Unshaken

Money Lending and Other Sins VI

He rode back to camp, wondering what it was that made people around Roanoke Ridge so odd. He also thought about what had happened with his mother. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and tried to stop thinking about it. He got off Colter and made his way to the pot to eat. As he finished his bowl, he heard as ruckus come from the center of camp. Pearson and Susan got out of the way of Arthur dragging Strauss through camp to Strauss' wagon.

"What are you doing?" Strauss asked, scared. "Something I should've done a long time
ago. Get your bag." Arthur said throwing Strauss towards the wagon. "Is this it?" Arthur asked grabbing Strauss' belongings. "I don't understand." Strauss said shakily. "I ain't gonna kill ya, though I probably should. You disgust me, and you shame us. If we could be shamed more than we already are. That should do." Arthur said shoving Strauss' things into his arms, throwing the ledger onto the ground. Strauss grunted at the force of Arthur shoving his bag into him. "Go!" Arthur yelled as Strauss backed away from him. "I don't understand you, what are you doing?" Strauss yelled nervously. "Go and get... a job!" Arthur said throwing Strauss towards the horses. Everybody in camp watched.

"I was your friend." Strauss pleaded. "You and me, we ain't decent. But those folk, they was. Now here, take that." Arthur said throwing a stack of cash to Leopold. "Take that, and get lost!" Arthur yelled. Strauss picked it up. "I'm-" Strauss said, before being cutoff. "Leaving." Arthur interrupted. Strauss turned and climbed on one of the extra horses the gang had. He took one last look at the camp and rode off.

Arthur walked back to the campfire. Liam walked up. "What was that all about?" Liam asked. "I'm done scamming decent folk." Arthur said. "I understand." Liam said. Bill paced up to Arthur. "Yes, Bill?" Arthur asked. "Are you gonna throw me out like Strauss?" Bill asked with a crazy look in his eye. "Not unless I need to." Arthur said looking back at the fire. Bill grunted and walked off.

"I'll leave you to it, then." Liam said standing up. "Just keep your ear to the ground, we need to find out what's really going on." Arthur said. "Of course." Liam said walking to the cliff edge to sit for awhile. He smoked a cigarette and thought about what Arthur said. "What is really going on?" He said to himself.

He realized how beautiful of a spot Beaver Hollow actually was, people weren't in the right headspace, though. He overheard Tilly and Mary-Beth talking. "I cannot... I cannot get over Miss O'Shea... she's dead." Mary-Beth said, sewing some garments together. "Well I'm glad she shot her, she deserved it. And truth be told, I never liked her anyway. And she betrayed us." Tilly said, scrubbing clothes in the wash bin. "You don't know that." Mary-Beth said getting up and moving closer to Tilly. Liam walked up to them. "She told us." Tilly said. "She was in love, she would've said anything. Who knows what she did or didn't do?" Mary-Beth asked, almost whispering, squatting down to Tilly's level.

Tilly looked at Liam. "What do you think, Liam?" She asked. He sighed. "I ain't sure. Even if she did, it's bad business either way. I'm confused like the both of you." He told them. Tilly turned to Mary-Beth again. "She had to go. It's bad, but..." Tilly said, her mind wondering. Mary-Beth looked at her for a second. "Tilly, I do believe you've got a cold heart." Mary-Beth told her. Liam had felt that way about himself. He had killed his own mother earlier that day, and he didn't even want to dwell on it like a normal person would. "Now you know that ain't true." Tilly said, almost hurt. "Of course it ain't, but I'm scared." Mary-Beth said, holding back a sob. "Me too... me too." Tilly said, getting back to work. "Maybe things'll start to look up." Liam told them, walking off. He saw Kieran approach Mary-Beth and take her hand, calming her.

He thought about the situation. He wasn't necessarily scared, per se, but he did know change was coming. He was unsure of what would happen next. Pearson was drinking a lot more. Sean and Karen kept each other sane. He knew he could keep himself sane. Dutch, on the other hand, seemed off the rails.

As he was thinking, he saw a group of Native Americans ride in and talk to Dutch. He, Arthur and Charles rode out. Liam wondered what the Natives needed them for. He went to his tent and drank a whiskey to help himself fall asleep.