Show The Fiction KNOLTON'S CASE Richard H. H Wilkinson Corner i ACT was the result KNOLTON'S of 01 two year years year's s of planning There was little chance that anything anything anything any any- thing would go wrong He lIe had served as clerk at the l lumber camp for two long years And And from the moment he first saw the I payroll left unguarded in the office office of of- fice lice while the bank guard went out and a camp paymaster came came canie in In- In from that moment Knolton knew that some day be hed he'd d steal that payroll payroll payroll pay pay- roll and make a get getaway The day that Knolton had bad chosen for the robbery was not unlike a thousand others At exactly noon the payroll car drove up A guard Minute stepped into the theoffice 3 3 Fiction office and deposited deposited deposited depos depos- the heavy bag by Knolton's chair Knolton greeted him carelessly carelessly carelessly care care- lessly nodded at the bag and bent to his work The guard went out The moment the door closed Knolton's head came up He listened listened lis piss intently Outside he could hear the bank guard in conversation conversation conversa conversa- tion with Raymond the camp pay pays master There wasn't a moment to lose Quickly Knolton lifted up the cover of his desk removed from inside a bag almost identical to the theone theone one on the floor and equally as 81 heavy He lIe made the transfer deftly deftly deft deft- ly unhurriedly The door opened and Raymond Raymond Ray RaT mond came Inside He lie nodded briefly to Knolton picked up the decoy decor ba bag and went out again Knolton stepped outside and walked leisurely toward the river Unobserved be he climbed into the theDr e esly t bad grown rown a sly Dr DO now be beard and canoe which was hidden bidden there pushed off oU mid mid afternoon a i f t e t r n D o 0 o 0 n Knolton By tributary and turned off oft reached a Se the main stream tream He paddled Pooled UP this this smaller maller waterway for tor more than Ulan a mile canoe adrift drift and He H get iet the headed inland swinging southward dusk be he had come to a virgin i By monarchs monarch stand ot o timber mighty the th- unscathed by forest II as yet of the lumberman axe xe His Hi steps step led than the larger him to a huge hug pine with thick undergrowth at atthe test rest the base He H. P parted the growth crowth pulled at a tuft tun 01 dirt Tb tuft tun came away revealing a shallow hole Knolton had dug the hole months before allowed the under undergrowth undergrowth undergrowth growth to grow over it so that no trace of his recent visit would be beIn bein bein In evidence He deposited the bag in the tho hole and carefully replaced the dirt TT WAS A MONTH before Knolton IT reached his hit destination a tiny village hundreds of miles south of the lumber camp Here he paused to rest with a friend By now he be had grown a beard The friend provided provided provided pro pro- vided dye and Knolton changed the color of his hair from light lightbrown lightbrown lightbrown brown to black Six She months later Knolton now known as Carl Hedman lIedman with no trace of the time one-time clerk showing beneath hi his p perfect perfect per per- r- r disguise rode leisurely back toward the scene of his crime The lumbermen gave him no nomore nomore nomore more than a passing glance Satisfied that he had not been recognized Knolton followed the river to the mouth of the tributary With pounding heart he be mounted the ridge and end paused to look It was wasas wasas wasas as if a hand had suddenly reached out and was squeezing him in a powerful grip He lIe stood rooted mouth ajar staring in incredulity at the country below With a sense of horror he realized what had happened The entire area had been logged by the lumber lumber lum lum- ber company swept bare of every standing tree and piece of timber Every tree stump looked alike none was larger or different from its neighbor He surmounted great piles plIes of slash tearing at them frantically frantically fran fran- I hunting for the stump the stump of the great pine tree Thus unmindful of his direction he came again to the river bank And when at length leneth he reached the top of another hill he paused to rest overcome by fatigue Toolate Too Toolate Toolate late he felt the slash pile beneath him slipping sUpping away Too late he realized that the slash had been thrown on the brink of a precipice overhanging the river Knolton with a pitiful cry on his lips Ups went over the brink Far far farbelow farbelow farbelow below he be lay a broken human body on the jagged rocks |