Spare the Rod, Spoil the Bandit
As you enter the Marshal’s office, Johnson and his deputies are preparing to ride out to investigate some murders. Johnson invites Marston to ride along with the posse as they try and hunt down the bandits responsible. Head outside, hop on your horse, and follow the Marshal through the desert. A short ride later, some vultures can be seen above a campsite. Check it out, and you’ll discover everyone is already dead. You’ll also get the Winchester Repeater, which was left behind by one of the bandits.
Get back on your horse, and regroup with the Marshal. The posse rides on again for a short distance before coming across another campsite with vultures circling overhead. After checking out the damage, the posse continues to Ridgewood Farm. There the Marshal notices something is amiss. Search the shed and the outhouse (both indicated by yellow dots on your mini-map), and then meet up with the Marshal in front of the barn.
It’s boarded up, but you can shoot the boards off to get a better look inside. The barn tells the story of what happened on the farm, but luckily there was one survivor left. She tells you the bandits are still holed up in the main house, and they have a few hostages. Immediately after the girl is done talking, the bandits open fire on the posse.
There are three bandits on the front porch, and one on the balcony to the right. Try to take all four out before proceeding into the house. As you get closer to the farmhouse, a few more bandits will come pouring out the front door. Inside, there are two more bandits on the ground floor. Quickly take them out before heading upstairs.
Once upstairs, you’ll find a bandit about to murder a hostage in the room directly to your right. Shoot him, and head over to the closed door down the hall. Inside, a bandit is holding a female hostage. Activate Dead Eye, and execute the bandit before he has a chance to cause any more harm. You’ll meet back up with the Marshal outside before rushing off to find the rest of the outlaws responsible.
Not long after departing, the posse is confronted by the remainder of the outlaw band. It just so happens a Bill Williamson is the leader of the men who hurt all the people at the farm. The bandits begin opening fire, so the Marshal quickly hurries everyone inside the burned out house for cover. The bandits take a few seconds to come down the hill after you, but once you’re under cover behind the wall, they make easy pickings with your rifle.
The Burning
After arriving back at MacFarlane Ranch, Bonnie asks John if he’s seen her father around anywhere. She’s worried, and needs some help trying to track him down. John agrees to go with her, and the two set off down the road in hopes of finding Mr. MacFarlane. Just a bit down the road, some vultures can be spotted flying above a group of trees. Bonnie and John check out the situation, and find Mr. MacFarlane standing over a bunch of dead bodies. It looks like bandits have struck again.
Bonnie and John head back to the farm to get a wagon for the bodies, but as they pull closer, they discover there’s a big fire coming from the barn at the ranch. The front door is boarded up from the inside, so you’ll have to find another way into the barn. To the left, there’s a windmill, which you can climb to get to the roof of the barn. The ladder is on fire, but the awnings on the side will give you the boost you need to get to the top.
Make your way across the platform over to the next ledge. Jump up, and shimmy until you can pull yourself up to the next ledge. From there, follow the walkway to the rear of the barn, where there’s a large window still open. Drop inside, and get to the bottom floor. Head over to the barn door, and remove the pitchfork barring the door.
Now that you’ve done that, it’s time to get the horses out of the barn safely. There are three stuck inside. Approach the first two, and slap them to provide the motivation they need to run outside. The third horse you’ll have to ride out, as the barn begins collapsing. Once you make it outside, head back around the side of the barn to meet up with Bonnie.
Another mission has opened up with the Marshal, so head back to Armadillo to see what he needs from you next.
