Out Of Time

The Money

Arthur woke up the next morning to find Sam was gone. For some reason, this unsettled him even though he knew she was probably in Saint Denis by now getting supplies. He got up and dressed in his gunslinger outfit, then he brushed his teeth. He still found it odd that he had to do this but at least the toothpaste left a nice after taste. He decided to go around doing chores to wait for his lady love to return. He kept a good distance away from Micah, though, and Micah from him.

By midday, Arthur started to worry. Something did not feel right and it had been nagging at him since he woke up, but he tried his best to ignore it. What was more is that not once had Dutch left his tent. That was also suspiciously odd of him. Usually he'd sit outside with a cigar in his hand. He spent some of the afternoon on guard for any strangers to waltz into camp, but as time went by, he was disappointed. No one came. Not even his wife.

By the time dusk came around, he'd decided enough was enough. He went to Dutch's tent. By now, he knew something was up or Sam had been kidnapped or killed. He'd prefer if it was the first thing. He needed to find out what was going on.

"Dutch," Arthur said.

The flaps opened and Dutch was standing there, a jolly look on his face. "Hello, Arthur. Something I can do for you?"

"Sam hasn't come back yet. I'm gonna go look for her," Arthur said, his voice almost strained.

Dutch had a blank expression on his face now. He poked his head out and looked around. "I'm sure she's fine, son, but if you're that worried, go ahead."

Something didn't seem right about Dutch's response to this information. "What kind of supplies did you send her to Saint Denis for?"

"Oh. Well, food, ammo...some of that fudge you guys like, and some of the ingredients for her, uh, flavored coffee."

Arthur squinted his eyes. "You sent her all the way to Saint Denis for all that?"

"Well, I know we could have gone into Annesburg or Van Horn for food and ammo, but that fudge...so delightful."

Arthur still didn't buy it. "Well, alright. I'm gonna go look for her. She should've been back by now."

"Okay. Anythin' else?"

"No."

"Okay."

Dutch shut the flaps, leaving Arthur to just stand there. He walked away and toward the horses, seeing Charles grooming Taima. "Charles!" he barked out.

Charles turned around instantly. "Hey, Arthur. What's goin' on?"

"Dutch sent Sam to Saint Denis this morning' for supplies but she hasn't come back yet. Will you ride with me?" Arthur asked, almost as if he was pleading. Charles was a much better tracker.

"Of course," Charles replied with a smile. "We'll find her, Arthur."

They both saddled up their horses and rode out. Charles and Arthur followed the tracks of what could possibly be Sam's horse on account of her horse having big hooves. They led south a ways down the road and for a while, they stayed that way...until they suddenly turned towards the west off the main road. This confused Arthur. They continued on until they reached past a forest, far east of the Heartlands.

"Well, it's obvious she didn't go to Saint Denis," Charles said. Arthur scratched the back of his neck, perplexed as all hell. Where could she have gone? "We should head back, see where Dutch actually sent her."

They turned around and headed back to camp. By then, it was nightfall and Arthur stormed over to Dutch's tent. He was enjoying a cigar. Oh, now he wanted to come out.