usatvline Chapter 101 The cold of Montana winter turns the town of Bozeman back to the wilderness.
Chapter 101 The cold of Montana winter turns the town of Bozeman back to the wilderness.
Chapter 101 The cold of Montana winter turns the town of Bozeman back to wilderness.
Little did he know that although Tom hadn't investigated his entire family history, he had already thoroughly investigated matters of great importance, such as the stone and copper mines that Tom controlled, especially during the era of rapid development of electricity and telephones and the crazy increase in copper consumption.
"So, they took advantage of this 'good time' to make their move?"
Tom's lips curled into a playful smile as he leaned back, shifting into a more comfortable position.
"Where are your men?" he asked meaningfully, implying that Dan should always have a few loyal cowboys around him.
Dan's eyes dimmed instantly, his throat bobbed, and his voice trembled with a barely perceptible sob: "Dead—they all died on the way."
He took a big gulp of wine, trying to suppress his surging emotions.
"Hmm." Tom nodded knowingly.
That makes sense. There's absolutely no way Dan and a woman could have escaped those vicious pursuers and made it all the way to "Dutton House".
Just then, the wooden door creaked open, letting in a blast of cold air.
Zach walked in, followed by a silent figure.
"Indians?" Dan raised an eyebrow in surprise. He hadn't expected Tom to have any connection with Native Americans.
"Snow Wolf's" gaze fell on Tom's right hand, which was tightly wrapped in thick strips of cloth.
He walked silently to Tom's side, took off the herb bag he was carrying, and was about to open it.
suddenly!
The "Snow Wolf" suddenly stopped moving and turned around abruptly!
When he saw Dan's weathered face.
"It's you!!!"
A roar, a mixture of shock and anger, exploded in the warm wooden house!
Before Tom could react, "Snow Wolf" had already grabbed the large axe next to him and swung it down at Dan with a terrifying whoosh!
"what!"
The sudden murderous intent startled everyone, causing them to scream in terror.
Tom, like an enraged lion, pounced on "Snow Wolf," gripping the handle of the axe that was about to strike!
"What the hell do you want to do?" Tom's roar almost lifted the roof off.
The stunned crowd then came to their senses and rushed forward to grab "Snow Wolf".
"Let him go! I'm going to kill him today!"
The "Snow Wolf" had eyes that were practically bloodshot, and the hatred it felt as if it wanted to devour Dan alive was not fake; it was clear that it had an irreconcilable blood feud with Dan.
But how could Tom and the others allow him to go on a killing spree here?
"Stop!" James roared like thunder, his iron-like hand pressing heavily on "Snow Wolf's" shoulder, his eyes like knives. "Look carefully! This is Dutton House! Want to kill someone? Get out and kill them!"
This sudden revelation brought the "Snow Wolf's" ferocious aura to a halt.
He glared menacingly at Dan, forcing out the words through gritted teeth: "Come out with me!"
"Dream on!" Dan reacted swiftly, drawing his gun instantly from his waist, the dark muzzle pointing at "Snow Wolf," and demanded with suspicion, "Who the hell are you?"
This unexpected question instantly infused the tense atmosphere with a strong sense of gossip.
Tom grimaced and shook his throbbing right hand, his face filled with disbelief: "You—don't know him?"
Dan glanced at Tom suspiciously: "Isn't he just an assassin?"
Tom abruptly turned to look at "Snow Wolf" and asked in surprise, "Are you an assassin?"
Snow Wolf's chest heaved violently, its mournful roar almost bursting from its throat: "I am a warrior of the Klaue tribe! Dan! Have you forgotten? A woman died for you!!"
This shocking accusation completely stunned everyone!
Who would have thought that Dan, the bar owner with a mustache, would get involved in a murder case with a woman from the distant Crow tribe?
"The Klaus clan—" Dan's anger vanished instantly, as if his bones had been removed. He slumped back into his chair and silently put away his gun.
He gazed at the "Snow Wolf" with a complex expression, as if recalling a long-buried past. "I thought—that incident was long gone, that no one would remember—"
"I will never forget you! You murderer who killed my sister!"
"Snow Wolf's" hatred was like a poisoned blade.
"That was an accident! Even your clan leader admitted it was an accident!" Dan tried to argue.
"It's you! It's definitely you!!"
"Enough!!!"
James roared again, his voice like an anvil slamming into the ground, instantly silencing all the noise and leaving the scene deathly still.
His sharp gaze was fixed on "Snow Wolf's" face: "You! Now, go change Tom's bandages! Can you do it?"
Facing James's unwavering and stern gaze, "Snow Wolf" gritted his teeth and could only nod reluctantly in the end.
The Crow people value their promises. Tom injured his right hand while saving his Crow warrior, and he had promised to heal it, so he had to keep his word.
As for Dan, he swept his cold gaze over the other person and waited outside!
"Dan," James turned to him, his voice low but carrying an undeniable force, "settle your scores outside! There are women and children here!"
Dan nodded silently.
"Snow Wolf" stopped talking, squatted down, and treated Tom's wounds with rough but unusually careful movements.
"If your hands don't heal before spring," his voice carried a cold honesty, "the chilblains will fester even deeper next winter!"
He knew Tom relied on his right hand for a living, "When the time comes, you won't be able to pull the trigger with that finger anymore!"
This is not intimidation, but a chilling warning and a final admonition.
Tom nodded silently, watching "Snow Wolf" deftly pack up the medicine bag.
"Are you leaving?" he asked.
"Snow Wolf" and cook Jonah work at the nearby Covington Ranch, which needs constant care.
"Snow Wolf" gave a muffled groan in response, then glared at Dan with a knife-like look, its killing intent still lingering, before turning and striding away, its figure quickly disappearing into the snowstorm outside the door.
Just as the suspicions surrounding Dan's blood feud with "Snow Wolf" were still churning in everyone's minds, Tom's deep voice broke the oppressive silence: "Is the town in such a mess? Is nobody going to do anything about it?"
Dan forced a bitter smile and shook his head. "A sheriff? He's long gone! If we'd chosen someone better beforehand, maybe we could have kept those thugs in check. Now?"
He scoffed, "Even if the sky falls, no one will be there to hold it up!"
"The railway company's residential area."
Dan's voice suddenly turned somber, "Most of it burned—I heard that for a long time, you could hear women crying and children screaming from inside—"
His throat bobbed, and he suddenly grabbed the bottle and gulped down a large mouthful of strong liquor; the pungent liquid seemed unable to suppress the heaviness within him.
In the next room, Margaret held little John tightly in her arms, her knuckles white from gripping him so tightly.
"You've all seen it," Dan put down his bottle, his bloodshot eyes sweeping mockingly over the crowd, "and it wasn't just one ranch that got robbed! The dead are done for, but what about the survivors?"
His voice suddenly rose, lashing out like a whip across everyone's hearts, "What will they do?! Wait to starve and freeze to death? No! They'll become new bandits! They'll rob others! Rob the weaker ones!"
"Cowards!" Tom couldn't help but growl. "Why don't you fight those bastards who stole from them?!"
Dan's sharp question lingered in everyone's mind.
The suffocating atmosphere only eased slightly when Dan finally succumbed to the effects of the alcohol and collapsed into a chair, snoring heavily.
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