straight home to Stefaniuk’s place. His
mother was the only one up when he re-
turned. She'd given him a snack and then,
attracted by the glowing reflection in the
sky, she’d run outside and raised the alarm.
For a while they had talked of going over
to see what was wrong, but on second
thought they had decided it wasn’t any of
their business and they'd gone to bed. Not
till a neighbouring youngster brought word
of the tragedy next morning did they know
whose place had burned down.

Impatiently the Inspector paced the room.

If Mike’s story was correct it completely

upset the cut and dried case presented by
Const. Day, and left them as much at sea
as ever as to the identity of the perpetrator
of the brutal crime. Not only did the Stef-
aniuk family corroborate Minoska’s state-
ments but the mother recalled looking at the
clock when she first saw the fire and observ-
ing it was exactly midnight.

“Of course,” Sergt. Prime cut in bluntly,
“it would have been a simple matter for
Minoska to have tampered with the clock
and seen to it that his mother saw the hands

point to the time he wanted. That’s old:

stuff. Now—about his clothes. Any signs
of blood or smoke?

Without a moment’s hesitation Mike pro-
duced the clothes he said he was wearing
the previous evening. A careful inspection
showed no incriminating stains or burns,
and disclosed not the slightest odour of
smoke.

“Somehow,” Duffus confided to the
granite-faced sergeant, “I’m not so sure

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we've got the right man. He’d have to
sneak along behind John Lycheluk, wait till
he entered the Skeloy home, shoot down
men, women and children; set fire to the
house and barn, and stick around to make
sure the fires caught. Then he’d have to
hike three quarters of a mile to the Belek
place, fire the granary and stable, and con-

a ee

Mike Minoska, last to see the charred vic-
tim with the bullet-riddled forehead alive.

tinue back along the trail in the face of
those hurrying to the scene of the fires be-
fore striking the trail that led back to Stef-
aniuk’s.””

“Perhaps,” suggested the sergeant, “he
cut straight across country.”

But this was ruled out by Day's adm,
sion that bush and prairie were still cover! |
with crusted snow, and that a thorough |
search revealed no such tracks. Ap
point in Minoska’s favour was the fact that
a check-up showed it would have ben |
almost impossible for him to have committe)
the crime and covered the distance jp the
allotted time. Furthermore, inquiries showed
he and Belek were the best of friends.

The sergeant shrugged. “What. was »
stop him firing the Belek place to dives
suspicion from himself?”

“T doubt it,” the Inspector surveyed hip
through narrowed lids. “Sergeant, there's,
nigger in this woodpile—and we've got
dig him out.” |

“Tf Minoska isn’t guilty,” frowned jy
Inspector, “somewhere around this settl:
ment is prowling a human monster capablp
of immolating whole families and shooti
down women and children in cold blood
A monster whose identity must be knows,
or suspected, by these Yavo people, yet they
refuse to drop the faintest clue. The only
thing to do,” he slammed on his cap, *
to go over those ruins with a fine-tooth
comb, and check up on the background of
every family in this township to see if yw
can’t unearth the motive behind this
massacre.”

A downpour of rain had fallen on th
charred debris, mingling charcoal and mu

. through which Duffus and the sergeanl

ploughed on hands and knees. Hours of
tireless effort added little to their store o/
knowledge. Three bullets had been ew

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