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Authors: David Lee Malone
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whoever had sealed it wanted it to stay sealed. They loaded it in the back of the truck and then walked back around to the other side. Glenn looked at me with a puzzled expression as if to say, ‘what in the hell are in those barrels.’ He wasn’t any more curious than I was, that was for sure. They appeared again with an identical drum and loaded it, fired up the truck, and were gone.
After they had gotten to the point that we no longer could hear the truck, Glenn looked at me and still in a semi-whisper said, “I don’t know what was in those barrels, but they sure didn’t want them found.”
I nodded my head and we walked over to where the truck had been parked. Where the pine tree had fallen against the old cedar, it had made a little natural shelter. It looked like they had put the barrels there and then concealed them with pine boughs and whatever else they could find that would not arouse suspicion.
“Well, it could have been moonshine I guess,” I said to Glenn, not believing at all that was what it was. We walked around to see if there was anything else worth seeing or would give us more clues, but found nothing to get excited about. We shrugged our shoulders and started walking in the direction of the cave. Like I said, priorities change in a hurry when you’re young.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
It was an awful hot day and Sheriff White had decided early on that he was not going to be guilty of doing too much physical activity. He never had been one to overly exert himself anyway, but today he was going to be extra careful. A man could have a heat stroke as hot as it was today.
He had gotten an anonymous tip that either Hugh Williams or Jack Bynum might be operating a still. Their land joined at Big Wills Creek, so whoever the source of the tip was, didn’t know which man was guilty. The sheriff doubted seriously if either of them were. Hugh had to work from sunup to sundown to cut enough pulpwood to keep his family fed and his belly full of liquor. He didn’t have time to run a still, and even if he did, he would drink up all the profit. Jack Bynum was known to take a little nip every now and then, but had always been a church going, law abiding citizen.
Sheriff White figured it was just some old biddy that didn’t like any man who took a drink, or had any fun at all, for that matter. They probably told another old biddy, and then it spread like all rumors do in small towns and communities. Like a fire in a dry brush pile. But he didn’t want to be accused of shirking his duties by those who kept electing him. It was just going to have to wait until late in the evening after it had cooled off.
“Man, I hate not bein’ home for supper,” he said to himself, but loud enough that his secretary heard him.
“What was that, sheriff?” she asked.
“Oh, nuthin’ Kate. I was just thinkin’ out loud. I gotta go check out a rumor I heard about a still today and I didn’t wanna go ‘til it cooled off. I just hate missin’ supper with my wife and kids. I had to work late last night. Those kids are gonna be gone before I know it. Time goes by in a hurry.”
“Well sheriff, you have twelve full time deputies and four part timers. Why don’t you learn to delegate more. You don’t always have to be in the middle of everything, you know.”
The sheriff let what Kate said sink in for a minute. “By golly you’re right, Kate. That’s what them boys get paid for. I’ll just send a couple of ’em down there in a little while. I don’t figure there’s anything to it anyhow.”
Ben Goodman and Wally Yates were the two deputies that were not out serving papers or on a call, so the sheriff had the dispatcher get them on the radio. Both of them knew Hugh Williams and where he lived. Old Hugh pretty much stayed to himself and around home
After they had gotten to the point that we no longer could hear the truck, Glenn looked at me and still in a semi-whisper said, “I don’t know what was in those barrels, but they sure didn’t want them found.”
I nodded my head and we walked over to where the truck had been parked. Where the pine tree had fallen against the old cedar, it had made a little natural shelter. It looked like they had put the barrels there and then concealed them with pine boughs and whatever else they could find that would not arouse suspicion.
“Well, it could have been moonshine I guess,” I said to Glenn, not believing at all that was what it was. We walked around to see if there was anything else worth seeing or would give us more clues, but found nothing to get excited about. We shrugged our shoulders and started walking in the direction of the cave. Like I said, priorities change in a hurry when you’re young.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
It was an awful hot day and Sheriff White had decided early on that he was not going to be guilty of doing too much physical activity. He never had been one to overly exert himself anyway, but today he was going to be extra careful. A man could have a heat stroke as hot as it was today.
He had gotten an anonymous tip that either Hugh Williams or Jack Bynum might be operating a still. Their land joined at Big Wills Creek, so whoever the source of the tip was, didn’t know which man was guilty. The sheriff doubted seriously if either of them were. Hugh had to work from sunup to sundown to cut enough pulpwood to keep his family fed and his belly full of liquor. He didn’t have time to run a still, and even if he did, he would drink up all the profit. Jack Bynum was known to take a little nip every now and then, but had always been a church going, law abiding citizen.
Sheriff White figured it was just some old biddy that didn’t like any man who took a drink, or had any fun at all, for that matter. They probably told another old biddy, and then it spread like all rumors do in small towns and communities. Like a fire in a dry brush pile. But he didn’t want to be accused of shirking his duties by those who kept electing him. It was just going to have to wait until late in the evening after it had cooled off.
“Man, I hate not bein’ home for supper,” he said to himself, but loud enough that his secretary heard him.
“What was that, sheriff?” she asked.
“Oh, nuthin’ Kate. I was just thinkin’ out loud. I gotta go check out a rumor I heard about a still today and I didn’t wanna go ‘til it cooled off. I just hate missin’ supper with my wife and kids. I had to work late last night. Those kids are gonna be gone before I know it. Time goes by in a hurry.”
“Well sheriff, you have twelve full time deputies and four part timers. Why don’t you learn to delegate more. You don’t always have to be in the middle of everything, you know.”
The sheriff let what Kate said sink in for a minute. “By golly you’re right, Kate. That’s what them boys get paid for. I’ll just send a couple of ’em down there in a little while. I don’t figure there’s anything to it anyhow.”
Ben Goodman and Wally Yates were the two deputies that were not out serving papers or on a call, so the sheriff had the dispatcher get them on the radio. Both of them knew Hugh Williams and where he lived. Old Hugh pretty much stayed to himself and around home
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