The Prodigal Son Returns (To Yale)

"You know, I dreamt of documenting the last days of the old West. The romance, the honor, the nobility! But it turns out it's just people killing each other."

- Harold MacDougal.

"It always was, Professor."

- John Marston.

 is a mission in Red Dead Redemption.

Story
When John meets with the Professor Harold MacDougal, he finds MacDougal nervous and packing his bags for his return to Yale. MacDougal has had one too many brushes with death for his liking and decides he is not cut out to study "the savages". Their conversation is interrupted when Dutch Van Der Linde shoots out one of the windows and calls out to John. It's John's task to make sure the Professor gets out of town in one piece, as they get shot at by Native Americans that have the town surrounded. John then escorts MacDougal to Manzanita Post, where the professor catches his train back to Yale.

Mission Objectives
To complete this mission, the player must:
 * Rescue Harold MacDougal on the roof of the Blackwater Hotel.
 * Kill the enemy snipers on the rooftops.
 * Cross the rooftops and climb down to the horses waiting in the alley below.
 * Escort MacDougal to Manzanita Post Train station.

Mission Details
Go outside and climb the ladder onto the roof. MacDougal will be held captive by an Indian. Your best shot is probably to use your sniper rifle combined with Dead Eye to take the Indian out before he kills MacDougal. After making sure the Professor is safe, you'll have to take care of Indians on the other rooftops. Use whatever weapon you'd like. There are roughly 10 enemies on the rooftops.

Follow the Professor and, once you reach the ground, mount your horse. You'll accompany the Professor to the train station at Manzanita Post. On the way, you'll be ambushed twice by groups of Dutch's men. Take them all out with whatever weapon you prefer. Once you reach the train station, dismount your horse and join MacDougal at the station. Harold will bid you farewell and wish you good luck before boarding the train, weeping. You will earn $100 as a reward.

Mission Failure
The mission will fail if the player:
 * Allows the captured MacDougal to be killed.
 * Harms MacDougal while he is held hostage.
 * Abandons MacDougal.
 * Breaks the law.+
 * Kills a dog.+
 * Commits vandalism.+
 * Assaults or kills townsfolk.+
 * Dies.
 * + = Applies only to Manzanita Post

Trivia

 * The mission's title is a reference to the Parable of the Prodigal Son, one of the parables of Jesus, recorded in Luke 15:11.
 * MacDougal can be seen packing a bible into his bag while he is preparing to leave the hotel. This is a possible jest because of the above mentioned bible reference.
 * Even though MacDougal takes a train back to Yale, none of the the train tracks ever lead out of the actual game world.
 * In Undead Nightmare, the Professor returns to Blackwater to do some more research, but he ends up getting infected.
 * It is quite unknown why there are no civilians or policeman or even Edgar Ross and Archer Fordham around as they would very likely hear all of the noise.
 * This mission is very similar to the film "3:10 to Yuma", in which the two main characters escape a hotel onto a rooftop, survivng multiple ambushes while attempting to make it to a train.
 * Macdougal may have hugged John for two reasons, he is grateful that john saved him or he simple started to like John as a friend and will miss him.