NOVEL NEXT Chapter 22 Ben Franklin Hotel
In a small town in southwestern Wyoming.
There was a burst of dust on the road, and a carriage stopped at the door of the police station.
A man with a tall beard stepped out of the carriage. His hands were handcuffed to another prisoner with a bruised nose and face.
The man stepped up the wooden steps of the police station and thrust his arm forward. The prisoner behind him was pulled staggering and almost fell to the ground. He received a backhand punch from the man.
"We're home, bastard." The man unlocked the handcuffs and kicked him into the door of the security station.
"Hanif, long time no see." The Sheriff sitting in front of the table greeted the man, "Take him to the cell behind."
The man was Hanif, the bounty hunter Chen Jianqiu and the others met on the road.
Hanif took the prisoner by the back of his collar and threw him into the cell like a chicken.
He turned around and walked up to the Sheriff. The Sheriff had already taken out the bounty from the drawer and slapped it on the table.
Hanif took the money from the table, took out a delicate steel flask from his arms, opened the lid and took a sip. He walked to the chair opposite the Sheriff and sat down.
"I'm really tired, John. I came from Stone Spring Town. The bounty was originally posted there, but I don't know where Sheriff Morris went. The door to the police station is closed and there's no one there." He drank. He said to the police chief in front of him, "So I came here to try my luck."
The Sheriff shrugged: "Yes, our bounty releases are basically the same as those of the nearby towns, but they are limited to southern Wyoming. By the way, something happened to Morris."
Hanif didn't care much about what happened to Maurice. For him, as long as someone paid the bounty, it would be fine. In the West of the 19th century, the Sheriff had always been a high-risk profession. It was quite normal for one or two Sheriffs to die. . "
"John, have there been any big fish lately?" Hanif asked the sergeant.
"Don't tell me, it's really there." The police chief pointed to the notice board outside the window. There were already many people gathered there. "I just put it up, why don't you take a look?"
Hanif got up and walked out, heading towards the notice board.
Many people gathered around to watch, including his partner and coachman, and everyone was talking about it:
"Such a high bounty? Why have these three people never heard of it?"
"I heard that the first time he appeared was in Shiquan Town. He killed the mine manager and many people who maintained law and order. Everyone was ruthless and had at least a dozen lives on their hands."
"But you didn't know that they later killed an American Army Lieutenant, and Sergeant Morris also died in their hands."
"Ah? Officers and others dare to attack?"
"No, I heard from the soldiers present that the Chinese man was possessed by Satan. He rode a black horse and broke into the military camp alone. His gun could not hit him and he was extremely powerful. The Indian was even more aggressive. Cruel, when the lieutenant was found, his head and torso were separated, and his scalp was missing; as for the black man"
"Come on, stop talking. I have goosebumps all over my body. God, please don't let me meet them."
……
Everyone was still chattering, which aroused Hanif's curiosity. He wanted to see who was worth so much money.
But when he separated from the crowd and squeezed in to see the reward notice, the expression on his face froze.
The three people on the reward order were the same three he met in the Green River Valley.
The bounty for each of them suddenly rose to three hundred dollars.
"Donny! Donny!" Hanif shouted the name of his driver and partner.
Downey emerged from the crowd, his expression a little embarrassed: "Boss, we missed four hundred and fifty dollars."
The muscles in Hanif's cheeks were twitching, a disgrace to his career as a hunter. He jumped directly into the carriage.
"Damn Chinese, call Brother Bain and let's go hunting."
……
"Sneeze!" Chen Jianqiu sneezed while riding on the horse, "Who is thinking about me?"
After the three of them packed their things, they continued to set off. Chen Jianqiu told the two people the secret of the treasure. Sean was very excited, while Feiniao said that no matter what Chen Jianqiu did, he would support and follow him unconditionally.
After this battle, others cannot guarantee that the bounty on each of their heads will definitely increase. However, due to the poor efficiency of the federation, their bounty orders should not be posted outside Wyoming for the time being, so They still had to keep going south.
After discussion, the three decided to find a place to rest first. They only had one set of clothes, and they were in tatters. Chen Jianqiu's shotgun and dagger were thrown out as disposable weapons in the battle; Feiniao did have one A rifle, but I have never seen him use it. It seems that he still trusts his bow and arrow more; as for Sean, well, he should be equipped with a long weapon.
In addition, another problem they need to solve is the bag of gold nuggets and two gold bars in their hands. From this point of view alone, they are now considered wealthy. Although gold is a hard currency on this earth, you can't Buy a piece of bread and throw a gold bar in someone's face.
"How about we go to the Salt Lake City Bank?" Sean asked.
"Do you think the skin color combination of the three of us is not conspicuous enough?" Chen Jianqiu rolled his eyes at him, "Let's continue walking in the direction of Colorado. We also want to go to Denver to find the archaeologist Lockhart whom Robert mentioned before. Let's see him Do you know the secret of the treasure map?"
He took a deep breath and added: "Everyone, we should be careful. I always feel that someone is following us, but I have never been able to determine their number, nor do I understand their purpose."
The three of them traveled through the Utah Mountains, becoming stranger and stranger as they walked, even entering the geographical blind spots of flying birds. Fortunately, Sean got a map of the Utah-Colorado area from Edward's camp. Detailed, but combined with Asuka Mountain's ability to judge directions, the three of them finally confirmed that they had left the boundaries of Utah after traveling for several days.
When they came down from the mountainside along the mountain road, the sky had turned gloomy, and Chen Jianqiu was about to discuss with the other two people about finding a place to camp.
Suddenly, Feiniao pointed to a place not far away and said, "Look, there is a small town over there."
Chen Jianqiu observed carefully. There was indeed a small town at the foot of the mountain. There was only a glimmer of light. He didn't know if it was the light from the town.
Showers of raindrops began to float in the sky, the sky became darker, and it was almost night.
Chen Jianqiu used the last ray of light to open the map, but he couldn't find this small town on the map.
"Boss, let's go down first. If it's too late, we might not be able to find the way, and the map will get wet."
Perhaps the map was originally marked inaccurately.
Chen Jianqiu nodded, and the three of them headed towards the town.
After arriving at the outskirts of the town, Chen Jianqiu discovered that the town was smaller than he had imagined, and could only be called a small village.
A dilapidated dirt road runs through the entire town. Weeds grow on both sides of the road, giving people an inexplicable sense of desolation.
Rows of dilapidated houses are located on both sides of the road. Their shapes are very perfunctory. Some houses have corners missing, and some windows are blocked.
Strangely, none of the houses had lights on; they were either pitch black or clearly deserted.
"Gravel Town?" Sean looked at a road sign standing at the entrance of the town, with the name of the town crookedly engraved on it.
Chen Jianqiu took out the map again. The light was already very weak. He glanced at it again, but still couldn't find the town.
The rain in the sky became heavier and heavier, and the wind became stronger. The three of them hurriedly came to the largest house with lights on at the end of the road.
There is a sign hanging above the house that reads:
Ben Franklin Hotel.