The bond between men can be simple sometimes.
At least, Stephen felt his relationship with Lenny was pretty good at this point.
They left Strawberry together, and despite numerous inquiries along the way, they made it through safely thanks to Stephen's cover.
"Achoo! This town smells awful."
Lenny couldn't help but sneeze as they approached Valentine.
"Yeah, it stinks." Stephen couldn't help but complain either, "Even a real stable doesn't smell this bad."
"Do we really have to drink here?" Lenny rubbed his nose and frowned. "Wasn't that speakeasy at Wallace Station pretty good?"
"Don't be ridiculous, man. If you get drunk there, the bandits around here will skin you alive."
A black market is a black market, you know? What kind of black market isn't shady?
You really think that ticket guy Johnny is some kind of good person? Anyone who thinks that has grass three meters high growing on their grave.
"Oh, I'm really worried about Micah." Lenny said with a laugh. "I hope he gets back safe."
Getting that drunk and beat up, Micah's going to have a rough time.
"Are you going to pray for him? Don't be ridiculous. Let's go, let's have a good drink, the girls in the saloon are waiting for us!"
Stephen and Lenny left their horses at the stable, then they walked arm-in-arm towards the saloon.
They had barely left the stable when a carriage slowly stopped in front of them.
"Hey, fellas, want to join us for a drink?" Three beautiful girls in the carriage shouted at them without reservation.
"Haha, of course, it's on me today!" Stephen said nonchalantly.
It was Mary-Beth, Karen, and Tilly. And of course, Arthur and Uncle driving the carriage in the front.
"Oh? Really? Looks like it's my lucky day!!" Uncle shouted excitedly, hearing that someone was buying drinks.
"Looks like you guys struck it rich?" Arthur looked at them curiously. "But I'm more curious about how you two ended up together."
"Well, that's a long story." Stephen said with a smile, "Why don't you pull over the carriage, and we can go to the saloon and chat over drinks?"
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"They all have things to do." Arthur laughed and said to the people behind him, "Do what you want to do, and let's all have a drink together later tonight."
At his agreement, the women behind him, including Uncle, cheered.
The women and Uncle happily left, and Arthur sat down with Stephen and Lenny on the chairs in front of the general store.
"Uncle wanted to buy something, but I think he just wants to buy booze." Arthur said without waiting for Stephen to ask.
"And our three beautiful ladies were bored at camp and wanted to visit the civilized world."
"So you became their driver?" Stephen said jokingly.
"Oh, sure." Arthur said helplessly.
"What have you guys been up to lately?" Stephen asked curiously, looking at the tired Arthur.
Arthur rubbed his head. "Nothing much, just hiding, but this kind of life is hard."
Saying that, he looked up at Lenny, "Didn't Dutch send you to scout? How did you end up with Stephen? And where's Micah?"
Lenny immediately started to complain, telling Arthur everything that had happened along the way. Arthur listened to Lenny's account with a serious expression.
"I've been saying we should kick Micah out." Arthur said with disdain. "Dutch sent him to scout, and he just went drinking? He's a disaster."
Arthur knew his partners, and he didn't think Lenny would lie about it.
Lenny was a reliable guy, so it was obvious that Micah was messing around.
"Hehe, why are we talking about that killjoy when we're having so much fun?" Uncle came out of the general store with a bottle of booze, and swayed over.
He shook the bottle as he put his arm around Lenny's shoulder and said, "Come on, kid, let's have a drink."
"Oh, Uncle, this is serious." Lenny quickly pushed Uncle away. "Let's drink when we go to the saloon."
"What are you going to do next?" Stephen looked at Arthur curiously. "Keep hiding here?"
"I don't think that's a good idea. You'll get found sooner or later."
"Then what can we do? We're stuck here, we can't go anywhere." Arthur said in frustration. "We can't get to the safe places in the West without going through Blackwater."
Stephen shook his head. Arthur was still thinking too simply.
The West? Is the West safe?
Don't be ridiculous, once those organizations are established, there will be nowhere safe.
But Stephen wouldn't say that, they wouldn't understand.
"If, and I mean if, would you go to Mexico?" Stephen asked tentatively.
"Mexico? Javier's homeland? Why would we go there?" Arthur asked with surprise.
"At least no one's hunting you there, and it's easier to run somewhere else." Stephen said, "As far as I know, there are boats in Rhodes, and people in the black market there do smuggling deals."
Rhodes and Blackwater were at opposite ends of Flat Iron Lake. Unlike Blackwater with its natural harbor, Rhodes didn't have a large port.
But that gave some opportunities to smugglers.
Compared to the strict searches near Blackwater, Rhodes was much better. Many smugglers traveled between Mexico and the United States from there.
Hearing Stephen's words, Arthur fell silent.
After a while, he shook his head and said, "Dutch wouldn't agree, it's not his style."
Stephen didn't understand, but he had said what he had to say, and it was up to them to listen or not.
"Gentlemen! I have good news." Just as they were silent, Mary-Beth quietly walked over, looking excited.
"I found a chance to make money." She looked at Arthur excitedly. "I heard that in a few days, a train will come from the East, full of tourists."
"Then, the train will pass through the desolate Scarlett Meadows, and it will be full of rich people from the East!!"
Mary-Beth's words immediately filled Arthur, Uncle, and Lenny with interest, and the four of them excitedly discussed it.
Stephen was speechless. They were just talking about how to hide and run away, and now they're going to rob a train?
These people, they never learn...
