The autumn monsoon blows from the state of Ambarino to New Hanover. The cold wind sweeps over the surface of the Camasa River and passes through the canyons on both sides of the lower reaches of the river. Overnight, Fort Brennand, on the high ground by the river, was hit by cold air.
The morning fog gradually dissipated in front of John's eyes. He tightened the reins in his hands unconsciously. Black Pearl raised his front hooves knowingly. They had to quickly climb over the mountains and cross the troughs in the morning. The boy riding beside him was riding beside him. OK Miller.
John had a premonition that they would encounter danger, so he polished his weapons before leaving. Although Fort Brennand was still not close to Lemoyne State where John and others were wanted, Van Horn was there. The gathering place of gangs - this is also a group of guys who are difficult to deal with.
While passing by a shoal, John saw a group of turkeys with rich feathers and bright colors drinking water on the beach. As the sound of horse hooves gradually approached, these birds flew up in the water and made chirping sounds.
"What a strange bunch of birds," John complained.
"Are you talking about those birds that can't fly high?" Miller also noticed the birds flying nearby. "Those are Rio Grande turkeys. They are really monsters. Their bright feathers are amazing." It’s a hot commodity for beast hunters, but no one wants to listen to its cry for a second longer.”
There are many shoals inhabited by turkeys nearby, and wild animals such as wild badgers and pronghorns are everywhere. This is the scene around Brennand's Fort. In other words, John and the others have arrived. The fortress.
"John, did you see it?" After crossing a horseshoe-shaped river, Miller pointed to the looming building in the fog ahead.
John jumped off the horse and took out the weapon from the saddle bag. He slowly approached the building. It was a stone city. Although it did not occupy a large area, the stones on all sides were enough to be called an iron wall. Only John faced There is a gap half a person's height on the right side.
"These guys are really cunning, camping in this easily defended and difficult to attack place." John whispered.
"Van Horn is just a magpie's nest. A few years ago, Lemoyne's leader, Lindsay Warford, hid here. A bounty hunter broke through heavy firepower and captured him alive. Later, those bastards from Van Horn took a fancy to him. Here." Miller took off the rifle from the horse, "I guess we will encounter the same encounter as the bounty hunter today."
"I'm willing to fight to the death for Mr. Fowler," John said calmly.
"Follow me, Brother John."
After confirming that there was no one guarding near the gap, Miller came to the high stone wall, observed through the gap in the stone for a while, made a motionless gesture to John, and took the lead in getting in through the gap.
"Why is there no one?" Miller looked around and saw no one.
"There are overgrown weeds everywhere and the beams are crooked. It should be abandoned. There is a room there. Let's go find out if there is any valuable information."
John clenched the gun in his hand and walked towards the wooden house in front of him. Just as he was about to step through the door, he almost bumped into a disheveled homeless man who came out of it.
The homeless man obviously didn't expect anyone to come in. He was knocked to the ground and crawled on the overgrown ground, his eyes blurred.
Although John did not lose his dignity like this, he still stumbled, and then he recovered and grabbed the stranger's collar.
"Are you from the Van Horn Gang? We've been looking for you for a long time."
"No...no...don't get me wrong...I just happened to pass by here...I didn't expect this to be Mr. Van Horn's territory."
Seeing this, Miller said: "Let him go, John, the town of Van Horn is nearby, and no one will be dressed in rags like him."
Seeing John let go of his hand, the tramp left the stone fortress with a look of fear on his face.
In order to prevent the possibility of other ambushes, John walked into the room cautiously and saw a pile of unburned firewood and some broken wine bottles on the ground. The wooden box was the only furniture in the room and there were several boxes of cigarettes scattered on it.
John stepped on the dark brown charcoal fire and said, "He has obviously been living there for a while, and this guy actually lit a fire in the wooden house."
"Wait, look, there is another hidden space here." Miller said suddenly.
John looked in the direction of Miller's finger. It was a dark corner, while other places were filled with sunlight because of the holes in the roof.
A drop of water fell from the ceiling and disappeared into the darkness. It took a long time before a subtle echo sounded.
"That's the entrance to the basement." John walked towards the darkness.
In an environment without any light source, a mist filled the basement. Even though there was always a rancid smell, the furnishings here were much more regular than in the room.
"I think the Van Horn Gang will use the darkness here to hide something." John guessed.
"John, there's a box here."
Miller explored the depths of the darkness, and soon he screamed, as if John's guess had been verified.
Something surprising happened to the two of them. The box was open. When they put their hands into the box to explore, John touched a hard block as big as a fist. When he raised the hard block in front of his eyes, it glowed faintly yellow and appeared all around. It stands out compared to the dimness.
Then both men realized what treasure John had in his hands.
This is a piece of gold!
