The Enemy Arrives

In America, there were only three countries: British North America, Texas, and Mexico.

The borders between the three nations were nothing like Europe's, with its forts, strongholds, and customs cities. Given how sparsely populated this land was, one could move a boundary marker forward a kilometer every day for years without anyone noticing.

Such vast land, even if America was regarded by the English as nothing more than their own plantation, still required enormous wealth to expand transportation capacity. Yet there were always places the railroads could not reach, or unprofitable routes investors simply refused to fund.

Thus came the sight of a dozen or so cowboys driving herds of hundreds or thousands of cattle across the American wilderness.

At that moment, on the border grasslands, a starving wild beast stared red-eyed at the enormous herd in the distance. Hooves churned up clouds of dust, and there had to be over a thousand animals.

Joseph had once been a cowboy. Now, he had become the cowboys' sworn enemy—a mid-level leader in a cattle-rustling gang.

Cattle rustling did not sound nearly as impressive as the other outlaws' professions, but it was actually quite lucrative. A longhorn sold for only a quarter of a pound at its place of origin, but transport it to San Francisco, and its price would rise tenfold.

Though cattle rustlers could not use legitimate sales channels, theirs was a business without capital costs. Once disguised as cowboys, they could sell the stolen cattle to underground markets they had long cooperated with, albeit at a severely discounted price.

Some large cattle-rustling gangs numbered in the hundreds or even thousands. Certain gangs became the State Militia when they put on uniforms, and cattle rustlers with guns when they took them off.

As Joseph drove the herd onward, he did