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Arthur Morgan dies in 1899, after helping John escape the collapsing Van der Linde gang. Arthur's final actions are largely about giving John the chance to escape and have the family life Arthur himself knows he will never have. After the gang falls apart, John disappears and tries to live honestly, eventually working as a ranch hand under the name Jim Milton. Abigail and Jack are with him for a time, but Abigail becomes frustrated because John keeps getting dragged back into violence. Abigail eventually leaves John with Jack, forcing him to prove that he really can change. John decides to build a permanent life for his family and purchases Beecher's Hope. With help from Uncle and Charles Smith, he turns the rundown property into a working ranch. During this period, John also reconnects with Sadie Adler, who has become a bounty hunter. She occasionally brings John along on bounty jobs, giving him extra money and reconnecting him with his old life. John eventually gets Abigail and Jack back, and he proposes to Abigail. She accepts, and the family begins settling into life at Beecher's Hope. Meanwhile, Sadie continues working as a bounty hunter. While pursuing various criminals, she learns that Micah Bell may still be alive. This is extremely important: Micah isn't just some random outlaw to them. He was the person who betrayed the gang, worked with the Pinkertons, helped bring about its destruction, and contributed to Arthur's final downfall. Sadie eventually discovers that Cleet, one of Micah's former associates, is living in Strawberry. She goes to Beecher's Hope to tell John and Charles. Sadie wants to track Micah down, and Charles immediately agrees to help. John initially has the chance to stay with his family, and Abigail desperately wants him to stay. John nevertheless decides to go. His reasoning is essentially that the life he now has exists because of the sacrifices Arthur and the other members of the gang made. Arthur specifically sacrificed himself to get John out, so John feels that leaving Micah alive means leaving unfinished business behind. John, Sadie, and Charles ride to Strawberry to find Cleet. They capture him and interrogate him. Cleet refuses to cooperate, so they drag him to the gallows and threaten to hang him. Eventually, Cleet gives them the information they need: Micah is hiding at Mount Hagen with his gang. Cleet also reveals that he had fallen out with Micah after Micah killed a girl Cleet had tried to protect.