BURNS LAKE HUNTERS’ AND ANGLERS’ PARADISE .. .AT THE GATEWAY TO TWEEDSMUIR PARK THE OMINECA HOTEL OSCAR L. ANDERSON, Proprietor All Modern . . . First Class Dining Room and Cafe .. . Billiards and Confectionery British Columbia RUDDY MOTORS CARLSON & RADLEY, Proprietors Authorized Ford Dealers Oxy-Acetylene Welding Brazing Soldering General Repairing Genuine Ford Parts Auto Accessories Batteries BURNS LAKE - B.C. SUNSET HARDWARE AND DEPARTMENT STORE V. A. TAYLOR, Proprietor SHELF AND HEAVY HARDWARE Stoves and Ranges Sporting Goods Ranchers’ Supplies Tie Makers’ Supplies BURNS LAKE, BRITISH COLUMBIA ANDERSON’S TRANSFER A. ANDERSON, Proprietor DRAYING TRANSFER TAXI Mail Stage to Francois Lake - ) Burns Lake British Columbia Burns Lake Cash and Delivery G. F. LOPER, Proprietor FLOUR, FEED, FRUIT and VEGETABLES FRESH and CURED MEATS BURNS LAKE BRITISH COLUMBIA BURNS LAKE HARDWARE & GARAGE LTD. J. S. BROWN, Manager Builders’ Supplies, Sporting Goods, Harness, Fur- niture, Paints and Oils, Camp and Miners’ Supplies, Etc. Chevrolet and Oldsmobile Dealers Burns Lake, British Columbia Page Forty-two eS Ludgate thought for a moment before answering. “Why I changed it only a few days ago on December 10th. It is a regulation that we change it directly after the periodical visit of the auditor.” “Do you remember how you did it?” “Oh yes, very clearly. I took the back off the safe and shifted the tumblers, writ- ing down the new combination on a scrap of paper. After I had changed it, I took the combination and typed it on the tele- graph operator’s machine as ours was out of order.” “What did you do with the slip you had copied it down on originally?” “I burned it. I am always most careful to do that.” “Where are the copies that you typed?” “I put one in a sealed envelope and mailed it to the Regional Auditor in Win- nipeg. The other one I stuck in my vest pocket. See, here it is!” Ludgate withdrew the slip from his pocket. Capt. Wheatley frowned. “That isn’t a very good idea, is it?” “Well, it is the best I can do. You see. I need it for the first couple of weeks as it is rather hard to remember a three-way combination right off the bat. I can swear it has never left my person except in my own home as I never remove my vest in the office.” “Do you remember if you used an old carbon or a new piece?” “No, I don’t. It was almost two weeks ago.” “Do you know who was on duty in the telegraph office?” inquired Wheatley losing hope for a moment. “Yes. Francis LaRue was working that night.” Capt. Wheatley suppressed a little surge of elation at the discovery. Perhaps circum stantial evidence would build up sufficiently against LaRue to warrant their suspicions of him. “Have you noticed anything lately with regard to LaRue which might be of a suspi- cious nature, or might have something to do with the case?” asked Wheatley deciding to explore another angle. “T don’t know of anything—except that he had a rather large parcel shipped to him on the train you came up on. As a matter of fact, he paid $50 cash as it was a C.O.D. parcel. I kept the bills separate from my other cash as I was suspicious of everyone.” “We will check them if the serial num- bers arrive this afternoon. Do you know what was in the parcel?” “No, I don’t, but some of the other em- ployees might know,” said Ludgate. “Well, in the meantime we will mark the cash you have set aside for possible identifi- cation later—should it be stolen money,” said Wheatley thoughtfully. Later that day Capt. Wheatley and Const. Service ran over their discoveries so far, deciding to investigate the mysterious package thoroughly. After some checking over employees and townspeople who knew LaRue, they found a man who gave them some seemingly curious information. “Sure. I know what LaRue had in the parcel. It was a teddy bear—the higgest . darn teddy bear I ever saw. Must have been five feet tall. He said he ordered the big- gest and best teddy bear in the Hudson Bay stcre in Edmonton.” “What did he want with that?” asked Const. Service curiously. “He told me he wanted it for Lucille, that dame he was hanging around with.” After another conference, Service and Wheatley decided to inform Staff-Sergt. BERG’S CASH AND CARRY JOHN BERG, Manager GENERAL MERCHANDISE ELECTRIC FRIGIDAIRE Men's and Ladies’ Shoes Ladies’ Ready-to-Wear, Dry Goods, “Buy at Berg’s and Save” Burns Lake British Columbia A. R. BROWN Agent “SHELL” Petroleum Products Auto Accessories “Service and Satisfaction” Burns Lake British Columbia THE OMINECA CAFE JIM LOCKE, Proprietor A Good Place to Eat Burns Lake, B.C. eee | THE SHOULDER STRAP