Argosy All-Story Weekly, January 13, 1923 — page 164: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

7 — pa —— ~ thing up so that innocent people will be pro- tected.” - Bicknell answered him with curses and turned his head. “T’d tell Gray,” he ended with sudden weariness. ‘I'd like to tell him. You! I’d like to see you keep guessing.” The men came with the toboggan and blankets, and Alan and Bicknell were hur- ried to the Great North dwelling house where they were laid on the floor beside the stove. Helen bathed and bound Alan’s wounds. Macleod cut away Bicknell’s shirt and exposed two bullet holes in his chest. “ Don’t bother about..me,” the man said y. “Iknow when I’m done for. I’ve been shot before, but I never felt this way. How’s Gray?” — Alan did not regain consciousness for half an hour, and when he did Bicknell’s eyes were closed and Macleod had pro- nounced him dying, Alan looked up into Helen’s eyes. He was bewildered for a moment and then he whispered: * Your father’s safe now, and the fur.” “Ves, yes,” she soothed. “ We know. But you mustn’t talk.” Alan turned his head and saw the others. “T’m all right,” he said. “I’m only. weak. Is Bicknell dead?”’ “‘ He’s dying,” Macleod answered. ‘“ He practically confessed that he killed Allar- dyce, but he wouldn’t tell his story to any one except you.” “TJ think I know most of it. It was a mighty clever scheme. Only, who is he? -He’s not Bicknell. He’s not a missionary.” *« Ask the Mounted about Dan Martin,” came a voice from the other side of the stove. “They'll tell you, though they won’t like to. Dan Martin fooled ’em toa. often.” Weak though his voice was, it held a note of pride. Alan took immediate. ad- vantage of it. “T’ye heard of you,” he bluffed. “ Out around Lesser Slaye Lake and along: the Peace?” “ You’ve said it.” “And you came here to hide out’ for a ~ time.” ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. T can’t tell you anything.” ‘*¢ And the real Bicknell? He was a little. man, wasn’t he?” “* Say, you’re worse than a third degree!” Martin. exclaimed with frank admiration. “Go on. Tell it all.” Alan outlined the events of the last six months as he had pieced them together. In the beginning Martin interrupted. “ T didn’t kill the preacher that way,” he said. ‘“ We traveled together four days. I scared out his Indians and he got suspi- cious. He had nerve. I didn’t intend to croak him.- Go on.” Alan told how Martin had come to Bar- rier Lake posing as the missionary, intend-. ing only to seek a safe hiding place for the winter, and how the trouble between Mears and Allardyce and the bitter rivalry be- tween the two posts had given him his op- portunity.. ““ Allardyce must have got a wax impres-. sion of the key to the trading shop,” he said. ‘“* And I remember whem he did it,’’ Mears interrupted: “Two months ago. never suspected.” “ Allardyce knew my fur was cached when I brought Helen in and told Martin of it,” Alan continued. ‘ Martin saw his chance to start more trouble and went after it. ‘* Allardyce told him Joe Peters was hid- ing at Pushkogan and Martin came to me with the news.. Martin tipped off to me the story about Mee-sa-bee hunting again, knowing I would try for the fur. “ Altogether, he stirred up as much trou- ble as he could.. He planned originally to make me out the thief, but when Macleod’s orders to Mears and Allardyce came he saw a still better chance to lay the blame for everything on Mears: “He is the one who sent Henry back to demand that the post be turned over to him. He came to me with his story of Allardyce’s disappearance even before Al- lardyce was dead, when he was still hiding at the mission.. “And that night, while I was arguing with the hunters who believed Mears was a windigo, he and Allardyce came and stole the fur. When they had carried it to the COPMICLOOOKS But £ (E@)