"God, I'm so done with that guy,"

  Lenny complained to Stephen as they rode down the road, "You know what he said? "

  "Boy, I'm better than you, so you gotta listen to me!'"

  Lenny mockingly imitated Micah's tone, making Stephen chuckle.

  "Why even bother arguing with a guy like that? If I were Dutch, I'd have offed him long ago," Stephen said, shaking his head.

  "Actually, Arthur and Hosea don't like him either. They all think Micah's a crazy bastard," Lenny said, puzzled.

  "Ugh, speaking of which, I don't know how we're gonna explain this to Dutch when we get back," Lenny said, looking bummed out.

  They were supposed to scout the trail, but didn't. They did plenty of drinking though. And one guy went missing after one hell of a drinking session.

  "Come with me to take care of something, and then we'll head back together," Stephen said, stretching. "I'll put in a good word for you."

  "What is it?" Lenny asked, curious.

  "It's simple, just a bunch of bandits," Stephen said, casually explaining the situation to Lenny.

  "Okay, just some bandits, huh? With you around, we'll take care of it in no time," Lenny said, relieved. He had imagined it was something terrible.

  "Let's go, it's only a little after nine now. We'll get there just in time for a little action."

  Stephen checked his pocket watch and waved to Lenny. "Let's go, boy, let's go do some good!"

  The two rode their horses, one behind the other, tearing across the Heartlands.

  The night Heartlands were different from the day.

  The moonlight bathed every blade of grass, making it easy to see even without a lantern.

  A million stars twinkled in the sky. The moon and starlight lit up the pitch-black sky, leaving one awestruck.

  The scenery was so beautiful that Stephen slowed his horse to take it all in.

  "This is an awesome place! What do you think about me saving up some money and starting a ranch here?" Stephen asked, stretching and looking at Lenny.

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  "Sounds like a great idea. If I had the money, that's exactly what I'd do," Lenny said, eyeing the scenery.

  "Seriously, this place is perfect. Hosea and the others would love it here."

  Following the stream, the two headed north until they spotted a faint glow in a dense forest.

  "See that? Over in the trees," Stephen said, pointing to the woods ahead. "There's a light. I think I hear voices too."

  "Could that be it?" Lenny said softly. "Wanna go take a look?"

  "Of course. Tie up the horses and we'll go on foot," Stephen said decisively.

  They tied their horses to a nearby tree and, with weapons drawn, cautiously made their way into the forest.

  Emerging from the thicket, they found themselves in a clearing.

  In the heart of the forest sat a small cabin!

  It was pretty primitive. Two rooms, one for living and one for livestock, surrounded by a simple fence.

  The cabin was brightly lit, and two men were outside, seemingly cooking something.

  Stephen and Lenny each pulled out their binoculars and carefully observed the cabin.

  "Look, there's a boy tied to a tree," Lenny said, shocked.

  He gritted his teeth, saying, "See the ground over there? There's a woman's body!!"

  Stephen had already spotted it. It looked like that he had found who he was looking for.

  "Two outside, might be some inside, but I'm guessing at least one," Lenny whispered. "What do we do?"

  "We go in loud," Stephen said, holstering his binoculars and drawing his Schofield Revolvers.

  He checked the bullets and prepared to rush in.

  Lenny asked, "What about me?"

  Stephen answered coldly, "Just cover me."

  With that, Stephen charged toward the two men, dual Schofield Revolvers in hand.

  Just a moment before, he had seen the two men preparing to hurt the boy!

  Stephen raised his guns and fired twice.

  The dim light and uneven ground meant both shots missed.

  But they startled the two men, who dove for cover and shouted into the house.

  Hits or misses didn't matter. Stephen just wanted to stall the two men.

  Sure enough, more people were inside. Two big guys with weapons charged out. One stopped in the doorway and raised a rifle to fire. A gunshot rang out, and the guy with the rifle dropped dead, shot by Lenny who had stayed back to cover Stephen.

  Stephen wasn't surprised.

  A kid Dutch and Hosea trusted had to have some skill.

  In the blink of an eye, Stephen was at the edge of the cabin.

  He jumped over the wooden fence, launching himself into the air.

  The remaining three just stared as Stephen sailed overhead.

  Guns blazing, Stephen fired right and left, dropping the two guys behind cover.

  In the blink of an eye, three were dead. The last one roared, raised his lever-action rifle, and fired two shots at Stephen.

  This rifle was the only rapid-firing, single-person-operated weapon of the time.

  Stephen tracked him. He rolled on the ground to dodge the three bullets, then sprang to his feet and charged the guy.

  The guy stared at Stephen, suddenly panicking and desperately pulling the trigger again.

  But Stephen wasn't gonna let him. He dropped his guns and with his left hand slapped the rifle to the side.

  The rifle was deflected, and a scorching bullet whizzed past Stephen's ear.

  He pulled the Bowie knife from his waist. He flipped the Bowie knife a few times in his hand, and then struck twice into the guy's chest.

  Blood splattered everywhere, covering Stephen.

  Without pause, Stephen yanked the knife out and flung it towards the doorway.

  A good shot is good, but an unexpected shot is better. An old lady had walked through the doorway, and the knife landed in her chest.

  She looked down at the knife, then looked up at the four corpses, then collapsed on the ground.