff. But they are in a special position at the moment, and John thinks they should avoid contact with living people at any time.

"The police treated fugitives and townspeople equally." In response to John's concerns, Mr. Fowler explained.

John followed Mr. Fowler to a bungalow at the end of town, where the forehead of the house was painted with gray paint in large letters "JAIL" to indicate that it was a stately police station.

"Sheriff Hanley!" Mr. Fowler shouted at the door, and when no one answered, he pushed the door in.

There was only one person in the room, a stocky man with the appearance of a policeman, who was hunched down on the desk to write something, and when he heard the door open, he turned his head sideways to stare at the two who walked in.

"We don't accept bounty hunters."

John saw that Mr. Fowler's expression had become a little exaggerated, and that his clean face was no longer covered by the thick beard that it had used to be, and all the subtle changes were seen in John's eyes.

"Are you a sheriff?" Mr. Fowler asked, only his tone did not look like he was talking to someone he knew.

"Questions? As I said, bounty hunters are not welcome here. The man replied a little impatiently.

"We're not bounty hunters, we're here to find a sheriff named Hanley, do you know each other?" John stepped forward and said, the policeman in front of him was about his own age, and since he was not a person that Mr. Fowler knew, Sheriff Hanley must have someone else.

"It's a friend out of town, but unfortunately, Sheriff Hanley died in the line of duty two years ago, and later, Vernon Farley, that is, I took over the position of Sheriff Hanley." The man's furrowed brow furrowed slightly.

"That's a shame, Sheriff Farley." Mr. Fowler said that John could see that his mood had plummeted.

"However, you don't have to be strange to me, not only did I succeed Hanley as Sheriff of Strawberry Town, but more importantly, I continued his personality and spirit, so I am happy to be friends with Mr. Hanley."

"So Sergeant Farley, can you tell me about Sheriff Hanley's death?" John had also heard about some of the tragic events in Strawberry Town, and he wanted to find out if Sheriff Hanley's death was related to certain cases.

"Gentlemen, that's a sad history that belongs to Strawberry Town. Two years ago, on a quiet afternoon, a skilled bounty hunter arrived in Strawberry Town, stepping into the house as sanctimonious as you did - who would have thought that his target would be a prisoner who had been detained for drunken trouble. The guy used a steam engine to tear open the bars of his cell and handed the prisoner a weapon. This all happened in the town, where Strawberry Town had been rewarded by the governor for being safe and secure, and Sheriff Hanley couldn't swallow it, and he took all the officers and half of the men in town to chase after the two bastards. Sergeant Farley's voice grew angry, and it seemed that he was very angry at the actions of the prisoners, "Such a hunt would be a fatal blow to any daring villain, but ...... These two guys broke into the siege, and our townsfolk fell in the flames of rifle and pump-action guns, and the girls of Strawberry Town lost their fathers, husbands, and siblings that day. ”

Sheriff Farley stopped speaking, silently staring at a newspaper framed on the wall.

The next day, the West Elizabeth newspaper reported the incident in person, and over the course of a week, the wagons that were supposed to be carrying the wood were packed with bodies and headed to the cemetery outside the town. This is the result of a massacre - a bloody campaign of two men, gentlemen, a great disgrace to a town of nearly a thousand people. ”

Mr. Fowler looked thoughtfully at where Sheriff Farley was sitting, and on one of his police duties he had met Sergeant Hanley, who was seated.

"Sheriff Hanley died to protect his people, and his fall is honorable." Sheriff Farley said as he met Mr. Fowler's gaze.

Aside from the mourning for the deceased, John wanted to find out how these two outlaws dared to face the hundreds of pursuers in Strawberry Town, they must have some special ability, otherwise they would not have made such a stupid attempt.

"Mr. Sheriff, have you investigated the identities of these two gangsters when such an incident happens? The people who make such a big commotion must be restless, and they are likely to do the same in other places. John said.

Sheriff Farley nodded slightly: "That's for sure, although there is no direct file left in this case, and the prisoner did not reveal his real name, but I have searched the recent criminal records of this state at the Blackwater Sheriff's Hall, and I speculate that these people are probably the same people who robbed the Brontë train in early 1899."

"Have you verified your guesses?" Mr. Fowler asked.

"This group of people seems to have a route of travel, and according to the route, almost all large and small towns will have accidents. And this group of people is slow-moving, dragging their families and mouths, and their numbers are huge. I investigated further and found that the guns and clothes of the perpetrators of each murder were surprisingly consistent, a largely homeless and cohesive gang that has only been one of the most common in the wake of the infamous O'Drisco gang in the midst of the gang fire—the Van der Linde gang. ”

"Van der Linde Gang!"

Hearing this, John couldn't help but exclaim.

"Well, sir, do you have any opinions? The gang was hot at the time, but now it can't be rebuilt. ”

John gave Mr. Fowler a look and motioned for him to change the subject, but he himself could not restrain the uncontrollable tremor of his heart.

"In Lemon State, the bounty for every member of this gang is a lot of money." Mr. Fowler said calmly.

"The Van der Linde gang fueled the feud between the two Rhodes families and brought them to their demise at the same time, and then drowned Angelo Brontë, who was the meme of it, thinking that with a few loyal sharpshooters they could manipulate history." Sergeant Farley is still reluctant to leave the topic, he knows the Van der Linde gang beyond the ordinary, and is willing to talk endlessly, "I don't know whether to rejoice or be disappointed, the Federation has never caught the Van der Linde Gang, but this does not mean that this gang has not been punished as it should be, after 1899 the Van der Linde Gang is no longer rampant because of internal divisions, it seems that time is the cure for the gang problem." ”

"Perhaps, this gang has long since disappeared into the dust, Sheriff Farley, you should also let go of the things that bothered you, it seems that you don't like bounty hunters." Mr. Fowler said.

Sheriff Farley was stunned for a moment when he heard this.

"In fact, Sheriff Hanley turned away all bounty hunters when he was in office, believing that the town's officers were capable of handling things here. And I'm ...... I just don't want to see any murderer pretending to be a bounty hunter mutilating our brothers and sisters......"