 Blare of the Mounties, the story of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police. We present the 15th episode in the dramatic series, Blare of the Mounties, entitled The Clover Creek Mystery. In the course of a long and successful career as a detective, Inspector Blair has always held to the belief that human nature and human motives are more important than circumstantial evidence. The story we now submit to you is an example of the truth of this belief. Our scene opens at Renfield, Saskatchewan. Blair, on one of his periodical tours of inspection, is staying a few days with his old friend, Sergeant Marshall. Hello, Inspector. Come in. I'll be through in a minute. Right. Hello. What does the case report? Yes, it's that drowning case out at Clover Creek. Didn't you hear about it? Well, no. There's a lot of talk around it to tell, but nobody ever tells the policeman anything unless he insists to know Marshall. What is this case? A man named Sutton out fishing in the big pool just below Clover Creek Ranch. Boat upset. Nobody around to help him. Got the body this morning. Ah, accident, eh? Looks like it. Who was this fellow? Do you know him? Yes, knew him slightly. Pete Sutton, a bachelor. Pretty well fixed. Made a lot of money up in the Yukon. Lives with his brother, Fred Sutton, who owns Clover Creek Ranch. I see. Well, better check up carefully. Make sure it's an accident. Not much doubt of that, Inspector. No marks of violence on the body. Doctor certifies it normal case of death by drowning. Oh, chap. Rather tough to die like that with nobody near to help him. Hello. Here's our friend Clayton, a juice of a hurry. Yes, I was expecting him. He's Sutton's lawyer. Probably wants to know about the inquest. Come in. Oh, good morning, Marshall. Good morning, Inspector. Glad to find you here. I came about that Sutton business. Yes, Mr. Clayton. We've set the inquest for two o'clock this afternoon out at the Clover Creek. It's not that I came about. In fact, I think you'd better postpone that inquest. What for? Well, it's a difficult matter for me to deal with. You know I was legal advisor to Pete Sutton. Yes. Sergeant, I have reason to suspect that my friend Sutton was murdered. What? What do you mean, Clayton? You and the evidence to support such a statement? Well, naturally. You don't suppose I'd go that far without some definite ground? Of course. I'm sorry, Mr. Clayton. Go ahead. I don't want you fellas to think I'm interfering in your business. This is a very unpleasant matter. And I only want to be sure that the facts are thoroughly investigated. What is this evidence you referred to, Mr. Clayton? Well, in the first place, and speaking in confidence, my client, Pete Sutton, the deceased man, willed his money to his brother, Fred Sutton. Yes, I know. But that's no cause for suspicion. Not that alone. But there's a good deal more. Recently, the two brothers had a serious quarrel. Did you know that? No, I can't say I did. You sure of this? Quite sure. As a result of the quarrel, I was instructed to draw up a new wheel. You mean old Pete decided to cut his brother out entirely? Practically, yes. All but a small mortgage on the Clover Creek Ranch was to be left to other parties. How much, roughly, was old Pete worth? Well, leaving out one or two doubtful investments, there would be in good real estate and bonds around $80,000. Hmm, that's a nice little fortune. Was the new wheel signed? No, that's the point of the whole affair. I have it ready in my office. It was to have been signed this morning. And the drowning of Pete Sutton last night made a difference of $80,000 to his brother, Fred. Exactly. Hey, Gad, what do you think of that inspector? I think Mr. Clayton had full justification for bringing this up before the interest. Thanks, Inspector. I hate to be a busybody, but after all, I am Sutton's representative. Sure, that's all right. But let me get this straight, Mr. Clayton. You suspect Fred Sutton had something to do with his brother's death. Oh, hold on, Sergeant. That's a police matter. Well, I'm asking you. But don't you see, as a lawyer, I wouldn't want to take a definite attitude without a fuller study of the facts. All right, I'll put it in another way. Fred Sutton has a clear alibi. He and his wife were away to dinner at the McDonald place. Didn't get home till midnight. I wouldn't be too certain of that alibi if I were you. Why not? Well, I really shouldn't give you this, but, well, it's bound to come out. Fred Sutton left the McDonald ranch about nine o'clock. Said he had a message or something. Got back there about ten. I see. Thanks for the tip. But who did you get that from? Well, it came up from Mrs. Sutton and I when we were talking this morning. Of course, it may be easily explained. Well, I've got to get back to the office unless there's anything else you can think of. No, thanks, Mr. Clayton. See you later. Yes, I'd like to know if you find out anything. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye. So, that changes the picture a bit, Marshall. Yes. What do you think of it, Inspector? Oh, either the strange coincidence or else this Fred Sutton had a hand in his brother's death. Better dive into it, Marshall, see if you can find anything out at Clover Creek. I'll get out there right away. Coming, Inspector? No, I'll leave you to it. It's your case, Marshall. Anyhow, I'm not going out to Clover Creek at present. I'd like to hang around town today and do a little gossiping. I may run out there later on. There's only one thing I want to say about this case. What's that, Inspector? Don't arrest anybody until we talk it over. Why, of course not. It's hardly likely I'll get evidence enough for that. I don't know. Somehow, I think you will. Well, anyway, I'll see you at any time. Right, oh, Inspector. Oh, Inspector. I thought you'd be showing up sooner or later. Yeah, it's pretty hard to leave a tempting case like this, Marshall. How are you going on? Find anything? Did I? I should say I did. Clayton had the right idea, Inspector. Old Pete was murdered. You sure of that, Marsh? No doubt of it, Inspector. This Fred Sutton did a good job, but he left plenty of evidence. Well, let's have a story. Is this the boat? Yes. That's it. They found it floating bottom up in the pool, just as it had though it had been overturned. Well, what's wrong with that idea? I, in the first place, that boat wouldn't turn over. Just through a man falling out of it. You see, it's quite a big boat. One of those homemade flat bottom things. Yes, it seems a bit impossible. Who found it? Oh, Fred Sutton found it, of course. At least he claims it was floating bottom up when he came home last night. What's your theory? It's a lot more than a theory, Inspector. Just let's turn this boat upside down. I'll show you. All right. There you are. There you are. Now, I'll look here. This boat has been fixed, so that the man stepping in the forward part of it would go straight through the bottom. Yeah, hold on, Martin. You're going a little too fast for me. It's quite simple. You see, the bottom of this boat is made of several lengths of ordinary board with cast cleats inside and out. Yes, I get that. All right. Three of these boards have been sawn through in two places to make a sort of trapdoor about three feet square in the four part of the boat. I don't see any sign of that. No, it was pretty cleverly done. The joints have been fixed up again with wood cement, and it's hard to spot. See, I scraped away a piece of the cement. Yes, I see. Yes, that's right. But how did it work? Well, as far as I can figure, old Pete was accustomed to go out fishing in the pool every night, just about sundown. Whoever did this must have known his habits pretty well. But how did the thing happen? I'm coming to that. This boat was kept moored at the little plank wall there. Every night, old Pete would take his fishing tackle, go down to the boat. Of course, he'd sit on the cross-thought in the center with his feet in the stern part, away from where the boards were sawn. I see, but how did they know he'd step on the loose boards? They weren't loose, or at least not loose enough to leak. Never mind that. He'd row out to the middle of the pool, then he'd anchor and start fishing. How did he anchor the boat? He had this old bar of iron on a rope in the four part of the boat. I see. When he went to throw out the anchor, he'd step on the loose boards. That's it. He'd go down like a shot. As he was in poor health and couldn't swim, he wouldn't have a chance. But the bottom of the boat is pretty solid, even though those boards are sawn through. Yes, of course. They were put back and screwed down after it happened. See? The screws are all new under this putty stuff. What a devilish thing. Well, it would take quite a time to fix that boat after the thing happened. No, it wouldn't. You see, there's a concrete dam and a railing at the lower end of the pool. The boat and the loose boards would float down and rest against the wire netting. Whoever did it would be all ready. You mean he'd put the boards back, screw them down and run the putty over the joints, eh? Sure. He'd have the whole board for the screws. It would only take a few minutes. But with this boat floating bottom up, anybody could spot those new joints in the boarding if they looked close enough. No, they couldn't see them. Why not? You haven't got it yet, Inspector. When I first got here, I studied this boat for a now and couldn't see anything wrong with it. Well, it's as plain as it can be. The thing's too easy. Wait a bit, Inspector. Don't you see there are four cross pieces or cleats on the bottom of this boat? Two of them are still on. I've taken the other two off. That's how I found the new cuts. Oh, yes, I get it. The man that did this took off those cross boards, made the cut in the boards, and then put the cross pieces back and screwed them down. Yes, after the drowning was done. But he left them off until then. But why didn't those loose boards fall out when they were sewn through? I suppose they were just lightly tacked in place. Yes. Well, that's pretty clever. But if the whole thing was covered up, how did you get on to it? It was Mrs. Stewart who started me thinking the boat had been tampered with. Clayton drove her back here at noon. She said the boat looked different somehow. So I started picking round with my pen knife and found these new screws. Yeah, it's a very funny thing, Marsh. What, this boat business? Yes. No, I don't mean that. That's just circumstantial stuff. What I mean is that it's clear to get two leads from the same person. It was Fred Sutton's wife who upset his alibi. And now she provides a lead in connection with this boat. Yes, but it was quite unconscious with her. It's funny that she should strengthen the case against her own husband. That's just it. Anyway, Inspector, we've got a strong case against Fred Sutton for the murder of his brother Pete. Don't you agree? About the weight of evidence, yes. We've got enough to hang him. Motive, method, and everything. Well, then all we need is a warrant for the arrest of Frederick Sutton. I don't know as much about that, Marshall. If a policeman's job was just to get somebody hanged because a crime has been committed, the case would be complete. But it is complete. Don't you believe that the thing was done by fixing this boat? Yes, that part is clear. I knew that a very good piece of detective work, Marshall. Well, then? Hold on a minute, Marshall. I sent you out here because I knew there was something here to find. You have a better head for detail than I have. I don't suppose I'd ever have thought of taking that boat to pieces. You see, I have no mechanical ability. I'm too absent-minded. Oh, yes. See here, Inspector. That's all very well. But I know you'll have something up your sleeve. Not very much, Marshall. But I've been looking around. Let's see one of those screws. Here you are. Yes, that's what I thought. It just matches up with the one I found a little while ago. Chad, where did you get that screw, Inspector? Oh, I won't go into that now. It might spoil this good case of yours. See here, Inspector. A joke's a joke. But I'm responsible for this district after all. There's a case against Fred Sutton. Why do you object to picking him up? Because, Marshall, we'd be arresting an innocent man. You've heard the 15th episode in Blair of the Mounties. Tune in for the conclusion of the Clover Creek mystery as told in the 16th episode of this series.