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Show FICTION CITY COPS CORNER By Richard H. Wilkinson I'VE INVESTIGATED some queer cases but the jewel robbery up at River's End Lodge topped them all. Tracy and I were dumb; we're ready to admit that, but, after all, we're city cops not primitive primi-tive wilderness ' I natives. 3 Minilte The reason we Fiction were ca"ed in ibiiuu w a s because L Homer Liver- more's wife had lost $50,000 worth of gems, and neither she nor Homer trusted or had faith in Eben Jackson, the local constable. Jackson met us at the station, and it wouldn't take a sleuth to see he was sore at the Livermores. "I'll show you what I already al-ready found out," he told us briefly, "then let you smarties dope out the rest." He took us up to the lodge and showed where a ladder had been placed against the house. Then he allowed the thief had probably taken his loot and skun off in the woods to hide. Then Tracy had an idea. "If we gotta browse around through the bushes we ought to have a native guide." Eben recommended Bronco Pete, who, it seemed, was a guide who didn't have enough money to buy a license for himself, hence was out of work. We explained our predicament pre-dicament to him and he shrugged indifferently. Then Tracy flashed a $20 bill and he changed his mind'. He took the twenty, and a promise prom-ise of two more after a week's when he comes home." IT WASN'T a pleasant prospect, I but it seemed like the only bet. So Tracy and I bought ourselves some supplies, and moved into the shack. The third day, Eben dropped around to see how we were doing. We told him in no uncertain terms, and if he wanted to spell us for a day we'd split the reward. "Mean it?" he said. "Sure we mean it. You lay your hands on the thief, you get $2500 cash." "Come with me," he said. He took us directly to the Jail and pointed through the bars at a prisoner. Bronco Pete. Well, sir, this was it: Bronco had committed the theft all right, but it didn't do him much stood, because he coudn't dispose of the jewels. Nor could he spend the $50 in cash he'd swiped along the rocks, because he hadn't worked for months, and to do so would have aroused suspicion. Then we came along and advanced him $20 and he bought himself a new outfit with it, including a new pair of boots with cleat marks on the heels. Eben was suspicious because he knew you couldn't buy a fancy costume cos-tume like Pete had for less than $50. But Eben let us go ahead with the case, as per the request of the Livermores, till we got fed up; till, in fact, we offered to split the reward. work, and went away. He came back the next morning dressed up in new high-laced boots, riding breeches, a checked shirt and a big hat. He was mighty proud, and If 1 jf'"' He was mighty proud, and looked like the pictures you see of northwoods guides. looked like the pictures you see of northwoods guides. Well, sir, we started out. We trekked through the woods for a whole day. Then Bronco Pete led us to a deserted shack. Outside we found a Set of fresh footprints, the heels of which were marked with a common iron cleat. "Chances are," said Eben "if we find the owner of these here boot-marks we'll have us the thief 1 seen tracks like that around the lodge beneath the window " Pete set off through the brush like a hound on the scent. Tracy and I followed wearily Pete led us straight back to the lodge, and there, sure enough were marked footprints beneath tne bedroom window. "The thing to do," Eben told us, "1S for you two nannies to make yourselves comfortable in the shack, an' nab the thief |