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Chapter 29: The Strawberry Cliff Incident
After a long and arduous journey, the trio finally arrived in Strawberry after five full days.
The reason they traveled so slowly was that they were carrying far too much luggage.
Two wagons, one large and one small, were packed to the brim.
In this bone-chilling region of The Great Glacier, any slight oversight could lead to danger, so they didn't dare speed up their pace.
Along the way, Johnny gained a deeper understanding and appreciation of Sadie.
At first, he merely saw Sadie as a fearless Valkyrie, but as they spent more time together, he was pleasantly surprised to discover her lesser-known side—it turned out she was also a dutiful, thrifty woman who was skilled at managing a household.
If there was even an extra basin in the house, Sadie would tuck it away without hesitation; she would never easily leave anything behind for others.
Johnny thought to himself that if Sadie could remain this way throughout this lifetime, then his coming here wouldn't have been in vain.
In contrast, Johnny himself appeared much more leisurely. He rode the horse Colm had given him with ease, moving slowly and taking the opportunity to quickly build a rapport with it.
One moment, he would have the horse leap high; the next, he'd have it rear its hooves, as excited as a child who had received a long-coveted toy.
When the group entered the interior of Strawberry, Arthur was the first to suggest taking a short break.
After all, after traveling continuously for so long, not only were the people exhausted, but even the steeds beneath them were panting heavily, barely able to keep going.
Sadie dragged her exhausted body, shuffling step by step toward the general store, her throat so parched it felt as if it were on fire.
She was full of anticipation, hoping to buy a bottle of refreshing Guarma Rum to find some relief from the unbearable heat and fatigue.
However, when she hopefully asked the owner if he had such liquor, she received a disappointing answer—
The entire town actually prohibited alcohol! This sudden news was like a bucket of cold water poured over Sadie's head, making her so angry she nearly shoved the barrel of her revolver into the owner's incessant mouth.
Just then, Arthur, who was nearby, rushed forward to pull back the nearly out-of-control Sadie, repeatedly offering apologies to the owner.
Fortunately, the owner was well-traveled and experienced; he didn't choose to call the Police Officer because of Sadie's impulsiveness, and the small disturbance finally settled down.
In fact, the owner was secretly brewing liquor himself, though it wasn't for profit.
Firstly, it was to satisfy his own desire for a drink, and secondly, moonshine could be used for bartering in Strawberry.
Seeing that the three were unfamiliar faces, he was afraid they were Revenue Agents in disguise, so he didn't dare tell them the truth.
However, if the owner knew Johnny's inner monologue, he would probably be scared to death.
It turned out Johnny had wanted to use this directly to blackmail him for a general store robbery, but it was difficult to execute since Mr. and Mrs. Adler were still around.
(Having teammates meant the cut was too large; it wasn't worth it.)
Afterward, the group of three arrived at the town's hotel. As soon as the owner saw them, he immediately greeted them with a face full of smiles, showing immense warmth.
While busy attending to the guests, he talked incessantly, expressing that Strawberry very much welcomed travelers from all directions.
Before long, three bowls of steaming, aromatic local specialty lamb offal soup were brought to the table.
Sadie couldn't wait to pick up a spoon and take a taste; she felt the flavor was simply indescribable, the fresh and rich broth instantly conquering her taste buds.
"Wow, this is truly delicious!" she couldn't help but praise. Arthur, beside her, also nodded in agreement: "It is indeed very authentic!"
Only Johnny seemed somewhat unimpressed, muttering, "Hmm... I still think it's not as good as what Pearson makes back at our camp."
This sentence wouldn't expose them; in fact, in the Van der Linde Gang, only the main combatants had bounties. The women of the Gang and Pearson didn't have bounties at all, not even sketches.
The night passed without incident, and the next morning, sunlight streamed through the window into the room.
Sadie, Arthur, and Johnny each woke up early, quickly changed into light and cool summer clothes, and prepared to mount their horses to continue their journey.
But just as they reached the door, they suddenly noticed an anxious-looking married lady standing not far ahead.
She was clutching a missing person flyer tightly in her hand, constantly asking passersby about something.
Sadie curiously stepped forward to glance at the flyer, which clearly stated a search for her missing husband, Jim.
It also promised a generous reward of 25 dollars to anyone who could provide definitive information.
It turned out this lady was named Mildred. Her husband had promised to pick her up to live in Strawberry, but twenty days had passed and no one had come.
So she took a carriage to Strawberry herself to look for her husband, only to be told that he had set out long ago.
After hearing her story, Johnny fell silent. Having played through many cycles, he knew where her husband was, but he was afraid she wouldn't be able to take it if he told her.
After careful consideration, Johnny ultimately decided that he should tell her the truth.
In his view, although learning the truth would bring pain, this known agony was better than being constantly tormented by unknown anxiety.
Thus, Johnny took a deep breath, gathered his courage, walked up to the lady, and said softly, "Ma'am, please calm down and listen to me.
Your husband... he is currently at the bottom of a cliff not far to the west of Strawberry. I'm sorry to say he has unfortunately passed away. I hope you can find peace."
As soon as he finished speaking, the lady's expression, which had been full of anticipation and joy, underwent a massive change. First, she was stunned, her eyes wide with an expression of disbelief;
Next, fear gradually took over her face, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably;
Finally, as she realized this cruel fact, her whole being seemed to lose its support, and she swayed unsteadily.
However, despite the heavy blow to her heart, the lady still maintained a shred of rationality.
She stared fixedly at Johnny with a suspicious gaze, secretly wondering if the man before her was just a loathsome swindler come to cheat her out of her money.
But at the same time, her deep longing and concern for her husband made her truly unwilling to easily give up even a one-in-ten-thousand chance of seeing him again.
Therefore, after a struggle, the lady suppressed her grief and stated that she needed to gather a few reliable people to go to that cliff together to find her husband's remains.
Doing so was both to give herself a sense of security and to hope that the truth of the matter could be confirmed through the witness of more people.
At this moment, Mayor Timmins, who was nearby enthusiastically promoting the various charms of Strawberry to passersby, noticed the unusual situation over here.
Out of his duty to care for the town's residents, he walked over quickly to find out exactly what had happened.
After listening to the statements from both sides, Mayor Timmins nodded with a grave expression, expressing his understanding of the lady's feelings.
He immediately decided to dispatch several experienced and well-trained Police Officers to accompany them to the scene, so as to properly recover the body and handle the follow-up matters for this unfortunate Strawberry resident.
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