It could be said that Barrett's reputation had reached thunderous proportions for Billy the Kid.
But even such a legendary sharpshooter had been easily eliminated by Henry!
Billy the Kid's interest in Henry was now even greater - the joyful feeling a person who feels they've reached the pinnacle in certain skills gets when hearing there might still be mountains beyond mountains.
He decided to have a thoroughly enjoyable night tonight, then have a life-or-death showdown with Henry tomorrow!
So he also occasionally joined the bar crowd in their "toast to Henry" ranks.
——
Henry received the 200 dollars in betting principal plus winnings totaling 360 dollars that Thor had bought for him that afternoon.
Additionally, after inventorying the two gangs' wallets and money pouches, he gained 432.4 dollars - indeed, only the desperately poor weren't afraid to die.
Adding Barrett's 2,264.8 dollars, today's total extra income was 2,857.6 dollars.
He gave Luke 10 dollars to take the 16 officers who participated in today's duel arrangements for a big meal.
They had also identified those bandits as members of the Wild Wolf Gang and Skull Gang. According to previous police records of their gangs, this time was almost total annihilation.
Moreover, there were 1,630 dollars in bounties available from other police stations.
However, some stations required live capture, which might prevent collecting all these bounties.
This time they seized 12 double-action and 8 single-action revolvers, including 3 single-action Smith & Wesson No. 3 revolvers, plus 21 Winchester 1873 rifles.
Henry put the rifles in the police station armory, only storing 3 Smith & Wesson No. 3 single-action pistols in the armory, collecting the other pistols in his office - actually storing them in his space.
Due to revolver mechanical structure, with Henry frequently shooting so rapidly and violently, revolvers could easily break down.
So he needed to frequently replace revolvers to ensure no temporary firearm malfunctions.
This was also one of the prices he paid for maintaining powerful firepower.
So he particularly favored guns and ammunition of the same model, greatly reducing shooting stability and difficulty of replacing firearms.
Tonight he continued going to Phoenix Bar for dinner.
When he entered the bar, everyone erupted in enthusiastic cheers. Henry had gained a powerful new talent today and also earned extra income, putting him in an excellent mood.
He called out loudly: "Everyone currently on the first floor, one bourbon each, on me!"
About 200-plus people, roughly 10 dollars could handle it.
Everyone made deafening noise, shouting in unison: "To Henry!"
Some flatterers shouted: "To the generous and mighty Henry!"
Henry smiled and walked up to his second-floor private room, again ordering double portions of steak, venison, and bread.
Until finishing dinner, Drummond never appeared, indicating he hadn't yet obtained McKinley family intelligence.
Additionally, there should be no changes regarding Henry's own bounty, otherwise Drummond should have told him.
After eating, Henry went straight home, then continued going out to patrol after 10 PM.
Another peaceful night, except for a dozen or so drunks causing trouble - such minor disputes could be suppressed by the bars' own guards.
Early the next morning, Henry first went to Linda's house and found she had packed almost everything.
After eating breakfast at Linda's house, Henry went to the police station and called Pete to his office to assign him tasks.
"Pete, probably within the next three to five days I'll escort Linda, Becky, and André to Denver to catch a train. You and Mary will come along. You'll escort the three of them to New York then return. Both your travel expenses are on me."
"Hasn't Mary always regretted not having a honeymoon? This is perfect timing to make up for it. When you get to New York, play with her for a few days before coming back."
Pete was very excited and said: "Thank you, Henry. I guarantee I'll complete the mission, and we won't play too long in New York."
Henry looked at him with contempt - sounding like he could be in charge during the trip.
"It's fine. If Mary wants to play a few more days, just keep her company."
"Really won't happen. Henry, you just took office and need help right now."
Henry felt warmth in his heart again.
Good, this young man had potential.
Ability was secondary - position and loyalty came first.
"Continue taking four new officers to guard Linda today. Go now, and help her organize things. Be extra careful not to have problems these next two days."
"Yes, Sheriff Henry. I'll take people and leave immediately." Pete saluted then turned and left with a grin.
Henry began concentrating on reviewing police station intelligence about the three major families around town again.
Though this intelligence wasn't very detailed, the general locations and personnel were fairly clear.
He decided that regardless of whether Drummond's side obtained McKinley family intelligence, he would eliminate McKinley's private soldiers tonight at 7 PM or tomorrow around 5 AM.
When Henry escorted Linda away, the most likely ambushes would probably come from McKinley family private soldiers.
Whether or not they had attack plans, as long as this possibility existed, Henry had to ensure this situation wouldn't occur.
As for other bandits or gangs, as long as it wasn't an ambush of twenty-plus people, working with several officers, Henry estimated he could still protect Linda's family of three.
The McKinley family had at least several dozen cavalry private soldiers with unified command. If they came to ambush, the threat level would be too great.
Moreover, if he didn't act now, once Marshal Duncan returned with a federal officer watching, it would somewhat constrain him.
Henry couldn't be too unrestrained.
Escorting Linda to Denver to catch a train was just one of Henry's purposes for going to Denver.
The original Henry hadn't been to Denver for over six years, so he had to go examine Denver.
Just staying cooped up in Fresco Town had no great future.
The sheriff position was also just a transition for Henry.
Henry had one enormous advantage over the natives - he had rough knowledge of some major future events, plus basic understanding of America's political and economic structures and future changes.
This benefited from the information explosion on the internet in his previous timeline.
After becoming a mercenary, he had fairly deep understanding of weapon design and development, plus related knowledge of modern major military forces and operations.
The last was that he had vacationed in Las Vegas three times for relaxation, giving him some understanding of Nevada and nearby Arizona, Colorado, California, Idaho, and other states.
At least he had used and visited their railway systems and famous attractions.
So he had some understanding of Chinese workers' contributions to railway construction and their tragic fate afterward.
He even remembered the tour guide mentioning America officially passed the Exclusion Act in 1882 - otherwise when ambushing McKinley cavalry that day, he wouldn't have had that specific thought about helping Chinese people in this timeline and place.
(End of Chapter)
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