48 Hours a Day

Considering Cook’s age, Zhang Heng was confident that he could defeat him if it were a fair matchup. However, if one took into account the thirty thugs in the Cook Gang, the situation was not optimistic.

But luckily, they still had time.

Cook would not expect that the ten people he left to be stationed in Bliss would be killed, causing their whereabouts to be exposed ahead of time.

According to Zhang Heng’s estimation, Cook Gang should still need to travel for another day before they reached Lincoln County. While they were thinking about how to deal with those thugs, there was a key problem for them to figure out, and that was how to intercept Cook and Matthew before they got to Lincoln County.

“The intel that I have on hand about the Cook Gang is two-months-old,” the sheriff frowned. “They have always been like this. They come and go like the wind. Some people call them the Crimson Scourge. No one knows where they would appear or where they were heading to. The only thing that everyone knows was that wherever they went, and blood would be spilled.” “I probably know where they will be,” Zhang Heng said. Bailiff Morton has been tracking those bandits disguised as fur traders. As long as Cook and Matthew are not stupid, they will find Morton first. So they should arrive at the scorched town now.” Undoubtedly, 80% of them would believe what Morton told them, thinking that Zhang Heng was the one that took the forty kilograms of gold and the object Cook had deposited in the bank.

In fact, Zhang Heng couldn’t really determine if the thing really existed, or whether it was just an excuse for Cook to draw Matthew out.

Apart from Cook, the only group of people who could answer this question had been killed by Zhang Heng. Getting an answer might prove a little challenging Zhang Heng told the sheriff about the direction that Cook and the others might be heading in. The latter spread out a map and pointed to a forest trail twenty miles east of Lincoln County. “If your intel is reliable, Cook will first group up with the ten people he left in Bliss. After that, he will attack the county seat. Considering that there will be a gap between their arrivals, the first person should find a place to settle down. And this is the best location.”

Wendy then interrupted, “My father and I went there in the summer. I remember a hunter’s hut over there. It has no owner, and any hunter can rest there.”

“If Cook didn’t see anyone in Bliss when he arrived, he would probably rest in the hut too,” the sheriff said.

“Can we set up an ambush there?” Zhang Heng asked. “It’s difficult,” the old cowboy shook his head. “I haven’t been to that place yet, but Cook is a very cautious person. The bailiff who pursued him said he’d first sent some scouts to garrison the location. Once the place is secured, he will set up a perimeter around him. This is why the Cook Gang has been so difficult to eliminate. Even if we want to surround him, we cannot hide nearby. We’ll have to charge at them from a distance.”

Zhang Heng frowned at the sheriff’s idea. The dark of the night was his best adavantage to win the fight against Cook. However, if Cook and his people chose to hide in the hunter’s hut until dawn, then it would make no sense to ask a group of miners and farmers to fight. “Let’s head there first,” said Zhang Heng after thinking for a while.

There wasn’t much time left. The Cook Gang should reach Lincoln County in a day. On the other hand, Zhang Heng and the others would take at least half a day to get to the woods. At the same time, they had to be cautious of any encounters with Cook members in the woods. That meant they had only half a day left to make all the necessary preparations. Before dawn, the group had set off again to the cabin Wendy mentioned.

That hut was located in the middle of the woods, and there was a small trail leading to it, created by the hunters who frequently hunted there. A stream ran beside the hut as well. Since it just rained, the air in the woods was humid; tree barks still had water droplets on them.

This was by no means pleasant news for Zhang Heng and the rest since it meant that they couldn’t use fire to drive Cook and the others out of the house. Besides, there were branches on the ground and it would be difficult to approach outside without making a sound.

To avoid hooveprints on the ground, the sheriff made everyone else wait outside the woods. Zhang Heng, Wendy, and he were the only ones that entered the woods.

The sheriff walked around the hunter’s cabin and asked Zhang Heng, “Do you have any ideas?”

“I don’t think they can fit thirty people in this hut. Cook will assign some of them to guard the perimeter. Once we commence the attack, whoever is inside the hut will be alerted. It is difficult to complete the ambush. However, if we are lucky, we should aim at all the thugs guarding outside. Once we eliminate a few, our chances of winning would improve significantly,” Zhang Heng paused, “But the real trouble is fighting those who remain in the hut. There is no place for cover around here. By that time, we will have to wait for them to attack us before we can attack. Hence, we need to find a way to lure them out.”

“Even if we can draw them out, are you confident you can defeat them?” The sheriff raised his eyebrows.

“It’s impossible to defeat all of them in one go. If they are determined enough to leave this place, I don’t think I can kill them all. However, if Cook is my only target, I think I can pull it off,” Zhang Heng said. “That should be more than enough. Cook has always been the soul and brain of the Cook Gang. As long as Cook is killed, the Cook Gang will naturally cease to exist.” The sheriff said, “I may have a way to get them out of the hut, but I still need your men to help me.” “They will all follow your order, sheriff.” After briefly discussing the battle plan, the three temporarily left the forest. If all of them entered Lincoln County simultaneously, they would attract all the unwanted attention. So, they went only one person to watch the place, and the rest headed west. After a twenty mile walk, the group of twenty took the time to rest behind a grassy slope. And Zhang Heng still had something to do before the war began.

He walked toward Wendy, who had been quiet the whole way here.

“Let’s go. I will take you home first,” said Zhang Heng. “Please, I’ve been honing my marksmaship for a long time, and I’m ready for combat... and you are not short of manpower now,” Wendy begged. “You have never experienced a real battle. This is not as simple as you think, and what we are about to face is the most brutal and powerful gang in the entire West. I don’t think we’ll have any room for negotiation,” Zhang Heng replied.