Page:The web (1919).djvu/156

 Mr. W, a Deputy Sheriff of Tuscaloosa County, had been trying to locate Dan for ten months, and had watched continuously as much as ten days at one time, both house and barn. A number of searches prior to the arrival of the A. P. L. squad, made in and around the mines of the different operating companies, had given no clue. One thing was certain, however: nearly everybody in the district was related to him, due to the intermarriage during several generations of the people, and, as usual, there were some of his own kin-folks who would "shore like to see him pulled."

At last, the patience of the party being exhausted, and feeling sure that Dan was somewhere, either about the house or barn, the father, William D, and the mother, and a sister, who had denied any relationship to Dan, were told positively either to surrender him or go to jail. They asked for time, and it was refused. They pleaded for the officers to come again to-morrow. This also was refused. After pleading again to give them till afternoon, they finally asked one of the League operators to a conference behind the house with the mother and father. They then renewed their pleadings for time, but finally agreed to show the hiding place of their son and deliver him to the party, as they now realized that the "U. S. was a blame sight stronger than kin-folks who were liable to split on you at any minute."

The father was then accompanied to the barn. He knocked on the wall of the barn and said, "Come down, son!" Almost immediately a wide plank in the floor of the barn loft, almost over the heads of the astonished men, mysteriously arose from its resting place, revealing the most unique and simple hiding place imaginable. It was nothing more or less than a box, about as large as a good sized coffin, in which there were bed clothes, food and water. The box was cut to fit the joists, hiding all joints, and being apparent from below as a part of the loft floor. It was covered with fodder and hay above, the occupant using one loose plank of the box as his trap door. When occupied, it would naturally be as tight as any other part of the floor. Later, the party saw a hole dug out under the cow stall which he had occupied until