Every morning at eight o'clock, the train whistle sounded throughout the Cumberland Forest on time. After that, women from various gangs would carry large and small basins of dirty clothes to the Dakota River in the north of the forest to wash. During the repeated wiping and rinsing, the women often looked up at each other, but no one would initiate a conversation. As the main force of the gang, men will disperse around the camp with guns in hand, using their bodies to draw boundaries for the gang.
The Cumberland Forest District is home to most of the small-scale gangs from several nearby states. Even though these gangs have different beliefs, most of them struggle to make a living under the pursuit of the police. Therefore, there has been a precedent of joint resistance to the police and bounty hunters here. This is also a point that makes law enforcement forces afraid of approaching this place.
On this day, John went up to the fir slope in the south of the forest area to smoke and relax. The view here was wide and clear and picturesque. On the opposite hillside, several children from neighboring gangs were chasing and playing. He was ready to spend the morning watching the children. They play.
"Miller is changing guard with me. I can rest a little longer."
Stritch came to John at some point, asked him for a cigarette and started smoking.
A bleak autumn wind was blowing from the east, and her pajamas were laid casually on Stritch's body, highlighting her extremely graceful figure. One can imagine how surprised and admired the men from other gangs would look at her when she was standing guard for the gang. look.
John stopped his endless reverie and returned to reality. He smacked his lips and reminded the woman beside him: "Put on more clothes so you won't catch a cold in this weather."
On the other hand, Stritch had a nonchalant look on his face: "I think being naked here is much warmer than being wrapped in a thick cotton coat in Plow Village."
"One of the reasons we got out there was to get everyone out of the cold."
"Of course it is - just as deadly as the cold is the constant tension, and I noticed that you have been flipping through maps all night recently. You should really relax."
"I'm as rested as a hibernating bear, haven't you noticed? We haven't had many purposeful conversations since we left Coulter Village."
"I guess everyone is used to being idle, and talking about daily life is too easy to become addictive."
"No, this is a kind of integration." John said every word.
Stritch's eyes lit up. She longed that the person John meant to integrate was herself. Although two years had passed, she still hoped that he would accept her verbally.
John almost guessed what Stritch was thinking in his heart: "Of course it's not just you who has integrated, there are other people, even myself. We are eager to turn ourselves into a grain of sand in the wilderness, swaying here and there with the dust storm. … Let me do the math, starting from Strawberry Town, Mr. Fowler, Mrs. McIver, Burkey Long and William Kinson joined, and their integration made the gang bigger and bigger.”
"Remember when we first evacuated Saint-Denis? It was really embarrassing when I think about it now."
"It's not much better at the moment." John said with a wry smile.
For several minutes they remained silent, while John continued to observe the children's play. Ten minutes later, a boy seemed to notice something unusual and ran back screaming. The other children hesitated for a moment and realized something, and reacted in the same way as the boy.
Suddenly, intensive gunfire accompanied by the sound of horse hooves came over the hill. The horse hooves on the hillside raised a cloud of dust. A horse team of about ten or twenty people galloped out of the smoke. However, it seemed that they were not galloping boldly. Instead... he ran away. Soon, dense blue dots appeared behind the group, which were the conspicuous uniforms of the Saint-Denis police.
"What are the police from Saint-Denis doing here?" Stritch naturally recognized him after living in Saint-Denis for many years.
"There are bullets flying over, be careful!" John couldn't dodge the countless stray bullets that suddenly flew in. "It looks like they are coming towards the forest area. We have to go back to protect others."
"John, those mounted policemen are from St. Denis. Have you forgotten what we did there? We can't bring wolves into the house. We have to keep them on the outskirts of the Cumberland Woods."
"That's a great idea, but how do we do it?"
"John, do you have a gun?"
"Only a carry pistol."
"I don't have a weapon on me, damn it."
"This way, Mrs. Manstar - you go back and get the gun, and I'll stay to stop the enemy."
"It's too risky to do this. Besides, I don't know who the first group of people are. Once they misunderstand what you mean, you will face attacks from two types of people."
"I think they will understand the current situation. Go back quickly, madam, time is precious!"
Time was running out, so John pulled out his pistol and crouched down behind a rock. It wasn't until he watched Stritch enter the depths of the jungle that he breathed a sigh of relief and stuck his head out to observe the situation.
The leader seemed to be a leader. He had a gray beard and a conspicuous feather attached to the felt hat on his head. The others were wearing linen jackets. According to his understanding of the primitive tribes in this land, This is Indian attire.
John kept shooting at the ground in front of the horses' front hooves, causing mud to fly up to warn them not to get any closer.
I hope these savages will retaliate for their kindness. Rudeness is John's first impression of the Indians.
John put his head out and was about to eliminate the threat in front of him when he ran into several Indians jumping over the rocks. Among them, the Indian leader sat down next to John and glanced at John with a pair of small eyes.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but we have to get rid of these people first. Are you willing to help me?" The Indian leader did not mean to blame John at all.
John nodded slightly...
Seeing the last enemy fall in the interweaving of bullets, the Indian leader let out a long sigh, and then tightly grasped John's right hand in his wrinkled hands.
"I am Papiti Verga, an Indian chief who lives alone in a tribe. Sir, may I know your name?"
John thought about it and gave him his real name. The chief frowned slightly when he heard the name.
"Sir, you are not popular in this state. Many people are inquiring about your whereabouts, but don't worry, we have absolutely no plans in this regard. We are setting off from Wapiti to a new reservation, and some passers-by with ill intentions We were followed and the police showed up.”
Papiti glanced at John and others before leaning forward and said: "I am very grateful to you all for your efforts. You chose to help us without knowing it. This is a rare trust in the wilderness here. Please allow me to introduce my child." , the unique glutton in the tribe—Selushi Verga." After some praise, Papiti pointed to a young Indian next to him with a face painted with a beast.
"I don't know since when, this land has stopped accepting Indians. Everyone is occupying our living space and doing everything possible to push our people to a dead end. After this time, the military and the government will definitely continue to find ways to The bad things are blamed on us Indians." Papiti said, with resentment in his eyes, and even a hint of sadness.
"But...Dad, Brother Anlubo is still in contact with some white people from Rhodes Town and Van Horn. You should put an end to this kind of behavior." The Indian who was called the Gluttonous Lion said.
"Oh... Gentlemen, Anlubo is my second child. He did not go with the cavalry today. This child is a few years younger than Luo Xi. He likes to meet new people and socialize, although he is sometimes stupid enough to make mistakes. I I believe he will grow into an excellent diplomat in a few years and make some contribution to the broken situation of us indigenous people."
"Hey... I didn't want him to go down this road. My son deserves a better life. The hateful white people have caused the death of families and wives in all major tribes." Sailuoxi winked at his father. So Papiti realized that his words were biased, "Of course I don't mean you, Mr. Coster. There are good people like you in any skin color."
"To repay my gratitude, I would like to invite your fellow gang members. You helped us fight off the police. This place must not be able to stay anymore, and the reservation is enough for you."
"I guess that's the case, we don't plan to live in this place permanently," John said.
"So the reservation is a great place for you, and trust me, we can protect each other,"
After some thought, John decided to accept this proposal. In the past few days, he has been looking for a place for the gang to live on the map. At present, it seems that a reservation protected by racial laws is the best choice.
