The raging wind and snow howled, as if declaring the final end of the Van der Linde Gang.
If Dutch died, the Van der Linde Gang might truly decline.
Hosea, full of worry, arranged for the members to busy themselves, tidying up the house and clearing out a stable room for Dutch to recover in.
Arthur, Mac, David, and Micah also returned from the wind and snow; even without Dutch, they still brought back the Valkyrie, just as in the plot.
"Mrs. Adler (Sadie), everything will be alright. I think you might be able to rest now." Arthur gently lifted Sadie from behind his horse, and several ladies quickly came over to help her.
Only the Legendary Rat looked around, wanting to go inside and rest, but Susan arranged him to share a room with several others, which made Micah gnash his teeth in anger. However, under the gaze of Arthur, Mac, and David, he dejectedly went there.
The gang's atmosphere was actually extremely harmonious before the Legendary Rat arrived, because whether it was Arthur, David, or Bill, everyone was loyal to Dutch, with no other thoughts, only wanting to follow Dutch and Hosea's plan.
If not for the Legendary Rat, Dutch would have followed Arthur and Hosea in their real estate scam, instead of robbing the Blackwater Town steamboat. It could be said that after the Legendary Rat arrived, the gang began to change.
The wind and snow intertwined, and most of the gang members gathered in Dutch's room, looking at him worriedly, occasionally checking if he was still alive.
Meanwhile, Arthur and Javier were sent out by Hosea to find John.
In a flash, two days had passed.
"He's awake, Dutch is awake! Oh my God! God truly blesses!" Miss Molly excitedly rushed out of the room, joyfully running through the wind and snow to every house, shouting and proclaiming her happiness.
"What? Dutch is awake? Oh! My God, that's unbelievable!" A group of gang members, led by Arthur, rushed out of their rooms one by one and ran towards Dutch's room.
David and Mac stumbled and fell to the ground in their haste.
They were originally loyal to Dutch, and their lives had been saved by him in Blackwater Town. He never abandoned them, even to death, which made their admiration for Dutch reach its peak.
Only the Legendary Rat, Micah, appeared even happier than the other gang members. He leaned over Dutch's bed, fawning over him: "Oh, Dutch, Dutch, my father! You're finally awake, I knew God..."
But before he could finish, he was pushed aside.
Micah sullenly shut up, his gaze sweeping over Arthur, Mac, and David nearby, not daring to make a sound.
In the room, Dutch, who had just woken up, looked at the tearfully joyful Jenny and Abigail in front of him and weakly said, "Oh, Jenny, Abigail, are we in heaven? And who is this man lying next to me?"
"Hey, Dutch, it's me!" John, half-dead from wolf bites, spoke from the bed, his expression equally excited.
This time, Dutch did not cruelly kill a girl in Blackwater Town; he even took three bullets for the gang. So, at this moment, he not only had no suspicion of Dutch but even admired him more.
"Oh, Marston, why are you lying here too?"
Just then, the door was pushed open by the crowd, and a dense group of people rushed in from outside, braving the wind and snow.
"Dutch, my dear old friend, you've truly achieved another miracle!" Hosea sat by the bed with concern, tears almost welling up in his eyes.
Looking at these familiar faces, Dutch felt an immense sense of emotion.
Damn it, no wonder I transmigrated as Dutch. Why wouldn't I lead these sharpshooters to conquer America?
His gaze shifted, and he saw the Legendary Rat lurking at the back of the crowd. This Biyang fellow was now looking left and right, seemingly searching for the one hundred and fifty thousand dollars brought back from Blackwater Town.
"Damn it, once I recover, I'll catch you like a turtle in a jar and strip your legendary skin!" Dutch cursed inwardly, but he didn't act now.
He wasn't well yet and couldn't participate. Acting now wouldn't satisfy his anger.
"Dutch, oh Dutch, why didn't you run first? We could have covered your retreat!" Mac and David expressed their loyalty and gratitude to Dutch. Arthur's heart completely settled, and he even had the leisure to joke with John, who was lying on the nearby bed.
Only Micah, having already shown his obsequiousness, turned his attention to the money: "Dutch, oh, my dear father, my respected father! I am so happy to see you awake. In fact, these past two days, I've prayed more than once, wanting to use the money from Blackwater Town to save your life..."
This Biyang fellow was subtly trying to find out where Dutch had hidden the Blackwater Town money.
Still, no one paid him any attention.
For the Van der Linde Gang, Dutch's life and death were currently the most important matter, and the big rock that had been weighing on everyone's hearts. Because no one else had died, the entire group was unharmed, and they had even brought back one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
So, as long as Dutch recovered, it would be the greatest surprise for them.
Outside, the cold wind was biting, but inside, the joyous laughter of the crowd completely dispelled the gloom of the past few days.
Because their spiritual leader had returned, and the path ahead of them had brightened once more.
Miss O'Shea sat by Dutch's bed, constantly caressing his face, her love genuine and heartfelt. Jenny busied herself, smiling from ear to ear.
Dutch had taken an extra bullet to save her, so it was clear what his standing was in her heart now.
This lovely girl, bustling about, kept lingering in Lenny's eyes.
The wind and snow gradually subsided, and the sky cleared beautifully, like a bright omen for the future of the Van der Linde Gang.
Time flowed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, two weeks had passed.
Dutch was completely unharmed, or rather, not completely unharmed, but at least according to him, his wounds were no longer an issue. He even spent a wonderful night with Miss O'Shea.
Arthur, who shared a room with him, could attest to this; he didn't get a good night's sleep at all and had to go out and stand guard in the wind and snow for the entire night.
The sky was bright, and the wind and snow of the past few days were gradually lessening.
In Dutch's room, Dutch was sitting in a chair, discussing subsequent plans with Hosea beside him.
This scene could be seen from Arthur's perspective after they found John; in fact, Arthur was woken up by their discussion.
Dutch sat in the chair, warming his hands by the fireplace.
Feeling the warmth on his body, he narrowed his eyes contentedly and lit a cigar.
Hosea, sitting beside him, spoke with a solemn expression to Dutch, who was leisurely smoking his cigar: "Dutch. I don't think we can go any further east. The further east we go, the more developed the cities become, and we people won't have a way to live in those developed cities!"
"Hmph, Hmph, Hmph, Hosea, don't you see? The tide of civilization has swept in, and one day it will sweep across all of America. What if we run to the west? Hide for five or ten years? Or ten or twenty years? Hosea, we are wanted criminals; our future is destined to be one of hiding. To make our future stable, we must learn to adapt to this civilized society, to this America where only money allows you to live!
Hosea, avoiding civilization has never been a good solution. Our previous ideas were all wrong! Going to Tahiti to grow mangoes was never a good outcome; we would only end up hanged under a mango tree.
On the contrary, we should embrace civilization, accept civilization, and even, be ahead of civilization!"
Dutch's eyes gleamed, and his entire being exuded a charismatic leadership quality.
Hosea didn't understand his words, just as he didn't know where Tahiti was.
But even without understanding, Hosea still believed Dutch, and even Arthur and the newly arrived Mac and David in the room believed him. They had no doubt about Dutch, just as they believed they would eventually reach Tahiti.