Chapter 153: Recruiting Employees Again
While securing the Maxim machine gun, they also found a wagon in Shady Belle loaded with military supplies.
Inside were fifty bolt-action rifles.
At the firearms shop price of $180 per rifle, the haul was worth $9,000.
This was the biggest profit of the entire operation.
“Oh, Davey, I figure these rifles could sell for quite a bit, but we don’t exactly know where to move them. Maybe you could take them off our hands.”
“Of course, we should keep a few for ourselves. These beauties are practically brand-new.”
Arthur said this after opening one of the crates on the wagon.
Davey replied, “Sure, Arthur. But I can’t pay the shop price. Going by the wholesale market, the lot is worth about $5,000. I can give you $3,500.”
“Friends are friends, but business is business. And honestly, if you tried selling these on the black market, they might not even give you $2,000.”
Arthur didn’t know the firearm market well, but he trusted Davey not to cheat him.
“Of course, Davey. $3,500 is a good price.”
Arthur agreed, and Lenny and Charles naturally had no objections.
Davey didn’t have $3,500 in cash on him and would have to withdraw it from the bank in Rhodes Town, but Arthur and the others didn’t mind.
Whether Arthur would hand half of that over to the gang was his own business. Given how much faith he still had in Dutch, that possibility seemed likely.
...
Land Ranch.
Senior employee Emin Deva arrived with thirty workers.
This greatly expanded Davey’s influence in Rhodes Town.
These workers were nothing like ordinary gang members.
Each one was a true gunslinger—better even than most regular soldiers.
Emin Deva, once a non-commissioned officer in the military, had real experience training troops.
Whenever there were no assignments, he oversaw the employees’ daily drills, running them in a semi-military structure.
This was something ordinary gangs could never match.
Even the Van der Linde Gang hardly had anything resembling real training.
The employees didn’t mind. Working for Davey meant a $100 salary and all the moonshine they could drink.
Where else in the country could you find a job that good?
“Emin, there aren’t enough houses on the ranch. Our people are having to live in temporary tents, and that’s not ideal.”
“I want you to head into town and hire some workers to build proper housing.”
“And if any of our employees know carpentry, they can pitch in too. Naturally, I’ll pay them the wages they’re owed.”
Emin Deva was a German immigrant—serious, disciplined, rarely smiling.
Like many Germans, his expression was perpetually stern.
In the early 1880s, after Europe’s agricultural and industrial crises, more than five million Germans migrated to the United States.
Most settled in the Upper Mississippi and Ohio River valleys—states like Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Missouri.
Emin Deva was among them.
Because of his background, he was never well-received in the military.
Even with his outstanding performance, certain incidents eventually led to his discharge.
“Boss, it’s an honor to serve you,” Emin said in his deep voice.
He had a wife and four children. He desperately needed the stability Davey’s job provided.
Davey thought for a moment.
“Emin, you know my business is expanding. I need more people. But I don’t trust most folks.”
“If you have reliable comrades—men you vouch for—and they’re willing to work for me…”
“You can introduce them. But I need trustworthy men.”
“And on that, I trust you. You won’t disappoint me, right, Emin?”
In the US, ethnic Germans made up about 25% of the population.
World War I hadn’t happened yet; the future German leader was only ten years old this year.
Curiously, despite the sheer number of Germans in the country, none of the major gangs were German-run.
Historical reasons were largely to blame—the colonial era had been dominated by Britain, France, and Spain, with Germans arriving later.
Even though they eventually carved out a stable foothold through their diligence and intelligence, they never held the same authority or status as the British.
When the United States was founded, Germany itself was fractured, lacking unified support or influence.
So German immigrants arrived without strong backing and faded quietly into society.
Still, their influence was not small.
Germans were a major driving force behind westward expansion, and most midwestern farms were built by German hands.
In some towns and states, German-Americans made up over 40% of the population.
Pennsylvania even designated both English and German as official languages.
It was no surprise Davey had his eyes on them.
If things went well, in thirty years he might even find himself competing with Germany’s future strongman for manpower.
For now, bringing German immigrants into his company only strengthened Davey’s position.
After all, when it came to warfare, they had always proven themselves outstanding.
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