Red Dead Redemption: The Great Philanthropist of the West

A few days later, at the mouth of the Upper Montana River.

From the cliffs on the riverbank came the sounds of Hosea and Dutch arguing fiercely.

Their argument attracted the attention of the other gang members, but knowing that Dutch, Hosea, and Arthur were discussing the gang's next move, they didn't want to disturb them. To be precise, it was Dutch and Hosea who were discussing, and Arthur was merely listening in.

“Dutch, I don’t think we should risk robbing the armored truck. Arthur and I have already planned it out. The real estate fraud scheme is almost finished. Based on the information we’ve gathered from them and the businessmen they’ve been in contact with, if all goes well, we can get at least $30,000, and if we’re lucky, we could even get $50,000. Add that to our savings from the past few years, and it’ll be enough for us to go somewhere where nobody knows us, buy one or even several large farms, and live a peaceful life.” Hosea expressed his strong disapproval of Dutch’s insistence on robbing the bank’s armored truck.

"No, no, no, Hosea, listen to me. Micah and I have gathered all the intelligence, and we've made a very detailed plan to ensure everything goes smoothly. We'll get the money easily. It's $15, maybe even more. I suspect this money is being transported here to actually develop the real estate in the North District. There's such a large area of ​​land around the bank that needs to be developed; the amount of money required will definitely be substantial."

Micah and I even planned our retreat after we got the money, outlining which routes we would take, and we even went to scout them out in person. Dutch didn't want to give up; he believed his plans had always been successful and had never failed, and he had made extensive preparations for this operation.

“But you said we need to keep a low profile. If we want to live a peaceful life, we can't keep robbing people as conspicuously as before. If we continue like this, sooner or later the police and bounty hunters here will be chasing us like crazy, and the news might even reach New Mexico. The wealthy people we've robbed there will offer huge rewards, sending bounty hunters or detective agencies across state lines to hunt us down. I don't believe that such a large sum of money could be transported here without a large number of guards and police escorts.”

Hosea continued to persuade him earnestly.

Hearing Hosea's words, Dutch was silent for a moment. He knew that if they wanted peace, they did need to keep a low profile, which was also the demand of the majority in the camp. He had hesitated; he had considered leading everyone to a simple life. But at night, he dreamed of himself working the land like an old farmer, shoveling horse manure, and spending his free time fishing aimlessly, his days unchanging until he grew old. He felt a pang of sadness; he realized he didn't like that kind of life.

Micah's appearance made him realize he wasn't alone; Micah was like a confidant, understanding him. They both loved a free, unrestrained, and exciting life, not the mundane existence most people in the camp envisioned. This was why he liked Micah so much, and Micah was also very "loyal" to him, always the first to stand by his side.

He had tried to gather information on his own, but after several days he hadn't gotten much—not even knowing how much the shipping would cost or when it would arrive. He even suspected that Jenny had been scammed. Just as he was about to give up, Micah returned, bringing with him the information he wanted to know.

The money being transported this time amounted to a staggering $15, far exceeding what they had accumulated over years of robbery. He was tempted; he believed this sum would convince most people to support his decision. Who wouldn't want more money? All they had to do was escape again, and they could finally settle down and live the comfortable life they desired. Moreover, Micah had brought back the approximate arrival time of the armored ship.

Then, when he and Micah went to gather information, things went much more smoothly. The topic of the armored ship, which no one had talked about before, gradually became known to more and more people. This allowed them to confirm the ship's exact arrival time. Micah even learned through a clandestine channel that the bank and the police were at odds, and that only a small number of police officers would be involved in the security operations.

“Micah and I have inquired carefully. The bank and the police are at odds, so the police will only send a small number of people to provide protection. We won’t actually have to deal with many people, and it won’t be that dangerous. Besides, if we want to live a peaceful life, we have to go to a faraway place, which means we need more money. We have more than twenty people, and with our current money, it’s not enough to make a comfortable life. At most, it will only allow us to go to a faraway place and do hard labor.”

With this money, we'll never have to worry about money again. It'll be a one-stop solution, and we can hire a whole bunch of people to help with the work. And that real estate scam money you mentioned—that's just what you heard from them. You can't be sure how much it is, or even if they're scamming you too. So I think we should do both at once. Hosea, you and Arthur continue working on your case, and I, Micah, the Calander brothers, and the others will go rob the armored ship.

"Once we succeed, we'll escape to the west, and you can begin your operation. Whether we succeed or not, we'll meet near the Aurora Basin cabin the next day, and then we'll go to California, or somewhere else. You agree, Arthur."

Dutch knew that Hosea wouldn't be so easily persuaded, so he brought in Arthur, his little admirer, hoping to gain Arthur's support in order to suppress Hosea.

Arthur's answer surprised Dutch, even astonishing him. "Dutch, perhaps we should listen to Hosea. Maybe we can change things up and stop killing and robbing just for money. I think the job we did with Henry the other day to take down the Skinners was pretty good. We easily made $3 with no problems. We even got praise from the authorities. We..."

“Enough, Arthur.” But Dutch interrupted Arthur before he could finish speaking. “We don’t need the authorities’ approval. We are chivalrous men, while they are nothing but lackeys working for the rich. We will not associate with them. We are free men and should not sell our souls for the rich.”

After scolding his beloved adopted son, Dutch continued, “Arthur, my son, don’t you trust me anymore? When has my plan ever gone wrong? We’ve always been doing well, from just a few people to a large family of over twenty. I’ve always done it for our own good. Believe me, this is the last job. After this, we’ll go to California and live a peaceful life. Or you can write to Mary, whom you still miss, and invite her to come and live the life of a rancher with us. But all of this will require a lot of money, won’t you say, Arthur, my son?”

“Alright, Dutch, whether it succeeds or not, this is the last job. Otherwise, if this continues, I’m afraid we’ll never be able to escape our life on the run again.” Whether it was Dutch’s “my child” or his mention of Mary that touched Arthur, out of instinctive trust in Dutch, Arthur compromised.

“Arthur…” Hosea heard Arthur’s words and his heart, which had been gratified, sank. He was about to interrupt him when Dutch stopped him.

“That’s it. Listen to me, proceed as planned. Hosea, you and Arthur continue to follow up on your orders. In the next few days, Micah, the Calander brothers, and I will continue to refine our plan. Don’t worry, we won’t be in any danger. We guarantee we’ll complete the plan easily and achieve everyone’s goals.” After saying that, Dutch didn’t give Hosea a chance to object and walked away.

“Sigh, Arthur, you shouldn’t have agreed to him. We agreed to keep a low profile, but now you’re doing things so ostentatiously. As the rule of law gradually spreads throughout the West, the government’s security forces will become stronger and stronger. If we continue like this, we have no future.” With that, he slowly walked back to his own tent.

Arthur was left alone, gazing at the night sky, lost in thought.