Charles volunteered, leaving Arthur with no choice but to agree.

  He felt like this was something he should be doing himself.

  But with Blackwater off-limits, Stephen and Charles would have to give it a shot.

  It was late, so Stephen and Charles decided to stay at Camp for the night before heading out.

  The four of them sat around the campfire, shooting the breeze before turning in.

  The next morning, just as Stephen and Charles were about to leave, Trelawny showed up.

  "Oh, gentlemen, off on a little jaunt, are we?"

  Trelawny quipped with a smile, seeing Stephen and Charles all geared up.

  "I've brought you some news, though I'm not sure if it's good or bad."

  "Just spit it out, as long as it's not about the Pinkertons ready to string up Sean," Javier said with a shrug. "Can't get much worse, anyway."

  Trelawny settled down by the fire, a knowing smile on his face. "I've got some old friends. They carry weight in Blackwater and can dig up all sorts of things."

  Arthur, growing impatient with Trelawny's rambling, snapped, "Get to the point, Mr. Trelawny, or I'll kick my boot up your backside!"

  "Such impatience."

  Trelawny feigned disappointment. "They're planning to ship Sean off to a federal prison out west in five days."

  "Good Lord."

  Arthur buried his face in his hands, despair in his voice. "We can't just storm a federal prison."

  "Right, that's suicide. Not even with all of us."

  Javier looked just as gloomy. "Unless we can break Sean out in the next five days."

  "They're taking him by boat, up the Dakota River to a camp west of Montana, then handing him over to the government."

  Trelawny continued, "Maybe we can make a move along the way. It's our only chance."

  Stephen looked at them, his expression serious. "But there'll be a lot of guards. Our odds aren't good."

  "They'll be moving Sean during the day. We pop our heads up, we're dead."

  Charles added, "We can't risk it on such a slim chance. If we miss, Sean's gone for good."

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Silence fell again. Arthur paced around the fire, the others, including Stephen, watching him.

  With Dutch and Hosea gone, he was the head of the gang, the one who had to make the call.

  Thankfully, Arthur wasn't one to dither. After a moment's thought, he spoke to the group.

  "Trelawny, I need you back in Blackwater, digging up more intel."

  "Stephen, Charles, you two need to find a boat within five days and get back here!"

  Arthur's gaze was firm. "We've got to play both sides!"

  "Javier and I will hold down the fort here. If either of you gets any news, come back and tell me ASAP!"

  "It's not that far. Five days should be enough to make the round trip."

  Charles clapped Stephen on the shoulder. "Let's get moving."

  Stephen nodded and headed out with Charles.

  "Looking at the map, there's two ways to get to that black market port from here."

  Stephen said from horseback, clutching a map while urging his horse forward, "For the sake of safety, we certainly can't go near Blackwater."

  "So we have to take a detour, do we?" Charles asked with a frown. "But detours take more time, and we may not have that time."

  They only had five days. Even without detours, the round trip would take at least three to four days.

  That's assuming everything goes smoothly. If the Del Lobos give them trouble, it could take even longer.

  If they couldn't get a boat in time, they'd have to rush back and prepare to intercept the convoy carrying Sean.

  "I reckon we can make it."

  Stephen shouted, just to make sure Charles could hear him, "Don't forget, if we can get our hands on a boat, we can just take the river back. That'll be much faster."

  "My worry is we can't get a boat."

  Charles said worriedly, "If we can't, we might not make it back in time."

  "We'll get one."

  Stephen said with a confident smile. "Don't worry, we can surely get one."

  "If they don't want to sell it, then Mr. Winchester can have a little talk with them."

  Stephen patted the Pump-Action Shotgun and long knife on his horse, full of confidence.

  At this critical moment, what was there to talk about or trade?

  They'd sell if they wanted to, and if they didn't, then Stephen would just take it.

  They were just a bunch of bandits anyway. Robbing them was like thieves robbing thieves, and Stephen didn't have any moral qualms about it.

  Hearing Stephen's words, Charles silently nodded.

  The two of them left the Camp and headed west along the Dakota River, turning south after passing a beautiful pasture.

  Here lay a vast, dense forest: the Tall Trees region.

  The forests here were very different from the forests near Strawberry.

  The forests in Tall Trees were very different from those near Strawberry.

  Though not far apart, perhaps due to the barrier of the towering Mount Shann to the west, the cold air from the west couldn't directly reach this place.

  This led to high temperatures and high humidity in the forests of Tall Trees.

  Stephen and Charles hadn't walked through the forest for long before they were drenched in sweat.

  "We should rest for a while."

  Charles looked at the surrounding environment, then at the horse beneath him, saying with sympathy.

  "We must let the horses rest. Otherwise, they will be overwhelmed."

  Stephen wiped the sweat from his face and nodded quickly.

  He had been riding back and forth on horseback for a few days, and he was about to run out of energy.

  The two dismounted, and Stephen found a place that looked clean enough and prepared to sit down and rest for a while.

  "Wait!"

  Charles directly stopped Stephen. In Stephen's surprised gaze, he took out a match.

  "Wait a moment, or you will be out of luck."

  Charles said while picking up a few dry branches and lighting a bonfire on the spot.

  Stephen looked curiously at Charles, who kept adding some leaves to the bonfire, not quite understanding what he was doing.

  The leaves were very damp. After being roasted by the flames, they emitted a thick smoke, which Stephen found a little unbearable.

  He was about to say something, but the next scene made him shut up completely.

  The ground near the fire suddenly became lively, and all kinds of bugs crawled out in no time!

  Under the stimulation of high temperature and thick smoke, they scurried out of their holes.

  Looking at the colorful bugs under his feet, Stephen could not help but gasp.