White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1925-09-18
Continued from last week.

indeed, he actually seemed glad tt
see Knowlton.
'Sorry that 1 was so hasty," sale
the latter, "but you'll admit that Il
looked bad when I saw Starkey lying
there, and the two of you bending
over him. If Jane hadn't cried OUT
"But who did kill him, then?" ne
demanded in sudden fierceness. That
it seemed, was but the latest and per
haps least of the many mysteries my
poor brain had been railing at fol
days and days.
He was an outstanding chap, this
brother of James; eyes and forehead
although his beard and general I'M
kemptness gave him wild, savage
air. Nearly six feet he stood, lean
and mucu1ar; a man of the outdoors
1t put no warmth in the handclasp
gave him-he had much to explain, it
seemed to me-yet he did not appear
to notice the slight; he was all con.
cerned with the man we had f1shed
from the river The gold we had
taken from Starkey's poke he regard
ed without interest; the stuff might
have been so much yellow sand.
"Poor old Starkey!" he eulogized
his dead partner. Square a pal as
ever lived, and they got you!
.sBut who could it have been?" he
begged of Mulvane. "I'd swear Star
key and were the only human beings
within hundred miles, until you peo-
pie came"
He swung around, as though expect
ing to see the murderer standing in
plain view, yet the tundra was as
empty as before. The nearest rock
pile was fully thousand yards from
us.
We explained how we had found
the body, and Knowlton made swift
summing-up. confess that his story
sounded plausible; he had, also, a log
ical theory as to how Starkey hap
pened to be in the river.
"He was shot as he stood on the
bank" Knowlton explained. HE fell
or rolled into the water, and, weight
ed with gold as he was, Immediately
sank. See, the river-bottom falls
away steeply here! He slid off into
deep water, and stayed there, while
the man who shot him, unable to see
from the shore where Starkey lay,
probably thought that the current had
carried the body downstream.
"Starkey was shooting when he was
hit" Knowlton was examining the
dead mans revolver.
1--WE had been pals for ten years,
he went on. "Many are the trails
we've mushed in Alaska. When we
heard that the Ventura was coming
out here, we boarded her at Seattle,
determinedato get a slant at this coun-
try, for we believed that it should be
as rich as the Nome district.
1--WE came as passengers, and did
little prospecting along the Kamchat-
kan coast. The Ventura loaded up on
furs, and rich cargo she had, too
She put in at the mouth of this river
for fresh water, and Starkey and de-
cided to go ashore for eight or ten
days of prospecting, while the vessel
touched at some points farther north
before returning and picking us up on
the way home. We hadn't found any
real signs of gold yet, but there was
a chance that these bars might have
a few pockets. So the skipper gave
us a boat, two weeks supply of grub,
and promised to be back before we
ran short. That was the last we saw
of the Ventura"
"The last the world saw of her."
put in Jimmy.
$50 she did go down after ALI"
Knowlton unused over the words.
"That's what Starkey and I thought,
for we knew the skipper wouldn't de-
llD0TdL6ly ludTOOu US.
1--WE waited here for two months. 1t
was growing colder, and we were on
the verge of starvation. Only for the
wact that we had plenty of ammuni-
ton and were able to get ducks and
geese on the tundra, we'd have been
eating each other.
1--WE talked over what was best to
do; try to work down the coast in our
skiff, or go inland, on the chance Of
finding some native village or camp.
We were certain of death by freezing
or starvation if we stayed on the
beach. Up-river looked the best bet,
and so we set out.
II thought many times that we were
never going to make 1t. Both Of us
were weakened through short rations,
and the job. Of pulling our skiff against
the current was back-breaking; but
we kept on. By and by we lost all
count Of time; yet we didn't give up.
"At place nearly hundred miles
above where we are now, Starkey and
1 found a small tribe Of natives herd.
ing together for the winter. They
didn't welcome our coming, but as we
had guns and plenty Of ammunition,
they probably figured that we'd De
more OF an asset than liability dur
mo tho time when food was scarce.