"It was an illicit still!
"Clearly enough, also, it was operated by my hosts up above.
"I listened for sounds of pursuit, but heard none. Possibly they had not
yet crept into my room to perform their horrible resolve.
"Suddenly the silence was broken by appalling yells and screams. My hair
bristled for an instant and then I burst into a laugh.
"It was a pig that I heard. At the same instant it dawned on me that it
was the pig that they had been discussing dispatching and not me at all.
You can imagine the revulsion of my feelings. But I felt sore at the
scare they had given me, so I decided to do some work for the government
and even up scores at the same time.
"Entering the shack, I scattered the coals of the fire right and left.
Then I came away. No, I did _not_ go back to the cabin. It would, as
your friend Jeb said, not have been healthy for me.
"Instead I set off running at top speed through the woods. Before long I
saw a glow on the sky behind me, and knew that flames were devouring the
vile stuff that moonshiners make.
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