The Barkerville Bank Robbery - Chapter 2

This is from another of my fictional works.
It is protected by Author Copyright.

It is offered for your reading enjoyment though it is not a polished finished work. There is still more work to do in grammar and structure. I am getting better the more I write.

Chapter 1 was posted earlier.


THE BARKERVILLE BANK ROBBERY
A Cornelia Barkman Case File – Case #0001


The Barkerville Bank Robbery
Chapter 2


I had just returned to my easy chair after putting my two-year old, Jenny, done for a nap. I picked up the Nelson Express dated Wednesday August 7, 1991and there it was in large bold type on the front page.
“BARKERVILLE BANK ROBBERY”

My curiosity was piqued and I read the story with great interest. Barkerville is living museum, a ghost town, in north central BC. Who would rob its bank? Or, anything for that matter? And, what for? I had to find out.

Here is the gist of the article that is in my file:
A daring mid-day ‘old west’ style robbery happened in Barkerville yesterday. Six bold masked men commandeered the museum’s horse-drawn freight wagon and stole the safe from the old Government Assay Office, commonly known as ‘the bank’. The men wore period costumes and had hankerchiefs covering their faces.

Visitors to the museum town explained that they saw the freight wagon come around the corner by the music hall and stop in front of the white Government Assay Office. The driver and his partner jumped off of the wagon and dropped the tailgate. Four more masked men hopped out and they all into the assay office with guns out. The visitors inside the office were chased out. They gathered across the street and were joined by other visitors. They watched through the windows as the men broke through the irons bars and went to the safe. They watched as the men tipped over the large safe onto a blanket and dragged out of the office. The safe was dragged up the sloping tailgate and into the freight wagon. Two of the men closed the tailgate with the safe and four men inside the wagon.

The two other men climbed up on the wagon seat. The driver urged the horses into a run while the other man fired his gun into the air. The gunfire had the effect of clearing the street ahead of the rushing wagon. The wagon soon disappeared into a cloud of dust. The crowd cheered and applauded thinking it was one of the street performance put on by the museum’s staff. The crowd milled about talking about the surprise performance. Some commented on how realistic it was.

Marcy a ticket seller at the entrance said she heard the gunfire and turned to see the horses pulling the bright red freight wagon gallop past the Church and then turn right in a cloud of dust. She was confused because the wagon was never to be at more than a walk. She heard the gunfire out front and looked to see the horses galloping away down the road. Behind her, she could hear the crowd of visitors cheering and applauding. She looked towards the site office and saw The site manager, George, come out of his office and look out the service gate. He looked confused and rubbed his balding head.

George continued the story. He was at his desk when he heard the clinking of harness and galloping horses rush by through the service gate. He ran out of the office to see the wagon racing down the road and thought the horses had bolted. George knew wagon driver could handle the team so he was not worried. The driver would be back when he settled the horses.

Before he could go back to his office, a staff member rushed up to him with the fantastic tale of the robbery. George was stunned. He looked down the road and could not see the wagon.

As unbelievable the story seemed, George called the RCMP office in Wells. At first, the officer thought his call was a hoax. It took a couple of minutes for his story to be taken seriously but the officer still chucked as he said he would send a unit out.
By the time the police car arrived, George had a good idea of what had happened. As he was telling the smiling officer what happened, they heard shouts coming from the stable. The police officer followed him as he rushed to the stable. They had to make their way through curious onlookers that had gathered as well. When they arrived, the hostler was moving hay bales and gear.

“They’re in here,” the hostler shouted.
The wagon driver and his young assistant were found blindfolded, gagged, and tied up. They were freed and had no injuries. They told George and officer that they were ready to make their usual run through Barkerville when masked men accosted them. They were unable to give a good description due to the masks and the period clothing.

George led the officer to the assay office to look at the crime scene. The iron-gate was breeched and the safe was missing. A small crowd of visitors appeared on the boardwalk outside as word spread quickly that it really was a real robbery and a police officer in attendance. One of the street performers told them that some visitors chased out of the assay office by gunpoint. Those visitors became distressed when they heard that the robbery was real and were at the House Hotel being comforted. After looking over the office, the officer told George to lock the place and not let anybody in until the investigators were finished.

At the House Hotel, the officer questioned the visitors. They were in shock and admitted that they thought it was all part of the show. All they could say was that the men were masked and in western dress. Out on the boardwalk, George and the officer listened as other visitors told what they knew. None could can to the description of the robbers already given. The whole event happened in less than ten minutes. They all said they thought the robbery was part of the street performances.
George ordered the gates closed and no one was to leave until they spoke with a police officer. The officer radioed for other officers to attend and requested some more to be sent out from Quesnel.

When the other police officers arrived, they were instructed to take statements from the witnesses. The first officer and George went out in the police cruiser to have a look around on the forestry roads around Barkerville but did find anything.

I watched the television news at six o’clock to see if there was any new information or if anything else was uncovered.

An RCMP officer shared what the police knew about the case. He finished by surmising that the robbers had a hidden vehicle in the forest and transferred the safe to it, then left the area unseen. The horses and the wagon, minus the safe, were found in the forest a few miles from Barkerville. The horses were unhurt and the wagon undamaged, both were returned to Barkerville. The officer appealed to the public for help.

After weeks of fruitless investigation, the police investigation stalled.