Blair of the Mounties, a story of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police.
We present the fifth in our succession of dramatic episodes from the life of Sergeant
Blair, a fictional series based on the work of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police in the
days preceding the World War.
Our scene opens in the police barracks Dawson City where we find Sergeant Blair talking
with Constable Marshall.
Look here Sergeant, you don't mean to say that you believe this story about the Phantom
Sniper that's going around.
I don't know, Martel.
What do you think?
I think it's just a lot of poppycock, the papers of Cooktown.
What about that dead man they found on the Indian River Trail yesterday?
I know, but why this romantic title?
Of course, I don't know the details.
Definitely not.
Well, here they are.
This dead man was a young miner from Montana, the name of James Prowse.
He was shot through the head by somebody using a high-power rifle of a very small caliber.
That's funny.
Had he been robbed?
Yes, Prowse was carrying quite a stake on him.
I see, but where does this Phantom stuff come in?
Well, for one thing, this is the second man to be murdered and robbed in just the same
way, without a trace of the man who did it.
But there was a light fall of snow yesterday.
Were there any tracks?
No, that's where the mystery comes in.
The only human tracks near the bodies were those of the murdered man.
The only human tracks?
Why, what do you mean?
Well, in each case, the man had left the trail for some distance, and in each case there were
bear tracks, keeping step with the man's tracks all the way from the main trail.
Bear tracks?
Yes.
It looked as if the bear went down to the main trail, met the man and went back with
him to where he was killed.
Oh, look here, Sergeant.
Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous, but those are the facts that have to be explained.
You got Joe the man on the job, didn't you?
Yes.
I see.
Have you any theory, Sergeant?
No, but I want you to slip over and talk to Bella Tour and get her right away.
Bella Tour?
Where does she come in?
By this Jimmy Crow, she's the hang around Bell's place.
Had a girl there, I believe.
Oh, I see.
Anyhow, chase over and get her, will you?
All right.
Oh, here's Joe now.
All right, I'll talk to him.
Hurry back as soon as you can, Marsh.
Right you are.
See you later.
Oh, policeman chief.
Oh, good morning, Joe.
See those tracks?
Yeah, I see them.
Him, no bear track.
What?
And what kind of a track is it?
I don't know.
Why isn't it a bear track?
Him, no walk like a bear.
Oh, I see.
Well, I'll have to ask you.
What kind of a track is it?
I don't know.
Why isn't it a bear track?
What do you mean, Joe?
You think men make those tracks?
No.
Him, no man.
Maybe a woman.
Maybe a boy.
Him walk on bears' feet.
Hold on, Joe.
A woman or a boy?
Yes, that's funny.
What on earth does that mean?
It couldn't be a woman or a boy who did that murder.
No.
I tell you.
Maybe two people.
One man, one woman.
Woman, she catch him.
Man, he kill him.
I see, Joe.
That's an idea anyway.
Thought of a decoy game, eh?
Yeah.
All same shoot-em-duck.
Well, thanks, Joe.
You stay around.
I'll want you later.
Yeah.
Me stay.
Come in.
A bell's here, Sergeant.
All right.
Bring it in.
See you later, Joe.
Yeah.
Morning, Bell.
Sit down.
Thanks.
You bring that girl?
Hattie?
Yes.
She's waiting outside.
I'd like to get the load down before she comes in.
Yes, I understand.
You know this boy, Prouse Bell?
Sure.
And a fine, hard-working boy, was.
What sort of a girl is this, Hattie Smith?
What sort?
Oh, I get you.
She's on the square, Sergeant.
What does she do at the Circle?
Well, I pay her to entertain evening.
She's a good singer and a straighter girl as I ever know.
Yes, I see.
Well, bring her in, Bell.
Come on in, Hattie.
Quit crying, honey.
It's going to be all right.
This is Sergeant Blair with the Mounties.
He's a friend of mine.
He's after the Mounties.
He's a good friend of mine.
He's after the Mounties.
He's after the man that killed Jimmy, and he wants you to help him.
See?
Yes, Mrs. Latour.
I'll be all right in a minute.
But it was awful losing Jimmy.
That's all right.
Take it easy.
The Sergeant here wants to ask you a few questions.
Don't try to hide anything, honey.
All right, Mrs. Latour.
That's better.
All right, Sergeant.
Thanks, Bell.
Now, Hattie, you are keeping company with Jimmy Prouse, won't you?
Yes, sir.
Tell me about the
first time you met him.
It was this spring I met Jimmy.
I mean, I got friendly right away.
Mrs. Latour said he was all right, and we got engaged, and Jimmy went up to the claims.
Yes.
Did you see him at all after he went up?
Yes, sir.
He was down in July.
And you heard from him regularly?
Yes, sir.
How was he doing up at the claims?
Well, not very good up till July.
Him and his partner had a lot of trouble.
They didn't make expenses until then.
And after that, he was out of town.
He was out of town.
And after that?
Well, then they started good pay gravel, and Jimmy said they were averaging three or four
hundred a day.
Then Jimmy would have quite a lot of gold on him when he started down, eh?
Yes, sir.
I got a letter last week to say he was starting Monday.
It had taken him two days to get down.
You should have been here last night.
Yes, yes, all right.
All right.
Now, Hattie, I'm going to ask you a very important question.
I want you to tell me the truth.
Yes, sir.
Did you tell anybody in Dawson that Jimmy was coming down?
No, sir.
Well, just...
Just what?
You don't mean to say you did tell somebody?
Who was it you told?
It was just Mamie Scott.
Mamie Scott.
You mean you went and blabbed to that no-man?
Hold on, hold on, Mel.
I must get this story straight.
Now, Hattie, you must tell me just what happened.
Yes, sir.
Mamie Scott had been teasing me, said now that Jimmy had made a pile of money,
he wouldn't want to go with me anymore.
I hadn't had a letter for three or four weeks, and I was scared it might be true.
Yes, but how did you come to tell her?
Well, when I got Jimmy's letter saying he was starting Monday,
I felt pretty good, and I let Mamie read it,
just to show her things was okay with Jimmy and me.
Well, for heaven's sake!
All right, all right, Hattie, that's all.
You'd better go along and rest.
Well, Sergeant, what do you think?
Well, that girl's story is very important.
Think so, Sergeant?
Certainly do.
Looks like a lead.
Now about this Mamie Scott, who is she?
Ah, gee, I ain't hardly got the patience to talk about her.
To think that that poor simp fell on her story to anybody like that.
You know this Scott girl pretty well?
Know her? Yeah, I know her.
She used to work for me.
That's all?
I fired her last year.
For what reason?
Ah, she was a troublemaker.
Always on the make, too.
I don't stand for that, so I threw her out.
What's she like? What's she been doing since?
Ah, she's a good-looker.
At least a lot of people think so.
Never could see it myself.
She's one of them tall, slippery blondes.
Always reminded me of a snake trying to walk on its tail.
As to what she's doing now.
Gee, I don't know exactly.
Still here?
Sure, she's always around town.
Mixes with the crowd, don't drink much,
and always seems to have a lot of good clothes.
Well, thanks, Belle.
That's giving me something to think about.
Gosh, that goes for me, too.
Well, I've got to get back.
So long, Sergeant.
So long, Belle.
What do you think of that story, Marshal?
Well, frankly, I don't see much in it.
Well, not by itself, but it's funny.
Fitting an idea I got from talking to Joe, the Indian.
Did he see the tracks?
Yes, said the tracks weren't made by any bear.
Said he thought they were made by a woman or a boy.
A woman or a boy?
That sounds absurd.
I know, but Joe never makes mistakes.
I suppose he had one of those funny theories of his.
Yes, and it may not be so funny.
He thinks there was a man and a woman in it,
and that the woman was used as a decoy.
Ah, I see, and you think that Mamie Scott was the decoy?
She might be.
But who was this sniper who did the killing?
I know who he is, Marshal.
You do?
Yes, but I haven't a particular evidence to go on.
I see.
Anyhow, we'll try fixing up a little trap to test out this theory.
Eh? How do you mean?
I want you to get Wiseman.
He's good at disguises, have him fixed up as a miner,
and hang around the circle this afternoon.
I see.
You want him to talk to this Mamie Scott?
Yes, that's it.
You have to play drunk.
This is the story.
He has a mining partner who's coming in with a big stake.
This partner will be making Dawson tomorrow night.
That means he'll be passing the Thompson ravine
between three and four in the afternoon.
I see.
But of course, there won't really be a man coming down.
Oh, yes, there will.
We'll have another man play the partner.
It's the only way.
But what if this sniper bumps him off?
I'll see that doesn't happen.
Gosh, you think it'll work?
Well, if it doesn't, there's no harm done.
If it does, we might get the pair of them.
All right.
I'll see what I can do, Sergeant.
Wiseman will plant the story on this Scott girl anyway.
That's what I want.
Then we'll be on hand at Thompson ravine tomorrow
to see what happens.
All right, Sergeant.
Take it easy, Marshal.
It's pretty well hidden here.
Can you see that trail?
Yes.
It's only a few yards from here.
Daddy's getting stormy.
Oh, the better.
What did Wiseman say?
He said the story worked like a charm.
Anyhow, this Scott girl headed out of town
as soon as it got dark.
Joe Folliver.
By God, Sergeant, it looks like a wild goose chase to me.
Not a word from Joe.
That's all right, that's all right, Marshal.
I know where Joe is.
Oh, well, all right.
But the whole thing seems impossible to me.
Let's hold still for a while and we'll see something.
I hope so.
It's getting near the time.
Tenants should be showing up soon.
Look out.
There's somebody coming down that ravine.
Yes.
Good Lord.
It's a woman, too.
That's right.
Keep quiet, Marshal.
There's tenants coming up the hill.
They'll be here in a minute.
That's right.
Well, I'll be sure and look out.
Keep quiet.
She's spotted tenants.
There she goes.
Help, help, help me.
Hello there, what's wrong?
Oh, please, mister, it's my husband.
His leg's broke.
He's back up at the ravine.
It won't take you but a minute.
Well, I don't know.
Can't you get anybody else?
No, there's nobody nearer than ten miles and he's in bad shape.
Oh, please, mister, you've got to help me.
Well, all right, go ahead.
I'll follow you.
Hunter!
Look out, grab her, tenants.
Get a hold of her.
Let me go!
You've done nothing!
Get a hold of her.
Hold still, ma'am.
I'll get you.
You've got a nice pair of bracelets for you.
Who's you to frame me?
You dirty snake!
No, no, take it easy, ma'am.
Let's have a look at her feet.
No, no, no, don't touch me!
Let me go!
Hold still, hold still, young woman.
Well, well, I thought so.
So you were the bear, eh?
Why, what is it, Sergeant?
Just take a look at this.
She's got a bear's pad sewn on her moccasin.
My George.
She must have walked on the ball of her feet so the heel mark wouldn't show.
Oh, my God.
So the heel mark wouldn't show.
Pretty neat, eh?
I should say it was.
All right, we got to work fast.
Tennant.
Yes, Sergeant.
Take this girl and book her for complicity in the murder of James Prouch.
No, no, you can't arrest me!
I ain't done nothing!
Oh, but you would have done if you had get me up that ravine.
Come along, you!
What now, Sergeant?
We'll make a detour.
I want to circle round.
Cut in between that cabin and the ravine.
I'm going after that sniper.
Hope he hasn't seen or heard anything.
Not likely in this wind.
But are you sure he's there?
I don't see how he could cover...
Come on, Marshal.
Joe's looking after that. If we can locate Joe, that sniper won't be far away.
See anything, Marshal?
No. We must be getting close. There's Ryan Shack over there.
Don't see any sign of Joe.
Come on, we've got a chance at it. We'll open out a bit and work up to the end of this ravine.
I do, Sergeant.
Hey, Stan, what do you want?
I want you, Ryan, for the murder of James Prowse.
Oh, you do, eh? Well, you'll have to come and get me.
You make a move, I'll kill you.
I've got to rush him, Marshal, when I say no.
All right, Ryan, now!
Hey, get out of the way! Get out of the way!
Keep still there, Ryan.
You all right, Sergeant?
Yes. Yes. What happened?
Joe was right behind him. Must have jumped him when we started that rush.
That's lucky. Thanks, Joe.
Well, Ryan, we picked up a friend of yours down the ravine.
Oh, yeah? How you mean?
You know how I mean. Beautiful Mamie Scott, the woman who walks like a bear.
All right, Marshal, back to town.
Come on, Ryan.
You have heard Episode 5 in the dramatic serial Blair of the Mounties.
Tune in for the next episode in this series entitled, The Murder at Hackett's Landing.