Chapter 53: Dutch's Wanted Poster
"Norman! Stop hiding, I know you're in there!"
Johnny stood at the door, his voice low and laced with a hint of threat.
"If you don't show yourself, don't blame me for being impolite. I'll go straight to the Sheriff to talk about your theft!"
Johnny knew full well that with his strength, he could kick down this seemingly flimsy wooden door with a single blow.
But he was well aware that they were currently in a sensitive period; it was better to avoid trouble than to invite it. There was no need to cause unnecessary problems for himself.
Therefore, he chose to use words to force Norman to open the door voluntarily.
Inside the room, Norman's heart tightened when he heard the voice from outside.
To be fair, this wasn't the first time he'd engaged in such petty thievery, but never before had a friend of a death row inmate come to claim their belongings.
Thinking of this, Norman felt increasingly anxious and uneasy.
After much hesitation, Norman finally decided that discretion was the better part of valor. He cautiously opened the door and said with a forced smile:
"Hey, brother, everything is on the table. You're welcome to take it all."
Seeing this, Johnny didn't push his luck. He understood the principle of leaving a way out for others so they could meet again in the future.
After all, he might need to return to Strawberry for business one day, and there was no telling when he might find a use for this fellow Norman.
Walking into the room, Johnny went straight to the table where the items were laid out.
He quickly found Micah's dual revolvers and some miscellaneous items.
As for the money Micah had left behind, Johnny didn't touch a single cent.
In his view, for a man like Micah who was addicted to coffee and alcohol, any money he had would likely have been squandered on cup after cup of hot coffee long ago. Whatever was left was bound to be negligible.
Finally, Johnny scanned the perks of Micah's dual revolvers and put them into the wolf king satchel.
Then, he left the room without looking back, leaving Norman to let out a long sigh of relief to his wife, secretly glad that this storm had finally passed.
"Hey! Mr. Van der Linde!" Micah's exasperated shouting could be heard from afar before he was even seen.
"I knew our Gang wouldn't abandon me so easily! Hurry up and tell this wretched woman to untie me!"
"This damn Bolas is about to strangle me to death! It hurts like hell!"
As the voice grew closer, Micah's disheveled figure gradually appeared before everyone.
He walked while cursing, constantly twisting his body in an attempt to break free from the Bolas binding his hands and feet.
However, no matter how he struggled, it was all in vain. Instead, the chains tightened further, causing him to grimace in pain.
But as Micah slowly drew near, he suddenly noticed that his horse was actually not far away.
In an instant, a surge of indescribable gratitude welled up in his heart.
After all, he had been arrested and imprisoned in front of everyone.
His horse would have been stolen nine times out of ten.
Yet this young lad had not only successfully found his horse but had also brought it here unharmed. How could Micah not be pleasantly surprised?
At this moment, Johnny, standing to the side, completely ignored Micah's shouting.
He didn't even want to spare another glance at this annoying fellow. He lunged forward and delivered a powerful Electric Cannon strike with his fist.
With a muffled 'thud,' Micah immediately collapsed to the ground like a pile of mud, losing consciousness instantly and falling into a deep, baby-like sleep.
After dealing with Micah, Johnny turned toward a tall and powerful fox trotter horse and gently stroked its mane.
Then he reached out, grabbed the reins, and handed them to Valerie beside him.
She nodded slightly in thanks and took the reins without hesitation. Then she walked over to Micah, easily hoisted the unconscious man onto her shoulder, and placed him onto the horse's back.
Following that, she leaped up with a graceful bound, flipping onto the horse with a slick, agile motion and sitting firmly in the saddle.
With everything ready, Johnny led the way on his turkoman horse, with Valerie following closely behind on her horse.
They traveled slowly along the winding path. Both remained silent throughout the journey, with only the crisp sound of hooves hitting the ground echoing through the silent wilderness.
Johnny was recalling the specific location of Micah's camp. Valerie, seeing that he had no intention of returning immediately, was more than happy to comply; after all, another day of work meant another day's wages.
Thus, relying on the fuzzy memories in his mind, Johnny led Valerie along as they searched for the way forward.
Time passed minute by minute, and before they knew it, three whole hours had gone by.
Just as they were starting to feel a bit tired and lost, two enormous rocks suddenly appeared ahead.
Johnny's heart stirred as a sense of familiarity washed over him. Sure enough, when they reached the middle of the two giant rocks, they finally found Micah's incredibly crude temporary camp.
After a long and meticulous search, Johnny finally found a dusty and somewhat aged wanted poster in a corner.
Micah's leather jacket was also placed there with it.
Johnny picked it up carefully and gently blew the dust off the surface, revealing the chilling face of Dutch van der Linde clearly printed on it.
The top of the poster read in bold letters: 'Dutch van der Linde is wanted for robbery and murder with a reward of $1,000, dead or alive!'
Seeing this, Johnny knew he was set.
In other parts of the area, there were only some empty cans and discarded, open water canteens.
These things emitted an unpleasant odor that made Johnny feel a wave of nausea.
He frowned and kicked the trash far away without mercy.
Then, Johnny carefully placed the precious wanted poster into his satchel along with the letter he had written beforehand.
This wanted poster was the key reason he had risked everything to come to Micah's camp!
Next, the two worked together to throw Micah onto the cold, hard ground like a sack of garbage.
Micah let out a groan of pain, but he was quickly ignored by Johnny.
Johnny strode into the center of the site, bent down, and picked up a few scattered matches and some leftover charcoal.
He skillfully lit a match and brought the flame to the charcoal. Before long, a roaring campfire rose up.
Seeing this, Valerie quickly took an exquisite cup from her backpack.
She first poured some relatively clean water from a canteen into the cup, then added an appropriate amount of coffee powder.
After completing this series of actions, she gently placed the cup by the roaring campfire and began to wait patiently for the water to boil so she could enjoy a cup of fragrant coffee.
Meanwhile, Johnny also began rummaging through his satchel.
However, to his immense embarrassment, aside from some remaining coffee powder and a few pieces of wolf meat, he hadn't brought any food at all.
It turned out that he had been unable to stomach the foul-smelling skunk stew Pearson had cooked at the camp, and had eaten all the canned food he carried within a day or two.
Helpless, he could only take out the wolf meat, place it on a grill, and roast it with a portable fork, gesturing to Valerie to see if she wanted to try some.
Valerie often sold processed animal products at her own camp, and with her experienced eyes, she recognized it as wolf meat at a glance.
She knew it well because she had foolishly tried the taste herself before; all she could say was that it was worse than chewing on raw tree bark.
But thinking that this was her employer and that he had already taken a bite to show his sincerity...
She didn't refuse. She took the sizzling wolf meat with her hand and began to eat.
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