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a number F customers. "you know how b \lness seems to came In spurt, and there was _ The friendly Castleton store owner ls grateful that. If his store had to be robbed. he was the one staring down the banel of the robbers gun; not his (.fe or any of the ladies who vu ‘k there. _ Amara ng to Clan. the state had just ' aJshed looking after "I was planning to Be In Oshawa. Iwasn't even going to be In the store that morning, but when we got up my wtfe told me she wasnt feeling well that day, so I stayed In Castleton. I guess God was looking over my shoulder." said Olan In a later Interview, The last thing that Keith Clan of Castleton General Store was expecting last Wednesday morning was an armed hold- up. By Eileen Aryyrls Armed robber hits Chstleton General Store Clan said the man apparently knew of storeowners' usual pracuée of storing large denomination bills under the Thé gunman warned. "Dont aqybody move." "Then he noticed Jane Mutton, a store employee) who was about 20 feet away from him. bagging buns in the bakery section." Clan had been taking advantage of the lull to catch up on some paperwork. but he reacted quickly. opening the all and takmg out all the bills. The quiet was broken by the ring of the Hell on the door, announcing the entry of a white male. about six feet tall, medium build. wearing a balaciava and wielding a 12- gauge double iaarrelled sawed- " shotgun. which he pointed at Gian behind the cash desk and demanded. "Give me, everything." _ a lull. That was about 11:15 WW -‘mu. Tve preached at the girls fo the last three years, 'If there. ever a robbery. don't be a hero just do as you're told'." Olar recalled. - wa- Olan says he then lifted G divider section and allowed Q gunman to see that there Wt nothing but cheques In th lower section of the drawer. ' cash till. because when 'e handed over all the bills In te upper drawer. the dumb, repeated, "Ev.erytl1ingl Practising as he had 'rrfut [Rally couldn't tell, 'since he was sitting down and was farther away." preached. he did exactly as the gunman demanded. but kept his eyes open. He hurried to the door as the robber exited and observed the getaway car, driven by another male who appeared to be of heavier build than the gunman. . . I He, also got an accurate description of the ge/away car and a licence plate number. Elan phonid police and he All told, the rubbers got away with about $270: "not worth their while." Olan comments, reflecting that armed robbery carries a much stiffer penalty than simple theft. says, by the ttme the squad car, arrived at the scene. police- were able to tell him that the vehicle used in the robbery had been reported stolen in Hhstings. Poliae are withholding a description of the vehicle as the tnvrjtigeuon continues. "It all happened so quickly, l l don't know whether l had a "".rr"Ttrisis-arir-iiraiiurFG4 admits. "when somebody points a gun at you. you do as you're told; It's automatic." "Only ilve minutes after the robbery happened, they knew the car had been spotted going east on County Road 21." Although he could give a general description of the suspect. Olan was not able to see his face because of the ski mask he wore, "But I won't forget his eyes for a long, long time," he said, "The police worked tremendously hard and very quickly set up roadblocks." says the impressed storekeeper. . Olan's guess coincides with the OPP's about the nature of the thieves. The storeowner said they probably didn't dare attempt a robbery in a" populated area. "But. here In Castleton, we Just curl up and die for a ttttle while. They probably Mured on a quick grab and an easy getaway. but for the money they got, it's stupid: Just crazy." _ Police are investigating the possibility that these are the same men who held up a Mac's Milk store in Brighton two days before, escaping with $19, after kermrizlng the clerk with a handgun. They could also be linked to other robberies that have occurred lately toutside the Brighton SeeRobbery, page' 8