Chapter 47: Your Mouth, Truly Impressive
Although the conversation with Davey hadn’t gone smoothly—and even left Milton and Ross feeling somewhat frustrated—they had seen a glimmer of potential cooperation.
The Davey standing before them now, from his refined attire to his calm, deliberate manner of speaking, was clearly no longer a brute. He was a man beginning to embrace civilization.
Milton’s impression of him had even improved.
“Tell me, Mr. Milton, what do you think makes a civilized man? Does maintaining one’s dignity mean selling out his friends?”
“Don’t talk to me about criminals. Surely, Mr. Milton, you know exactly what kind of man I am.”
“A new era is dawning. The East’s civilization is merging with the West, just as the Pinkertons’ former glory has faded. Nothing in this world stays the same.”
“I simply wish to survive and prosper in this new age—nothing more. But that doesn’t mean I’ll cross my own lines or act against my conscience.”
“Of course, setting Dutch aside, there’s still plenty of room for cooperation between us, Mr. Milton.”
Davey’s tone was calm but firm—his rejection clear.
No matter what the Pinkertons offered, betraying Dutch would bring him no benefit.
Besides, in his heart, Arthur, John, Hosea, and the others were his friends.
After all, his former self had spent eight years working with the Van der Linde Gang.
Those memories still lingered vividly in his mind.
“Maybe it was just a dream within a dream—who can really tell what’s real and what’s not?”
“We have no interest in cooperating with you,” Ross said coldly.
Davey just smiled. “Who can say what the future holds?”
Milton understood that convincing Davey to hand over Dutch was impossible—at least, not today.
“Mr. Callander, please don’t take offense at our sudden visit. I’m sure we’ll be in touch again soon.”
“If you ever change your mind, we’d be happy to work with you.”
“It’s getting late—we should be going.”
“Thank you for the coffee, Mr. Callander. It was excellent.”
Davey smiled lightly. “You’re welcome anytime, Mr. Milton. Though, I must admit, I’m not much of a coffee drinker. I prefer tea.”
“And Mr. Ross—you’d do well to learn from Mr. Milton. Whatever the situation, don’t be so impatient. Keep a cool head.”
Ross only snorted in response.
Now he could clearly feel the sharp edge in Davey’s words.
A criminal speaking like a nobleman, lecturing him as if from a pedestal—it made his blood boil.
He feared that if he stayed any longer, he’d draw his gun without thinking.
But then he remembered Davey Callander’s file—the part that described his unmatched marksmanship. If Ross went for his gun, he’d likely be the one to fall first.
The thought only made him angrier.
The door swung open.
Outside, Mac, Donal, and a few of their men were waiting on the flat ground.
They watched as the two Pinkerton agents walked out alongside Davey.
Then they heard Davey’s voice.
“Mr. Milton, Mr. Ross, I won’t see you off. You’re welcome to visit anytime.”
“Perhaps next time, we can talk business.”
“My new venture’s just getting started, and I’m in need of good partners.”
The taller of the two Pinkertons—the one clearly in charge—replied,
“Mr. Callander, I’m afraid there’s little we can do to help with your particular line of business.”
“But with your talents, I’m sure it’ll grow into something much bigger. Who knows—perhaps we really will end up working together.”
In Milton’s career, he’d met plenty of men as stubborn as Davey—and every one of them had gone on to become someone important.
After all, the Pinkertons worked for money, and Milton saw no reason to keep trading barbs. A few polite words cost him nothing.
Still, if the opportunity arose, he wouldn’t hesitate to take Davey down.
The subtleties of all this were far beyond Mac, Donal, and the rest of the roughnecks who couldn’t even read a newspaper.
If they could understand such things, they wouldn’t be living the way they were.
To them, Davey now radiated a kind of divine brilliance.
From what they’d just overheard, it sounded like the Pinkertons couldn’t do a thing to him—in fact, they’d treated
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