Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-01-08

morning 1t was gone. The snow hadn't
wiped out the tracks OF the runners
yet. so he couldn't have left more than
fifteen minutes before"
What time was 1t when you
reached the corral?"
Might have been six-maybe a
little later"
You don't know that Holt took the
team himself"
Come TO that. don't. But he had
II key to the barn where the sled was.
Holt has been putting up at the hotel.
! reckon it Is easy to find out II he's
still there"
Macdonald's keen brain followed the
facts az the nose Of a bloodhound
does trail. Holt. an open enemy Of
his. had reached town only two days
before. He had bought one Of the best
and swiftest dog teams in the North
and had let slip before witnesses the
remark that Macdonald would soon
find out what he wanted with the out
tit. The bank had been robbed after
midnight. To file open the grill and
To blow up the safe must have taken
several hours. Before morning the
dogs Of Holt had taken the trail. II
their owner were with them. II was a
safe bet that the sled carried forty
thousand dollars in Alaska gold dust.
So far the mind OF the Scotchman
followed tn" probabilities logically.
hut al this point II made jump.
There were at least two robbers. He
WAS morally sure OF that. for this was
not a one man job. Now. II Holt had
with him a companion. who Of all
man? He was n friendless. grabbed
old fellow. Since coming to Kusiak
old Gideon had been seen constantly
with one man. Together they had
driven out the day before and tried
his new team. They had been with
each other at dinner and had later
left the hotel together. The name Of
the man who had been so friendly
with old Holt was Gordon Elliot
and Elliot not only was another enemy
of Macdonald. but had very good rea-
sons for getting out OF the country
just now.
The strong jaw Of the .mine-owner
stood out saliently as he gave short,
,:rur-p p-erdcrs-5c-ti en n the crowd. oenc
was to get the coroner, a second Wally
Selfridge another the United States
District Attorney. He divided the
rest into squads to guard the roads
leading out Of town and to see that
nobody passed for the present.
As soon as the men he had sent for
arrived. Macdonald went over the
scene OF the crime with them. 1t was
plain that the dynamiting had been
done by an old-time miner who knew
his business. but there had been
brains in the planning Of the robbery.
There is no ivory above the ears
OF the man who bossed this job" Mac
donald told the others. HE picks a
night when we're all at the club,
more than half a mile from here. a
stormy night when folks are not wan
dering the streets. He knows that the
wind will deaden the sound of the
dynamite and that the snow will wipe
out any tracks that might help to
identify him and his pal or show which
way they have gone"
~Ia n M hnhv
and Wally Of the bank. The mine
owner and the district attorney walk
ed up to the hotel together. AS soon
as they had explained what they
wanted. the landlord got a passkey
and took them. to the room Holt had
used.
Apparently the bed had been slept
in. In the waste paper basket the dis
trict attorney found something which
he held up in a significant silence.
Macdonald stepped forward and took
from him a small cloth sack.
"One Of those we keep our gold in
at the bank" said the Scotchman after
n close examination. This definitely
ties up Holt with the robbery. Now
for Elliot"
He left the hotel with Holt about
five this morning. the porter says"
This was the contribution of the land
lord.
The room Of Gordon Elliot was In
great disorder. Garments had been
tossed on the bed and on every chair
and had been left to lie wherever they
had chanced to fall. Plainly their
owner had been in great haste.
Macdonald looked through the closet
where clothes hung. His new fur
coat Is not here-nor his trail boots.
Looks to me as though Mr.. Gordon
had hit the trail with his friend Holt"
This opinion was strengthened when
1t was learned from a store-owner In
town that Holt and Elliot had routed
him out of bed In the early morning
to sell them two weeks supplies.
These they had packed outside the
store.
ITS a cinch bet that Elliot took the
trail with him. '<>he lawyer conceded.
All doubt Of this was removed when
a prospector reached town with the
news that he had met Holt and Elliot
travelling toward the divide as fast as
they could drive the dogs.
The big Scotchman ordered his
team of Siberian woR-hounds made
ready for the trail. AS he donned his
heavy furs, Colby Macdonald smiled
with deep satisfaction. He had Elliot
on the run at last.
Just as he closed the door Of his
room. Macdonald heard the telephone
bell ring. He hesitated, then shrugged
his shoulders and strode out into the
storm. II he had answered the call
he would have learned from Diane,
who was at the other end Of the line.
that the stage upon which Sheba had
started for Katma had not reached the
roadhouse at Smiths Crossing.
Five minutes later the winners OF
the great Alaska Sweepstakes wero