Uncle was a wise man—at least by the standards of the present Western era—and could be considered truly well-traveled and perceptive.
Davey understood perfectly well that what Bronte's had done was not help, but a compromise—over the captives, and over money.
If Davey himself hadn't been strong enough—strong enough for Bronte's to realize he had no way of dealing with these hardened Western outlaws—there would have been no cooperation at all.
Back then, Davey had asked the elderly Mrs. Catherine to pass on a message: if Bronte's was willing to hand over those distillery managers, they could cooperate in the moonshine business. What he received instead was a threatening letter from Bronte's, followed by an attack on the Land Ranch in Rhodes Town.
Now, with his men captured and illicit liquor profits on the line, Bronte's was finally willing to spend his connections and money to help Davey launder his identity.
"Mr. Land, you have a letter. It was sent from Rhodes Town."
The maid, Elisa, presented the letter respectfully.
As Davey's personal maid, Elisa actually held a very high status at Land Farm, and many people treated her with clear respect.
Davey opened the letter. It was from Mrs. Calhoon of Rhodes Town.
The letter stated that the café renovations had been completed and invited Davey to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
As a leader in the women's rights movement, Mrs. Calhoon's intentions were clearly not that simple—she had her own political ambitions. She hoped to build stronger ties with wealthy figures like Davey, even though she knew full well that he was involved in illegal moonshine.
However, to people living in the West, as long as it wasn't robbery or murder, most other businesses were considered legitimate. As for violating federal law…
Well, roughly eighty percent of Westerners were illiterate. Even those who could read were legally illiterate—or simply had no real sense of the law at all, even if the United States was supposedly a nation governed by it.
After all, what did the United States government really have to do with them? It felt far too distant.
Money was what truly mattered, not some abstract, damnable laws.
If Mrs. Calhoon wanted to achieve her political goals, she couldn't do without money.
"Oh, Uncle," Davey sighed, "looks like I won't be getting any rest. Back on the road again. I really was born to toil."
Uncle laughed. "Give me a break, Davey. Your work is a lot easier than most people's."
"I'm not worried about you, but you should be more careful. A lot of people are living off you now."
"Me, John, Abigail, little Jack, and all those employees and workers—without you, we wouldn't have such a kind boss."
"Maybe I'm just not used to gang life anymore. My later years are all riding on you now."
Davey teased him. "Alright, Uncle. That last part is what you really wanted to say, wasn't it?"
"Just like Arthur said—you really are a proper parasite."
Uncle laughed as well. Davey's words were different from Arthur's.
At this point, Arthur genuinely disliked Uncle and never held back with his tone. Sometimes in camp, he would even push Uncle to work instead of loafing around.
With Davey, though, Uncle had been given a so-called teaching position—with no actual responsibilities at all. He was free to do as he pleased, and Davey never skimped on food or alcohol.
Even the forced changes of clothes and mandatory baths—Uncle knew those were for his own good.
"This parasite finally found the right place," Uncle said cheerfully. "You're filthy rich, Davey. No matter how much I eat or drink, I'll never use it all up."
"Just the free food at the town's Veterans' Club would already be an unbelievable amount for anyone."
"I really like it there, Davey. People around my age—we've got plenty to talk about, and we can reminisce about our cowboy days."
Uncle was in a good mood every single day. Living here, he never had to worry about anything.
The Veterans' Club now had more than a hundred members and had caused quite a stir throughout the West.
Many veterans who hadn't even visited yet already knew there was such a place in Valentine—and knew about Davey's kindness.
It could be said that although many veterans didn't know Davey personally, his name had already become something of a legend among them.
Even some generals in the military had heard of him.
In Eastern cities unknown to Davey, journalists had already begun publishing stories about his Veterans' Club in newspapers.
It was easy to foresee that as time went on, the influence of the Veterans' Club would continue to grow.
One day, when Davey stepped onto a new stage, they would evolve into a powerful force.
...
Meanwhile.
Arthur and Charles were on their way to rescue Bill.
"Arthur, about Davey… the Callander brothers," Charles said, frowning slightly. "I feel like they're completely different from before."
"I haven't spent much time with him—you know I never liked him much. But lately, when I've been gathering information, I've heard a lot about Davey."
"People are praising him. It's unbelievable. In Rhodes Town, I even hear women cheering for him all the time."
Charles spoke with clear confusion. He usually didn't concern himself with other people's affairs, but Davey's influence had grown too large. Wherever there were people, his name seemed to come up.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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