midnight
Macdonald 's keen brain followed the facts as the nose of a bloodhound does a trail . Holt , an open enemy of his , had reached town only two days before . He had bought one of the best and swiftest dog teams in the North and had let slip before witnesses the remark that Macdonald would soon find out what he wanted with the outfit . The bank had been robbed after midnight . To file open the grill and to blow up the safe must have taken several hours . Before morning the dogs of Holt had taken the trail . If their owner were with them , it was a safe bet that the sled carried forty thousand dollars in Alaska gold dust .