The Murder at Haggets Landing - Part 1

The Battle 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. Well, 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, Martin. What do you think? I think it's just a lot of poppycock, the papers of Cookdock. 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. Doesn't it not? Well, here they are. This dead man was a young miner from Montana, named James Proughts. He was shot through the head by somebody using a high-power rifle.

It was a very small caliber. That's funny. Had he been robbed? Yes, Proust 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? When there any tracks? Now that's where the mystery comes in. The only human tracks near the bodies were those of the murdered men. The only human tracks?

Why, what do you mean? In each case, the man had left the trail for some distance, and in each case, there were bear tracks, keeping steps with the men's tracks all the way from the main trail.