NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY: RDR2

20. NOTHING FOR COLOUR

"Next to nothing for weight,

And since they grew duller

From contact with earth,

Next to nothing for colour.

Next to nothing for use.

But a crop is a crop,

And who's to say where

The harvest shall stop?"

― Robert Frost 

We left the unnerving quiet of the forest and saddled up, I trailed along behind him, unsure of the way. I had not yet been to their new camp, although Arthur had assured me it wasn't a long ride from here. He said that Hosea had some potent bait, potent enough that it would be irresistible to even the cleverest of cats.

We rode back through the town, Arthur with his deputy badge brandished under the glow of daybreak and I with my persistent fear that eyes were on us. That he would be rumbled, and I would be caught in the crossfire. I kept my head down, not looking up to see if the any Greys were on the porch of the Jail, not wanting them to see me if they were.

"So, you find your friend?" I asked, trying to break the surrounding silence.

"Hmm, damn bounty hunters..." he said through gritted teeth. I don't know why I was surprised to hear this, the price on their heads was surely tempting.

"So, he runs with you, but he lives in Rhodes?" I ask.

"He comes and goes." he grunts, turning to head towards the railway.

"You got a lot of people that come and go?"

"No, but he always brings something good to the table when he drops by" he said, the irritation clear in his voice. I bit my lip, knowing the table would remain empty on my side. 

"What's my excuse, then?"

Arthur hesitates as we ride in silence across the railway and into the tree line, my eyes were piercing holes into the back of his head waiting for a response. The truth was that I had nothing to offer, my loyalty was to my own camp. I would not stay with them. I would not participate in the games they were playing with the families of Rhodes. I would not give them tips on homesteads to rob, despite knowing plenty. And yet I knew everything I knew where they were and what they were up to. 

"I am your excuse." he said, finally. It wasn't much of an answer, but I assumed it was the only one he had to give. I left it there, despite my discomfort.

We headed into his camp as the sun rose over the river, it was quite beautiful. They had managed to find a spot tucked away along the shoreline, plenty of fishing to be done here. Plenty to eat. And yet they were entirely obscured from the road, exactly as they needed to be. It was bigger than their last camp and not nearly as muddy, you could walk barefoot here.

People were stationed at different parts of the camp, I noticed a few of the women stood by the fire drinking coffee. One of them was Sadie, she was speaking to the dark-haired woman who I recognized from before, Abigail. They both turned to look as we approached the hitching posts, Sadie broke out into a wide smile and came over to greet us, I don't think I'd seen her look so alive in the few times I'd met her.

"You come to ask for another wagon escort?" she asks, offering her hand to help me down from Aine. I accept it and drop down into the dusty ground below.