I don't know if I've helped anyone yet. Well, maybe in small ways. I gave Thomas Downes some money. I don't know exactly when Herr Strauss lent him cash, but now he should be able to pay him back or avoid a loan altogether.

Visited Rains Fall, too. Let him know that Cornwall was making a bid for his land. Let him know a lot, actually. I trust that he can keep what I said a secret, and perhaps help his people, too.

--------------------------

The letter was waiting for him when he got back to camp, and he almost threw it away. Oh, Mary Linton. They were both such fools.

But he refused to let her brother Jaime hang around with a bunch of crazies, so he went. He rode into Valentine, and knocked on the door of Chadwick Farm.

Before, when he was still in love, before she wrote to him and said it was all over, he had been too blind to care that she was only using him.

"Why did you write, Mary?" he asked, after she talked about her husband's death, and there's the request. To go save her brother.

"So, I'm too rough to marry into your family, but it's okay to as me to help in saving your family," he said bitterly. It didn't matter that they loved each other, or that she still claimed to care for him. She shut that door the day she mailed him the ring back. And now, talking to Mary once again, Arthur could see that day coming.

Despite his best efforts, the kid still tried to run again. He knew he should have borrowed a faster horse. Dakota was strong, but didn't win too many races. Still, knowing what the kid was going to do helped him prepare, and he shot the gun out of Jaime's hand.

"Are you and Mary sweet on each other again?" the kid asked, but Arthur brushed the question off.

"Listen kid, your father is a coward, and a bully. You go make a life for yourself, figure out what makes you happy. Just steer clear of the turtles! You are better than that, kid!"

Mary shouted and hugged Jaime as soon as they arrived at the station, and he made a decision.

"Thank you, Arthur," she said, and she heads towards the train.

"Mary, wait," he said. He sighed, wondering if this was for the best, but in the end, it probably was. If he didn't do this now, she eventually would. "It was good seeing you, but… well, I think its about time we parted ways for good."

"Arthur-" she started, but he shook his head.

"It would never work, Mary. You don't want to be part of the life I lead, and I'm never going to happy in the one you want. In fact, as soon as I can, I plan to head back west. It's best we just say our goodbyes now."

Tears were forming in the corner of Mary's eyes, but she didn't deny the truth of his words. In fact, she reached into her bag and pulled out a small object, handing it to him. "Here," she said. "I suppose you should have this back, now." It was the ring he had given her. He never knew she had carried it on her person all these years.

"Goodbye, Mary," he said, for the last time.

---------------------

"What if we could force a train to stop," John said.

John did have a pretty good idea, Arthur thought. The train did stop, and they made off with a decent amount of money. A pity that the law showed up, and he never did learn how they knew about it.

"That is brilliant," he said after John explained it all. "I think I can get us a oil wagon." Lately, his relationship with John had been much better. He could tell at first that John was surprised by his change in attitude.

But he couldn't help teasing Marston just a little. "You might be the first bastard to ever have half his brains eaten by a wolf and end up more intelligent!"

"Shut up!" Marston said as they both headed to their horses.

"Arthur," Dutch called.

"What is it, Dutch." He noticed Dutch pause at his tone.

"I need you to head to Strawberry, break Micah out of the jail there."

Arthur had dreaded this moment. In the past, he had delayed getting the oil wagon in order to save Micah. But he couldn't bring himself to do it this time.

"Now is not really a good time, Dutch."

"Arthur, they are going to hang him for murder."

"Here's hoping," he said. Micah had many murders to hang for.

"Arthur!"

"Dutch, he's a fool! A hotheaded idiot, and I'm not saving him." Arthur continued to Dakota.

"Arthur, I am asking you to do this."

"You like Micah so much, you go save him. You're the only one who does."

"He would save you, Arthur," Dutch spat out.

"No, no he wouldn't."

Dutch was livid. Arthur knew why, before he would have never talked back to Dutch in that way. When he finally started to, in Beaver Hollow, Dutch's anger boiled over in snide comments and aggressive attitudes. Though he wasn't surprised to see it now, a small part had hoped that the Dutch he had seen in his final days hadn't always been there. Unfortunately for Dutch, Arthur was past trying to make him happy. "I'm going to work a job with Marston, actually make some money for this gang. More than Micah's ever done."

There was a risk, of course. Whoever Dutch ended up sending to Strawberry could be thrust into the same dangerous situation. Or they could fail to bust Micah out, and Micah would die. It wasn't a good solution, but for today, Arthur needed to be selfish.

Based on the stares, most of the gang had seen his outburst. Some looked uncomfortable, but a few looked as though they agreed with him. Micah was not well liked at all, and Dutch was truly the only reason he had lasted in the gang.

He didn't look back at Dutch. He rode straight to a deserted stretch of road. Every morning, the oil wagons rode between Valentine and the refinery, and if he had timed it right, he could grab one today.

Sure enough, one was rolling down the road an hour after he arrived. Pulling his bandanna up, he galloped down in front of the wagon, gun drawn.

"You have two choices, run, or get shot over a wagon." The driver ran.

He hid the wagon near the rundown shack, and rode over the Emerald Ranch. There, he met with the fence and Hosea, stole a wagon, gained an ally by robbing his cousin (by marriage).

"I may have pissed off Dutch," Arthur warned as he and Hosea rode back to camp.

"Why? What did you do to him?"

"I told him what I thought about Micah. Refused to go save him from jail."

"Oh."

"I just don't trust Micah. He only cares about himself and doesn't fit with the gang. And Dutch can't see it!"

"And what did Dutch say?" Arthur liked talking with Hosea, and wished he had done it more. Hosea's calm understanding and patience was the reason Arthur had always loved Hosea the most, and the biggest missing piece in their gang after Hosea was killed.

"He got mad. Seems to think Micah belongs." Arthur chuckled. "He said that Micah would save me if I was in jail, though I know that isn't true."

"I'll try talking to him," Hosea offered. "Try to make him see what everyone else sees." It was a nice gesture, but one Arthur worried wouldn't help.

Dutch wouldn't look at Arthur, except to say that he sent Javier to fetch Micah. Arthur was a little worried for Javier, even though it still stung a little that Javier couldn't see what Dutch had become in Beaver Hollow.

That was, until, and exhausted and bleeding Javier had turned up in camp a day later. "It's just a graze, I'm fine," Javier had groaned, as a guilty Arthur apologized, leading him to his tent on one side and John on the other.

"What happened?" Dutch demanded.

"I broke Micah out, everything was fine, then he went crazy. Shot up the entire town just for to get his guns back from some guy."

"It's alright, it's not your fault," Arthur said, as Dutch asked, "Where is Micah?"

"Out looking for a score, so you forgive him," Javier said. Arthur patted Javier on the arm, then backed away so that Miss Grimshaw could scold Javier for carelessness. And bandage him up.

"You hear what your friend Micah did, Dutch? Shoot up half a town?"

"People make mistakes," Dutch said.

"No Dutch, THAT is not a mistake. He could have gotten Javier killed. Over some guns!"

"Perhaps, if you had gone like I asked," Dutch began, quiet and cold.

Arthur shook his head. "Oh, no, you think this would have been any different? That I wouldn't have come back looking like Javier?

"Arthur…"

"No, Dutch, I have had it with you defending that bastard. He doesn't care about anyone but himself! You should have never let him into this gang!" Arthur stormed off, and before he reached his tent, he saw Hosea step up to try to talk Dutch down. Dutch simply waved Hosea off, leaving him standing in the middle of camp.

One thing Arthur hadn't noticed last time was just how much Hosea and Dutch seemed to argue. Before, he had always taken Dutch's side of things, but now that Arthur was defending Hosea's ideas, Dutch would ask for his opinion a lot less. That meant Arthur was stuck awkwardly listening as Hosea pushed Dutch to head back west, and Dutch insisting that there was a plan.

A few days later, Arthur set off to the shack where he had left the oil wagon. Charles rode with them, and Sean tagged along.

Sean was trying to learn how to quick draw, bragging and full of himself. Arthur immediately showed how it was done, shooting a bottle off the wall before Sean could blink.

He's like an annoying little brother, Arthur thought. He had wrote something like that after Sean died. "Maybe, if you are nice to me, I can teach you how to draw better," Arthur offered.

"Can I come along on this raid with yah?" Sean asked.

Arthur let Sean argue his case, laughing inside just a little. Of course he could let Sean come on this one, it went alright the last time. Alright, as in no one got seriously hurt or killed. When Marston expressed doubt, Arthur waved it off and said, "It'll be fine."

Didn't stop Arthur from giving Sean shit on the ride, but Sean could give as good as he got. Annoying little brother, indeed.

The train stopped as soon as the driver spotted the wagon, Arthur standing on top of it. He and John collected valuables from the passengers, but Arthur left a little early to meet Sean at the baggage car, quickly taking out the men waiting for him.

Despite clearing the car as fast as he could, it wasn't fast enough. Soon, the two law men were showing up. This time, Arthur whispered to John and Charles to bail on the train, moving quickly before more men appeared. They grabbed the horses and took off, but not before the lawmen spotted them and they were in a desperate gallop through the trees.

"Everyone alright?" he called out, once he was sure they were safe. He got three tired but affirmative responses. "Good, head back to camp, and MAKE SURE you are not followed." Not the end he had hoped for this evening, but still, it was a pretty good take. The information had been solid, the folks just as rich as Marston had hoped.

They still needed more money, at least that's what Dutch always said they needed. Arthur still wasn't sure what they needed for a long term plan. But he was starting to realize that maybe the best way to save everyone was to leave Dutch behind.