Henry immediately saw that the wallet was indeed full of us dollars. He quickly put all the contents of the wallet into his space, then took out some chocolates and candies from his space and put them into the wallet, pulling the drawstring shut.
He then took off the bandit's custom single-action Revolver, picked up the Winchester 1873 that the bandit had dropped on the ground, and continued forward.
With his back to the crowd, he put the Colt Revolver into his space and continued to pick off targets with the bandit leader's rifle along the way.
After emptying the rifle's chamber with 12 shots, he reloaded the rifle as he walked, and within ten seconds, the rifle roared again.
Henry had one principle: every fallen bandit had to receive a follow-up shot to the neck or chest.
The roar of gunshots, the neighing of warhorses, the smell of gunpowder in the air, and the heavy metallic scent of blood—all of this made Henry's blood boil, sensing the taste of freedom and feeling truly alive.
Yet, his emotions were incredibly stable, as he calmly delivered follow-up shots to the bandits' necks, much like a tree planter giving a final firm pat to the fresh soil at the base of a tree to ensure completion.
By the time he finished the follow-up shots along the 400-meter stretch of road, nearly ten minutes had passed.
The crowd at the town entrance watched Henry, who was as valiant as a demon god in front, yet as diligent as an old farmer harvesting wheat in the fields behind him, and for a moment, they were utterly speechless.
Mayor William also arrived at the town entrance.
Everyone felt that Henry, with his gentle demeanor, was truly ruthless.
After all, fighting and clearing the battlefield are two different matters; some places even advocate for not killing or even mistreating captives.
Where were Henry's captives?
How many people could fire dozens or even hundreds of shots at bodies, whether living or dead, without changing their expression?
This scene quickly silenced the previously noisy crowd at the town entrance, as they quietly watched that solitary, cold, and powerful figure.
The shrewd James recalled his suicidal act of voluntarily accepting Henry's duel just over ten minutes ago, and sweat beaded on his forehead. He felt deeply grateful to the Mayor and these bandits.
Finally, Henry, having finished his 'harvest,' returned to the town entrance, took the rifle from Pete, and said, "Mayor, there are still over twenty police officers' bodies and more than fifty horses at Coyote Hill, five miles away."
William nodded and immediately arranged for a cowboy to drive a carriage and twelve cowboys to ride horses there.
Henry then turned his horse around and began to gather the seventy-odd horses scattered on the road.
A total of 78 bandits were killed this time, three of whom were not killed by Henry.
Although he delivered follow-up shots immediately, those three unlucky fellows were directly focused down by the crowd and killed instantly, so he simply couldn't keep up.
This made Henry feel like he missed out on a hundred million!
Additionally, three horses fell and broke their legs.
The rest of the crowd also rushed over to help.
Over an hour passed before everyone finally roughly tallied and gathered all the items.
Those who went to Coyote Hill had also returned.
The entire town was plunged into a strange atmosphere, a mixture of sadness and excitement.
The families of the deceased police officers were enveloped in grief and tears, while others were incredibly excited by the glorious victory over the bandits.
Around 6 PM, the four bars were already packed with people.
Aside from some cowboys boasting, most people were vigorously discussing how fast and accurate Henry's gun was.
These matters were temporarily unrelated to Henry, as he had been called by Mayor William to a meeting at the town government office.
Mayor William was also the judge of this small town, holding both administrative and judicial power, making him the local 'emperor' of the town.
Although Sheriff Brian was said to be elected by the town committee, he was actually recommended—or rather, designated—by Mayor William.
However, over the past twenty-two years, the residents of the town had grown accustomed to Mayor William's management.
Moreover, William handled affairs relatively fairly and justly, so there were no major complaints.
Although the addition of the McKinley Family and the Palermo Family ten and seven years ago, respectively, somewhat impacted William's authority, it largely remained within controllable limits.
Attendees included Henry, Ronald, and William, as well as the six members of the town committee—four of whom were William's people.
These committee members were wealthy individuals such as mine owners, large ranch owners, and financiers who held prominent positions in the town.
The first topic of the meeting was why these bandit gangs would openly attack the town.
But after several minutes of discussion, no one had any leads.
After all, although 122 bandits were killed and only 8 escaped, not a single one was taken alive.
Henry's methods were simply too ruthless!
These people, except for Ronald, who arrived five years ago, had practically watched Henry grow up. They never expected this quiet little boy, who had just turned 20, to be so fierce!
Truly, killing like cutting grass!
Blaming him was impossible; all the dead were bandits.
Moreover, it was a consistent tradition among the white elite that the victor is not to be blamed.
And they would rely on Henry's protection in the future.
Finally, William said, "Besides our own police department continuing the investigation, I will contact the Pinkerton Detective Agency to look into the full story of this matter."
Next was the second major topic—the distribution of the spoils of war.
The spoils were divided into two parts.
The first batch, consisting of warhorses, saddles, and weapons harvested at Coyote Hill, was valued at approximately 6,000 us dollars.
The bounties on the bandits from various police departments were worth about 7,000 us dollars.
Adding them up, it came to approximately 13,000 us dollars.
Henry voluntarily proposed that he would not take a single cent from this portion of the spoils; it would all be distributed to the families of the deceased as compensation.
This was mainly because almost all the firearms, ammunition, and cash had ended up in Henry's space.
After discussion by the committee, William finalized the compensation standards: 500 us dollars each for the 19 ordinary police officers, 1,500 us dollars each for the four Deputy Sheriffs, and 3,000 us dollars for Brian.
The second batch, consisting of various tools, warhorses, firearms, and cash harvested at the town entrance, was valued at approximately 30,000 us dollars.
The bounties on the bandits were around 10,000 us dollars.
Adding them up, it came to 40,000 us dollars.
Over 70% of the enemies were killed by Henry, but considering the aftermath and the large number of participants.
Finally, with Henry's agreement, sixty percent (24,000 us dollars) was given to Henry, thirty percent (12,000 us dollars) was distributed among the participants in the battle, and ten percent (4,000 us dollars) went to the town government, meaning the town government only needed to subsidize 1,500 us dollars.
Of course, these are preliminary estimates; the exact amounts will depend on the specific handling results in the coming days.
The last topic was the election of a new Sheriff.
Although the McKinley Family committee member strongly pushed for Ronald, the other 6 committee members, including the Mayor, chose Henry.
There was no other way; in the wild West, force represented too much, especially extraordinary force.
Henry's achievements were simply too astonishing and were accomplished in plain sight, leaving no room for dispute.
Additionally, the committee members were concerned that if Henry were not chosen, he might abruptly leave the town.
This book has been signed, investments are welcome, and it will definitely not be unfinished.
Friends who are reading, please linger a little longer at the end of each chapter. Thank you.