Chapter 149: Purchasing the Ranch, a New Moonshine Site
Hill Haven Ranch, Rhodes.
Or rather, it should now be called Land Ranch—Davey had bought it for 6,000 dollars.
He planned to build a new moonshine operation here and use the place as his own base. But first, the nearby O’Driscoll Gang at Mattock Pond had to be dealt with, along with the Lemoyne Raiders.
“Mac, you and the men will hold this place for now. I’ve already sent a telegram to Valentine—Emin Deva will be bringing thirty hired hands.”
“And try not to cause me any more trouble, at least for a while, alright?”
After signing the contract, Davey gave Mac his orders.
“Davey, you can’t keep blaming me for causing trouble. I didn’t stir anything up.”
“Saint Denis doesn’t count, right?”
Mac glanced around the ranch and snorted.
“Man, this place is a dump. Maybe spend a few more bucks and build a bigger house. This is way too run-down.”
Davey said, “Yeah, we’ll need a proper house. And a cellar dug out for our moonshine production.”
“I’ll handle all of that. I’m heading into town to find Arthur and talk about wiping out the Lemoyne Raiders. If they’re still around, our moonshine business won’t get off the ground. I’ll call you when I need you.”
“Oh—and stay away from the O’Driscolls’ temporary camp by Mattock Pond. Don’t provoke them.”
Mac muttered, “Dutch is getting more timid by the day. Aren’t they our enemies? You told him the news and he still hasn’t moved on it.”
“Oh, old Dutch… that’s no fun. Ever since we left, has he really become this cautious?”
Davey chuckled. “Who knows? Maybe Dutch has his reasons. But even if he doesn’t want trouble, Colm sure won’t let him off easy. Won’t be long before the show starts.”
…
After leaving Mac with the men stationed at the ranch, Davey headed to Rhodes alone to look for Arthur.
Several days had passed, but neither Old Gray nor Old Catherine of the Braithwaite family had sent word. That meant the powers behind them hadn’t accepted his proposal.
That much was expected.
To both the Saint Denis government and Angelo Bronte, Davey was just a lucky small-timer. Cooperating with him didn’t offer them much.
So Davey first needed to prove his value. Angelo Bronte might be interested in his moonshine recipe—but that didn’t mean he was willing to share profits.
Taking over Davey’s moonshine operation entirely was far more likely to be Bronte’s real plan.
…
Rhodes Police Station.
Davey found Arthur there.
Even as a temporary deputy sheriff, Arthur actually had assigned duties. It wasn’t like the game, where the title meant free movement—being gone too long counted as abandoning his post and would get him removed. Even Dutch and Bill had to patrol Rhodes regularly.
“Oh, Davey. I was just about to look for you. Didn’t expect you to show up on your own—this is perfect.”
Arthur perked up noticeably when he saw him.
“Arthur, I’ve got some intel you might be interested in. But we should talk somewhere else—not in the station.”
Davey smiled. They left and found a quiet spot off the main road.
“Davey, it’s about Cornwall.”
“You know Bill—idiot that he is. His plan to rob the Valentine bank last time earned us a decent haul.”
“So he’s been snooping around for more targets. And he found a payroll caravan.”
“Just like you’d expect, Bill, Charles, and I went and robbed one of the wagons. And—goddammit—it turned out to be Cornwall’s again. Thought we were finally done with him, and now we’ve hit him right on the head.”
“Even though we were masked, I’m pretty sure he’ll guess it was us. So, Davey… I need your help.”
Arthur sounded genuinely troubled. He really didn’t want to keep provoking Cornwall. Their biggest problem right now was Cornwall—and the Pinkertons tailing them because of him.
Davey could only shake his head. In the game’s story from his past life, this “accidental” robbery of Cornwall’s wagon had been Arthur’s doing.
Now Arthur was retired on his farm in Valentine, and Bill had managed to recreate the same mess.
“Alright, Arthur. Honestly, you shouldn’t worry about whether Cornwall can guess. Even if you hadn’t done it, he’d still blame you.”
“From the Gray family’s Caliga Hall, cross the Kamassa River toward Saint Denis. After you cross the bridge, there’s a freight company there—that’s Cornwall’s too.”
“The money wagon you robbed was likely tied to that operation.”
“This is Lemoyne Raider territory. I’d bet Cornwall has a pretty good relationship with them.”
Comments (0)
Please login or sign up to post a comment.