This once-in-a-century snowstorm in Ambarino finally came to an end after raging for nearly three days. Although the wind and snow are still constant, it is at least much better than the previous few days where one could die accidentally.
Early morning, Plow Village.
Brandi pushed open the door, and the wind that had subsided a lot blew against his cheek, still biting, but somewhat better than the previous few days.
The experience of last night was still vivid in his mind. Brandi actually still didn't believe that he actually fought side by side with Arthur, which still made him feel heartbeat.
Moreover, his marksmanship was also praised by Dutch. Although Brandi has a very clear understanding of his abilities, he still feels very happy. You know, Dutch Van der Linde was the teacher of Arthur Morgan and John Marston. He taught an Eastern legend and a Western legend step by step, but neither of his two students was able to excel. , so, regardless of other things, when it comes to marksmanship, his opinions are very valuable.
If Brandi was just living in a muddle over the past year, now he has found his love for life and his longing for the future after a long absence. He began to believe that he would be able to make a name for himself in this Western world that had only appeared in his dreams.
Brandy pushed open the door of the cabin diagonally facing her, and almost everyone in the Van der Linde gang was there. As soon as they entered the door, they heard Abigail, John Marston's wife, murmuring absentmindedly: "I haven't seen him for several days, and the weather has not improved..."
On the side, the black girl Tilly comforted: "He is very strong and very smart."
"At least you're still strong," Abigail didn't feel relieved by these words of comfort. Seeing Brandy come in, she just greeted absentmindedly, "Oh, good morning, Mr. Munny, do you want some coffee?" ?”
"Of course, Mrs. Marston." Munny nodded, took the coffee cup from Abigail, sat down next to Lenny Summers, the youngest male member of the Van der Linde gang, and asked: " Hey, Lenny, what’s going on?”
In general, it is easy for young people, especially those of the same sex, to establish good relationships. After returning from Adler Farm last night, Brandi had dinner with everyone from the Van der Linde Gang, and chatted a little more with Lenny during the dinner. Although they didn't communicate much, the two of them got along very well and quickly became familiar with each other.
"It's John. He hasn't come back yet," Lenny's face didn't look very good. "The wind and snow outside haven't stopped yet, so I don't know if there will be any accidents."
Brandy took a sip of her coffee and said, "Don't worry, good luck will come your way. John will be fine."
"I hope so," Lenny said.
At this time, the door opened again, and Arthur walked in and warmed himself in front of the fireplace.
"Hello, Arthur," Abigail greeted.
"Abigail." Arthur nodded in response.
"Hey, Arthur," Abigail suddenly stepped forward and said, "How are you doing?"
Arthur looked at Abigail hesitantly: "It's okay, Abigail...what about you?"
Abigail's tone was mixed with hesitation, anxiety and apology: "I need you... to hold... I'm sorry, I'm sorry to trouble you, but..."
"It's that boy John..." Arthur interrupted Abigail politely and said harshly, "He got himself into trouble again."
"He has been missing for two...two days." The anxious part of Abigail's tone took over.
"Your John will be fine," Arthur's words became even more mean. "I mean... he may be as inexperienced as a stone and as useless as scrap metal, but that's not the case. That changes just because he's stuck in a snowstorm."
"At least take a look," then Hosea Matthews, the gang's think tank, said, "Javier?"
"What's going on?" Javier Iscola, who was wearing an exotic Mexican shawl, responded.
"Javier, can you and Arthur go out to look for John?" Hosea's tone was half an order, half a question, "We only have you two as the most suitable candidates."
"Now?" Javier looked at the snow and wind outside the house, obviously reluctant.
"She is..." Hosea glanced at Abigail subconsciously, and then changed his words, "We are all... we are very worried about him."
"I know that if it had been the other way around," Javier said, standing up and handing Arthur a polished revolver, "he would have come for me too."
Arthur took the gun without saying a word, so he accepted the job.
"Thank you," Abigail shouted.
Arthur nodded and followed Javier out the door.
"Why don't I go too," Brandi said at this time, "I am more familiar with the roads here, so I can take care of you."
"Follow me, kid." Arthur didn't waste any time and just waved to Brandy to follow him.
The three of them left Coulter Village on horseback.
Javier took the lead: "This way. As far as I know, John went up the river."
Arthur still had nothing good to say: "We only know that he kept going north without looking back."
"He won't leave, he won't just walk away." Javier firmly believes this.
Arthur pouted: "It's not his first time anyway."
Brandy asked with some confusion: "Well, Arthur, is there anything going on between you and John? Aren't you all a family from the same gang?"
"Oh, how could I have anything to do with Mr. John Marston?" Arthur's tone began to become sinister. "He is such a good person, with a strong will, excellent marksmanship, and rare good luck. Finally, The important thing is that he still has the courage to abandon his family, gangs, and everything else. How could I have anything to do with such an outstanding man?"
As expected of Arthur, who is known as the "King of the Bad Mouth of the West" by the majority of players, he sneered at John with no use of a single curse word, which made Javier, an outsider, a little unbearable, and hurriedly tried to smooth things over by saying, "But Didn’t he come back in the end? I believe John just had some psychological problems that he didn’t understand at that time. He still cares about us partners, not to mention his wife and children here.”
"Whatever you say." Arthur said disapprovingly.
"Don't be offended, Brandi," Javier said, "Arthur is such a person, his mouth is sharper than a knife. You have to be careful in the future, be careful with your words and actions, and don't let this old boy take the opportunity."
"Haha, don't worry Javier, I've always been a good boy." Brandi smiled.
The three of them walked all the way upstream along the river. As they went upstream, the road became more and more rugged and difficult to navigate. Although the thick snow somewhat smoothed the road for them, it still made their journey to find people more difficult.
"Hey, I see smoke," Javier suddenly shouted, "come on, let's go take a look."
"I hope it's not the O'Drisco gang again." Since meeting the O'Drisco gang at the Adler Ranch last night, Arthur has become more wary of the people in this snowy field.
The three of them walked a few more steps and stopped in front of an abandoned camp by the river.
Javier dismounted and walked to the camp and began to look around.
"Well...it seems that someone just left...not long ago...and..." After some investigation, Javier finally determined the direction, "It's going that way."
"Okay, let's follow up and take a look." Arthur said.
Brandi was a little surprised: "Javier, how did you see the residual traces? In this weather..."
"It's impossible to leave much reliable information on the snow, right?" Javier seemed to have guessed what he wanted to say, and his smile was quite proud at this moment.
"I dare not say anything else. Javier is unmatched in this aspect." Arthur also gave a positive evaluation of Javier's ability.
"I'll tell you the ropes when I have time." Javier clamped his horse's belly, and his gray Tovio American pinto horse ran in the direction he had determined. "Now, let's focus on finding John. , there are some horse hoof prints here, heading towards the river."
The three of them crossed the river. According to Javier's instructions, there were also horse hoof prints extending forward.
"Do you think this could be John?" Arthur asked.
"What do you think?" Javier was also a little unsure, "These must be horse hoof prints, but... anyone can do it. Let's follow the horse hoof prints."
Arthur suddenly asked: "Well... Javier, you were at the scene. What happened on that ship?"
"We got the money, everything seemed fine, and then all of a sudden there were enemies from all directions."
"Bounty hunter?"
"No, it's Detective Pinkerton. Shooting like crazy."
The three of them gradually moved towards a snowy peak. After bypassing a deep ditch, they continued towards the depths of the mountain range.
"Dutch killed a girl," Javier continued from the previous topic. "It was a cruel way, but the situation was urgent."
"That's not like him," Arthur commented.
Javier turned his head to look at the snow and said, "There are more horse hoof prints on the edge of the cliff." This time Brandy could also see clear marks.
"David was shot," Javier continued, "and so were Mike and John. As for Sean, we didn't even see him, and I couldn't believe we made it out. By the time you showed up on the other side of town, we were almost I can't hold it anymore." Recalling the experience in Blackwater Town, Javier still has lingering fears.
"It's really miserable." Arthur felt that he felt the same.
The further you go up the mountain, the stronger the wind and snow become. A few days ago, the wind and snow on the mountain would have directly buried the rider and his horse alive under the snow. Although it was much better now, it was still so strong that the three of them could not open their eyes.
"Damn, the wind and snow are getting bigger and bigger," Arthur said while using his arms to block the gusts of wind and snow coming towards him.
"We should hurry up, otherwise I won't even be able to find the horse's hoof prints." Javier's voice revealed an anxious tone.
"I don't understand, Javier," said Brandy, "we can't go on searching like this. There are only a few good steps further up the mountain, and our horses are tired. "
"Let's go a little further," Javier encouraged, "and maybe we can find the footprints again."
The three of them began to walk carefully along the increasingly rugged mountain road. The snow here was covered with a thick layer of new snow. It was not only difficult for the tired horses to walk on it, but the horseshoes also slipped from time to time, but it was good. The horses here are very reliable and try to obey their masters despite the obstacles on the road.
"Hey, look, over there, do you see that?" Javier said, pointing to the dark thing on the snow not far away.
The three of them quickened their pace, and the dark thing gradually took on a distinct shape. It turned out to be the body of a horse.
There was a hint of solemnity in Javier's tone: "When we left Blackwater Town, John was riding this horse."
"Oh... this is really..." Looking at the horse's miserable state, Arthur couldn't help but frown.
"Only a pack of wolves can inflict such wounds," Brandy held the carbine in his hand. "Be careful, they must not have gone far yet."
"Let's see if he can hear us," Javier said, drawing his revolver from his waist and firing two shots into the air. The gunfire echoed across the mountains like summer thunder.
At this time, a vague shout came from nowhere: "Hey! Help! Here!"
"Hurry up! Up there!" Javier rode his horse and walked quickly.
After walking a few more steps, the vague voice sounded again, and it was vaguely identifiable as a hoarse male voice: "Is there anyone there? I'm here!"
Javier listened carefully, dismounted and said: "The sound came from somewhere in front. I think we can't continue riding. Let's dismount here and walk over."
As he unloaded a shotgun from the horse, he reminded Arthur: "If I were you, I would bring the shotgun with me. Who knows what we might encounter."
Arthur nodded, took out a double-barreled shotgun and a sawn-off shotgun from his horse, and turned back to throw the sawed-off shotgun to Brandi.
Gradually going down the rugged mountain road, the mountain wall gradually became steeper and the road under their feet became narrower. The three of them could only cling to the mountain wall and move forward cautiously.
Suddenly, Arthur's feet slipped and he lost his balance. He tilted his body and fell down the cliff. Fortunately, he subconsciously grabbed the protruding rock wall with one hand, so he didn't fall directly.
Brandi, who was walking at the end of the team, saw this and immediately stretched out his hand for Arthur to grab, shouting: "Javier! Come help!"
When Javier heard the shouting, he didn't hesitate. He immediately turned around and grabbed Arthur's other hand. The two of them worked together to pull Arthur back from the hell.
"To be honest, Arthur, it's time for you to lose weight," Brandy gasped and laughed, "I'm not even that tired from climbing mountains."
Arthur laughed, patted Brandi on the shoulder and said, "Thanks, kid, I'll teach you how to do it when you get back, and I'll make sure you don't have to be afraid of the bastards from the O'Drisco gang anymore."
"I've never been scared. Don't talk nonsense."
"You should really thank him, Arthur," Javier also smiled, "Honestly, if it was just the two of us, I can't guarantee whether I can drag you up."
Somewhere ahead, the hoarse voice was still calling for help.
"Save your strength, John," Arthur shouted, "we'll be there soon."
The three people sometimes went down and sometimes climbed up among the rocks. After a lot of twists and turns, they finally reached a relatively gentle place.
"Damn, this damn place is too cold." Arthur complained in a low voice while crossing his arms.
Javier led the team to a stop at a place that was close to a sliver of sky. He noticed something strange about Arthur and asked, "Arthur, how are you?"
"I don't feel well," Arthur said. "I haven't for the past few days."
"I know," Javier nodded, took out a bottle of Kentucky bourbon from his bag, took a sip, and handed it to Arthur, "Here... take two sips. I can't stand this snow anymore."
"Thank you." Arthur took the bottle and took a deep sip, then handed it to Brandy behind him. After Brandy drank, she took out a few pieces of pickled venison breasts from her bag and handed them to Arthur: "I still have some food here. The mountain road is not easy to walk. Let's eat before we hit the road."
The three of them made some simple repairs and moved on.
"Arthur!" John's voice came closer and closer.
"John! Where are you?" Arthur shouted back. "Marston, can you hear me?"
"Here I am!" John shouted. "On the edge of the cliff!"
"That's John," Javier shouted back, "We're coming!"
The three of them made a slight detour and went downwards. Javier, who was walking at the front, stopped by a depression in the cliff and said to the two people behind him: "He's here!"
"I'm over here!" John shouted loudly, as if to echo Javier's words.
"Okay, stop arguing, Marston," Arthur walked to the edge of the cliff, looked over, and couldn't help but sigh, "You really made a mess of yourself."
