The night was so exciting that the next day McMurdo moved away from the old man Jacob Shafter's house and went to live with the widow McNamara at the edge of town. He was the first

Scanlon, a friend he met on the train, also moved to Vermissa after a while, so they lived together. Apart from them, there were no other tenants. The landlord, McNamara, was an Irish man with an easy-going personality.

The old lady gave them full freedom and would not interfere in what they said or did, so it was best for these two people who both had secrets.

Shafter treated McMurdo well. When he was in a good mood, he would invite McMurdo to his home for dinner. Therefore, McMurdo still had a relationship with Eddie, and as time passed, they became closer day by day.

.

McMurdo believed that the place where he lived now was very safe, so he moved his mold for making counterfeit coins and started it directly in his bedroom. Under the condition of ensuring top secret, some brothers in the branch came to watch. Every day

When a person leaves, he always carries some counterfeit coins in his pocket. The craftsmanship of these counterfeit coins is quite sophisticated, and no one will notice when he buys things outside. But why does he have to go to the mine to work in person to let the brothers in the branch?

Some of them were confused. But McMurdo responded to their questions by saying that if he did not have legitimate and clear income, he would soon be suspected by the police and investigated.

There was indeed a police officer paying attention to McMurdo, but coincidentally, this little thing not only did not bring any trouble to this adventurous guy, but on the contrary made him more famous. When he was first introduced to

After the brothers, McMurdo would find a way to go to McGinty's tavern almost every night, and get closer to the "guys" there. Everyone knew that it was a respectful title, specifically used to address those who appeared here.

They are a group of bad people. McMurdo's firm and decisive character and cheerful words have made all the brothers like him very early. Once, McMurdo participated in a "freestyle" fighting competition in a bar.

He defeated his opponents quickly and hard in the game, a style that earned the admiration of these barbarians. However, there was one little thing that won McMurdo more favor.

It was a night, and everyone was drinking and drinking. Suddenly the door was opened, and a man in a plain blue uniform came in. On his head was a pointed hat specially designed for coal and iron mine police. I should explain here that because of the ** inside the mining area,

The police were everywhere, it was very unsafe, and atrocities were happening everywhere, so the ordinary police had no role at all. So, under the recruitment of the railway bureau and the mine owners, some people formed a special organization called the coal and iron mine police.

It was the backup of the ordinary police. As soon as this policeman came in, everyone was silent and just stared at him curiously. However, in various states in the United States, the relationship between police and criminals is actually very delicate, so McGinty stood behind the counter without any trace of

Not surprisingly, the policeman blended in with his customers.

"It's so cold, let's have a glass of pure whiskey!" the policeman said, "Hello, Mr. Senator, is this the first time we meet?"

"So you're the new captain?" McGinty asked.

"That's right, Mr. McGinty, we are here to visit you, and other officers, to ask you to help us uphold the laws of this town. My name is Marvin, and I am the police captain of the coal and iron mines."

"We are already good and don't need more maintenance, Officer Marvin." McGinty said rudely. "We already have the police in the town. We don't need anything from the outside. You guys just have

They are just lackeys bought by rich people. Besides using sticks and guns to suppress civilians who have nothing, what else can you do?"

"Okay, don't discuss this." The police officer said calmly, "No matter what, we each do our own thing well, although we may still have different ideas." He turned around and left after drinking.

, suddenly saw Jack McMurdo, and McMurdo was looking at him with angry eyes.

"Hey! You!" Captain Marvin glanced at McMurdo and shouted, "It seems there is an old acquaintance here."

McMurdo passed him by and said, "I've never been friends with you, and I won't be friends with other ugly police officers."

"I said acquaintance, not friend." Captain Marvin grinned and said with a smile, "You must be the Jack McMurdo from Chicago. It must be you. Don't even think about denying it."

"Denying what?" said McMurdo. "Why should I deny my name?"

"Anyway, you've done a lot of bad things!"

"What do you mean?" McMurdo clenched his fists and roared angrily.

"Come on, Jack, why are you so angry with me? I was a policeman in Chicago before I came to these nasty coal mines. I know any buggy scoundrels there when I see them."

McMurdo's face sank and he said, "I know without you telling me that you are Marvin from the Chicago Police Department!"

"That's right, I think we all still remember the shooting of Jonas Pinto that happened there."

"I didn't kill the person!"

"Isn't it you? The evidence is so conclusive! Anyway, if this person is dead, it will be a great benefit for you, otherwise you would have been in jail for using counterfeit money. Forget it, let bygones be bygones.

, anyway, you and I are the only ones in this hellish place who know about this past - maybe I went too far, let me tell you something else - because they have found no evidence against you, and you can go back to Chicago openly tomorrow.

Got it!"

"I can stay wherever I want!"

"Don't be like this. I gave you news with good intentions, but you are like a wild dog. You are so rude. You should at least thank me, right?"

"Well, if you have good intentions, then I thank you." McMurdo said casually.

"As long as you change your mind and become a new person, I won't reveal a word." Captain Marvin said, "But I can't say for sure. If you go astray again, don't blame me for being rude. Good night, you

Good night too, Mr. McGinty!"

After Marvin left the bar, this incident caused McMurdo to add another heroic deed. In fact, people had long been very curious about what McMurdo had done in Chicago, and they were always secretly talking about that distant place. Ordinarily,

McMurdo could only smile at these problems and pass them by, fearing to bear unnecessary reputation. But now that the matter was brought to the table, the gangsters in the bar came over happily and shook hands with him.

From then on, McMurdo became more free among them. He drank a lot and never got drunk. But on that triumphant night, if Scanlan hadn't supported him, this famous hero would have been nothing more than

I can spend the night lying in the bar.

On Saturday night, McMurdo was officially introduced to the membership. Originally, he thought that he was an old member in Chicago and did not need to hold any more ceremonies. However, in Vermissa, it has its own unique ceremony that is worth being proud of. Regardless of whether it is new or old, everyone who applies for membership

People must go this way. The meeting place for the ceremony was a large room specially prepared for it in the union building. There were more than 60 people in Vermissa gathered in it, but this was only a part of the local members.

There are other branches far away in the valley. There are even some branches on the mountains on both sides of the valley. If something big happens, the members will move around, so some not-so-bright things are left to local unfamiliar members to do.

More than 500 members are scattered throughout the coal mining areas.

In the large conference room, people gathered around a long table, and another table next to it was filled with wine bottles and glasses. Some members could not wait to look at them. McGinty sat

The first one wore a flat-topped black velvet hat on top of his messy black hair, and around his neck was a sacred belt that resembled a bishop's ceremonial belt. Dressed with these things, he looked like

A high priest who presides over cult rituals. On both sides of McGinty are the senior members of the branch, including the cruel but handsome Ted Baldwin. They wear corresponding ribbons or badges to indicate their status, most of them

They are middle-aged people, and there are also some young people between the ages of 18 and 25. The older people can tell it directly from their faces that they are rough and brutal, and they simply ignore the law, but those young guys are hard to believe.

They are innocent and enthusiastic, they look bright and open, but they are actually the most evil murderers. They have no moral sense at all, enjoy doing evil, and they also admire the so-called famous villains who "have done a good job".

Because of their twisted personalities, they often take the initiative to kill innocent people, many of whom they have never even seen. They still feel that they have done a chivalrous and brave thing. After committing the crime, they will also discuss who beat the hardest.

, relishing how the victim screamed and how his body was hurt, it was full of fun.

At first, when they did these bad things, they kept it secret, but when they talked about it, they made it public regardless of the regulations, because the law was of no use to them. This made them feel as if they didn't know how to do it on the one hand.

Someone dares to sue them, but even if they are accused, they still have countless false witnesses and countless money to bribe lawyers to fight the lawsuit. So in the past 10 years, they have done all kinds of bad things, but no one has been caught. Their only danger may still come from them

Victims, because although the victims are single and weak, sometimes they can actually retaliate and hurt them.

McMurdo had been warned before that he would soon experience a severe test, but no one told him what this test would be. Now he was taken to the outer room by two stern-looking brothers. He revealed

The discussion in the conference room could still be vaguely heard through the partition wall. When he vaguely heard his name once or twice, McMurdo knew that these people were discussing about his joining the conference. Then a man walked in with a yellow and green ribbon on his shoulder.

The guard inside the meeting said: "The leader has an order. He must have his arms tightly bound and his eyes blindfolded before he can lead us in."

Just like that, the three of them took off McMurdo's coat, rolled up the sleeve of his right arm, quickly tied his hands with a rope, and then put a thick black hat on his head, so now he had nothing

Unable to see, he finally entered the conference room.

After being put on the hat, McMurdo's vision was dark and very uncomfortable. He could only hear the rustling in his ears and the sound of people talking quietly, but through the things on his ears, he could still vaguely hear.

McGinty said: John McMurdo, were you a member of the Freemen's Society before? McMurdo nodded.

"So you were in Chicago Chapter 29?" McMurdo nodded again.

"The darkness is unpleasant," McGinty said.

"The night is unpleasant to a stranger," answered McMurdo.

"Dark clouds are coming over the top."

"The storm is coming."

"Brothers, are you satisfied?" McGinty asked.

A murmur expressed their agreement.

"Brother, you have met the code word. We know that you are indeed with us." McGinty said, "But you must understand that there are certain rituals locally and abroad, and you must bear certain responsibilities. Are you ready?"

Yet?"

"alright."

"Are you determined and brave?" "Absolutely."

"Then, please take a big step forward and prove your words to us."

As soon as he said this, two sharp objects were pressed against McMurdo's eyes. The current situation was that if he really took a step forward, he would probably lose his precious eyes. McMurdo mustered up his courage

Courage stepped forward, and the sharp object pressing on his eyes immediately retracted, and he heard a suppressed cheer around him.

"He is determined enough and brave enough." McGinty's voice said, "Then can you endure the pain?"

"If others can do it, so can I." McMurdo replied.

"Then let's try it!" At this time, a sharp pain hit McMurdo's left arm. He tried hard not to scream. But the sudden pain almost made him faint, but he

Still biting her lips and clenching her hands, she tried her best to hide the pain.

"Can we have something more exciting?" he said.

This time he got an explosive cheer. It was the first time in this branch that a newcomer could receive such a welcome. Everyone came over to pat him on the back affectionately, and the thick hat was also taken off, and he blinked.

Smiling, he stood amidst the congratulations from his brothers.

"Final words, Mr. McMurdo," said McGinty. "Since you have sworn your eternal allegiance to this association and promised to keep it secret, you should know that breaking your promise will inevitably result in your death."
To be continued...