Penny knew that Danny, a hardened criminal, would never give her any information, so she centered her attention upon Hod and Coon.
At first, they only eyed her sullenly, refusing to speak. But after she had pointed out that a more cooperative attitude might bring a lighter sentence, they showed a little interest.
“How did you come to be mixed up with Danny?” she asked. “Were you all together in the big bank robbery?”
The question drew fire from Hod.
“No, we weren’t!” he shouted. “We never even knowed where Danny hid the money until tonight!”
“Then why were you so willing to hide and help him?”
“’Cause him and Paw always was good friends! Danny come here, saying the cops was after him and would we give him some clothes and hide him fer a day or two? So like fools we was, we took him in and kept him in the woodshed. It would have been safe enough if you hadn’t come snoopin’ around!”
“No doubt you all would have gone free if you hadn’t made the mistake of keeping Louise’s dog,” Penny retorted. “However, you seem to forget you were operating a still illegally.”
“Anyone else in on that business?” the policeman cut in. “How’d they market the stuff?”
“Through a trucker at Hartwell City,” Penny exclaimed. “I think they called him Ike.”