The Story Of Red Dead Redemption

Chapter 22: Valentine

The train slowly passed through Valentine. Arthur drove the wagon across the tracks, passing by the nearby train platform.

Before even entering the town, the air was filled with the smell of sheep. Along the main road, several sheep pens were visible, and cowboys were busy counting the sheep as they entered the pens.

Strauss, sitting in the wagon, said, "It looks like a decent town."

Arthur, smiling, replied, "Thinking about the snow on the mountain, every town is a decent town."

Arthur drove the wagon onto the main road and looked around. There were hotel, bank, general store, saloon, law office, and the sheriff's office neatly lined up on both sides of the road. The buildings varied in age and style, stretching from the beginning to the end of the main road. At the far end was a public stable where horses could be kept or bought and sold. Arthur decided to park the wagon there.

Once the wagon was parked, Strauss got off and said, "Alright, let's part ways here. We'll meet back here after dark. Any problems?"

Arthur shook his head. Since he had already advised Strauss, he didn't intend to stop him from lending money. Arthur planned to handle things himself when Strauss couldn't collect the debts. For now, Arthur had other things to do.

After parting ways, Arthur headed straight to the town's saloon. As soon as he entered, cheerful piano music filled his ears. Arthur saw three people playing Texas Hold'em at a table on the right side of the hall. Arthur pulled out an empty chair and sat down.

"Friends, count me in." The three players welcomed Arthur and threw their cards away, starting a new round.

One of them shuffled the cards skillfully, while another asked, "How much do you want to exchange?"

Arthur asked, "What's the stake here?"

The old man with a cowboy hat, who had been smiling, said, "Not much, just a dollar cap per round."

Arthur nodded and exchanged five dollars for chips. The cards were shuffled, cut, and dealt, and the game began. Although Arthur's main goal wasn't to play cards but to gather information and check the scene, he didn't rush to ask questions. Instead, he played the game seriously.

Arthur was dealt two cards: the King and Queen of Spades. He deliberately frowned and placed the initial 20-cent bet. The dealer confirmed no one wanted to raise the stakes and revealed the first three community cards: the Nine and Jack of Spades, and the Queen of Hearts.

Since they hadn't played with Arthur before, the others couldn't gauge his strategy and only placed small bets of 20 cents each.

Arthur rolled his eyes inwardly. It wasn't because his hand was bad; he had at least a pair of Queens and a potential flush. However, the small bets made him wonder if it was worth playing.

When it was Arthur's turn, he raised the bet by 50 cents and said, "I'm from the north and it's my first time in this town. Is this how small the stakes usually are here?"

The old man, still smiling, replied, "A dollar cap per round isn't small, is it?"

Arthur was taken aback. So, that's how the dollar cap worked. The old man matched Arthur's bet, raising it by a dollar, and the others followed suit. Arthur could have folded at this point, but his hand was strong, and with everyone matching the dollar raise, the pot was already a decent size.

Calculating quickly, Arthur realized that with only three community cards revealed and another round of betting to come, the pot was already at $4.90. He suspected the others were trying to teach him a lesson. Arthur matched the raise, and no one folded.

The fourth community card was the Ten of Hearts. Although Arthur didn't have the highest hand yet, he had a straight. Many gamblers would be willing to bet everything on such a hand.

However, Arthur didn't forget his primary goal was to gather information. While they still thought they had the upper hand, he asked, "Do you guys usually play here? Are there any other poker games in town?"

After another raise, the old man replied, "The other two aren't very talkative. We just play casually here. After all, this is just a small ranching town, not like other places. The wealthy here prefer to go to Saint Denis to play, even though it's a bit farther, the stakes are much higher there."

The other two players folded on the final card, leaving only Arthur and the old man. Arthur had run out of chips and bought more from one of the players who had folded. The final community card was the Seven of Diamonds.

The old man smiled at Arthur and said, "How about we don't raise anymore and just show our hands? I'm worried one of us might not leave this town alive."

Arthur nodded, and the old man revealed his cards: the Ace of Diamonds and the King of Clubs. The old man won with an ace-high straight.

Arthur wasn't surprised by the outcome. He accepted his loss and congratulated the old man before leaving the saloon. Although he lost money, he got the information he needed, the most important being that there were no other high-stakes poker games in town.

At a telegraph pole near the intersection, Arthur bought a newspaper from a newsboy. It was the latest issue of the New Hanover Gazette.

Opening the newspaper, the headline about the Cornwall train robbery caught his eye: "Fierce Battle Leaves Many Dead," "Attackers Claim to be O'Driscolls," "Train Belongs to Leviticus Cornwall."

Arthur quickly sat down on a bench outside a general store to read the article carefully. The article read: "A train belonging to Leviticus Cornwall, a railroad, sugar, and oil magnate, was robbed in broad daylight by masked men claiming to be O'Driscolls. The train was heading north towards Grizzlies when the robbers boarded shortly after it departed from West Elizabeth and forced it to stop. Initial reports indicate that the bloody robbery aimed to steal railway bonds from Cornwall's private train."

"The train failed to arrive at its destination on time. Upon investigation, police and officials found the train stopped south of Annesburg. Survivors and police reported intense fighting inside the train cars, with the guards putting up a brave resistance. The O'Driscolls left many bodies behind."

"The engineers, technicians, and some guards survived, but apart from a few guards who insisted the robbery was carried out by the O'Driscolls, other personnel were too traumatized to provide more information to the police."

Arthur smiled, wondering if Cornwall would be furious when he read the newspaper. However, his happiness was short-lived as he continued reading and his expression darkened.

The next headline read: "Blackwater Locked Down."

***

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