“Danny, we’ve fed ye and kept ye here fer days in this woodshed, and it hain’t safe!” the speaker said. “Ye gotta git out tonight—now—through the swamp. The river’ll take ye out the other end, and ye maybe kin git out o’ the state.”
“And maybe I’ll be caught!” the other voice replied. Penny knew it was Danny Deevers who spoke. “I’m staying right here!”
“Coon and Hod’ll guide ye through the swamp, so ye’ll be safe enough till ye git to the other side,” Ezekiel argued. “We hain’t keepin’ ye here another day. You got clothes and food and a good chanst to git away.”
Penny crept close to the wall of the woodshed. Peering through a small, dirty window on the far side she saw four men seated on kegs in a room dimly lighted by a lantern.
The man facing her plainly was Danny Deevers. Opposite him were Ezekiel and his two sons, both armed with rifles.
“Hain’t no use talkin’ any more,” Ezekiel said flatly. “Ye’r leavin’ here tonight, Danny. Maw’s fixin’ ye a lunch to take.”
“Paw, hain’t you forgittin’ something?” Coon prodded his father.
“Hain’t fergittin’ nothin’, Coon. Danny, ’fore you go, there’s a matter o’ money to be settled between us. Ye got $50,000 hid somewheres close, and we want our cut fer hidin’ ye out from the police.”
Danny laughed unpleasantly.
“You leeches won’t get a penny! Not a penny! No one but me knows where that money is, and I’m not telling!”