“We are strangers here, madam,” explained the young airman. “What is the fire and what is the trouble?”
“All our men are away—hiding from the officers down at Brambly Fork,” said the woman. “The MacGuffins have made a raid and are burning us all out! They may kill us if they catch us. Oh, sirs, help me get our little ones in hiding,” she pleaded.
“To your home, do you mean?” inquired Dave.
“Oh, no, no,” dissented the woman instantly. “That is the worst place in the world to go to just now. They will burn our house next.”
“They may not harm you,” suggested Dave.
“Yes, they will. My husband is the man they hate the most. It’s an old quarrel between the MacGuffins and our people. They will harm you, too, if they catch you.”
“Why should they?” asked Hiram.
“Because no stranger is ever allowed in these Carolina mountains. They are all moonshiners, and will take you for detectives. They shot two suspicious characters only a few days ago.”
“H’m,” remarked Hiram under his breath. “We’re in a nice country!”
The young aviator comprehended the situation at once. He had read and heard of these North Carolina outlaws and their family feuds, sometimes running through half a dozen generations.