"Fifty thousand dollars—that's a huge sum. But it also means we've crossed even more powerful men."
"I've never seen that bond myself, Hosea. You have, haven't you? Was it issued by just one company?"
Davey asked with a cold smile.
The bearer bonds had been jointly issued by the federal government and several private corporations. The ones in Cornwall's possession had clearly changed hands multiple times.
At his words, Hosea immediately recalled the names of several companies printed on the bonds. Each one was a giant within the federal territory. His face darkened at once. They hadn't just offended one magnate—they had offended several.
"Hosea, what's going on?" Arthur turned and asked.
He only understood that the bonds were worth a lot of money. Beyond that, he had no idea what they truly represented.
Hosea hesitated to explain, so Davey spoke instead. "Arthur, simply put, those bonds are tied to several powerful men. By robbing that train, we've managed to offend all of them at once."
Arthur still didn't grasp the seriousness of it. "They won't track it back to us," he said. "They'll just go after the O'Driscolls."
Davey didn't argue. He knew Arthur was trying to protect Dutch. Hosea, too, seemed to take comfort in the thought, placing his hopes on the O'Driscoll Gang taking the fall.
But the truth was, news of the train robbery had already hit the papers.
An enraged Cornwall had hired the Pinkerton Detective Agency, putting up a $20,000 contract to find the culprits.
With the backing of several magnates, scores of Pinkerton agents crossed from West Elizabeth into New Hanover, beginning their investigation and manhunt.
The O'Driscolls, framed for the crime, were the first to suffer. But since they weren't the ones behind it, it was only a matter of time before suspicion fell on the Van der Linde Gang.
...
Even in this so-called real world, the wagon's wheel broke along the way, and they encountered a local Native American tribe.
Hosea told Arthur about the hardships these people endured—their suffering and the oppression they faced.
Davey's gaze flickered thoughtfully. In the game, this had only been a story event.
In reality, it took three full days before the convoy reached Horseshoe Overlook.
The day after setting up camp, Bill, Javier, Mac, and Charles couldn't wait to ride out to Valentine—their motives were obvious enough.
Reverend Swanson headed south toward the train station in search of something.
With supplies running low, Dutch asked Arthur to take a wagon to Valentine and restock.
"Hey, Davey, how about coming along? Let's see what civilized life looks like in Valentine."
Arthur invited with a grin.
"Arthur, you guys go ahead. I'm going to scout the area—about the Pinkertons, you know. Mac and the others aren't exactly reliable."
Davey turned him down, having his own plans in mind.
Just then, Karen and Tilly came over, eager to visit Valentine as well.
Arthur kicked the dozing Uncle awake by the wagon and set off with the girls.
"Hey, Davey," Dutch called out with a smile, "why don't you take it easy for once—go enjoy yourself like the others."
Davey nodded, mounted his horse, and rode off. But his path didn't lead toward Valentine.
Instead, he headed northwest from Horseshoe Overlook—toward the burned-down town of Limpany.
'Let's see if that gold bar's really there.'
As a veteran player of Red Dead Redemption, Davey had, like most others, replayed the game countless times before finally settling into Chapter Two for a slower pace.
In the game, Chapter Two offered the perfect start—you could find six gold bars worth a total of $3,000 in three different locations. The nearest one was hidden in the ruins of Limpany.
But this was reality now. There was no guarantee the gold still existed. It might've been found long ago by some cowboy or drifter. The odds of that were high.
So the very first thing Davey decided upon reaching Horseshoe Overlook was to check on the Limpany gold.
After losing his stash in Blackwater, all he had left was a few dozen dollars on him. And out here in the West, money was everything. Without it, you couldn't do a thing.
It didn't take long before he arrived at the charred remains of Limpany.
In the game, the town had only a few buildings. But here, in reality, it stretched across hundreds of houses.
'Looks like this is going to take a while. Quite the job ahead of me.'
It made sense—if there had only been a handful of houses, someone would've taken the gold long ago.
He roughly remembered that the box containing the bar had been hidden inside a cabinet.
He searched from day till night, combing through dozens of houses until midnight before finally stopping to rest.
After a quick sleep, he resumed the next morning.
Maybe luck had finally smiled on him—around noon, he found the box.
It was well hidden, tucked inside a burned-out cabinet that you couldn't spot without breaking it apart.
He pried open the iron container, and there it was—a single gleaming gold bar resting before him.