The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-02-18

to be in charge furnished the drinks and
Dan paid for then-regulation bootleg
price They made Dan feel at home. They
closed doors and windows played the pho
nograph, sang and told stories. The good
soul who brought Dan was at his elbow.
always, and if Dan was too long suggest
ing drink, he took care of the oversight.
Friends who knew Dan Alden for many
years knew one of his peculiarities. Al
ways quick at figures and money changing,
be had been for many years paying teller
h bank and always in some business
that entailed the handling of funds, he be-
came lightning calculating wizard when
drunk. Twice the woman, in her eager
ness, tried to short-change him. Dan made
some shrewd remark about the sudden rise
In bootleg prices and each time she has
tened to correct her error, with many
apologies, after mean look from Dams
friend" All day the worthy pair labored
to fleece their guest, drinking some of their
swn brew, against their better Judgment,
and spilling more of it when the purchaser
was not looking But Dan refused to go
to sleep or show signs of forgetting how to
count money. Their loud laughter was
strained by nightfall Otherwise it is
doubtful if they would have accepted
the proft-sharing plan.
Two well dressed but hard visaged young
men dropped in about o'clock and were
deliberately introduced Dan bought. Then
the FRIEND of all day got one of the new
eomers aside and closed deal
But you be sure it amt near here
and that get mine,' he warned. 81 know
what he's GOT
1t took another hour to get Dan started
with these new acquaintance even after
bidding his hostess and friend fond
farewell.
Had Dan been just three degrees further
away from total paralysis of the brain,
he might have noticed that the young men
seemed impatient to get him "to his hotel;"
so hurried, in fact, that they drove into
a strange country, tumble Of railroad
tracks and very dark, in an effort to find
short cut to the city. They were between
two tracks, sheltered by myriad boxcars,
when they first struck him over the head
with wrench, rolled him out of the car
and attended the business of searching him
quite carefully. They even took a pocket
knife and cut the lodge buttons from his
shirt They took every scrap OF anything
they found on him. Then they struck the
senseless man another blow, intended to be
a skull crusher and with considerable eff
fort hoisted him through the door of box
car, closed it and dropped the hasp and bolt
in place.
'"These empties are set out here for the
fast West drag explained one young man
to his companion in crime" and it may be
some time before they find it, mebby clean
through to the coast
Because he was SO per cent dead, time
meant nothing to Dan for the next two
days, then consciousness returned gradually
ually, only to bring with it the most hor-
rible of tortures, thirst. He knew when he
began TO know anything that he was in a
swaying box-car on train that was max
ing speed. He could not stand, but guided
by cracks of light, crawled to the doors and
broke his fingernails trying to open them.
He tried to shout, but his parched throat
and swollen tongue refused to function.
At intervals he lapsed into coma, and it was
upon coming out of one of these rests from
his agony that he discovered difference.
The train was stationary, and he heard
voices. Weakly he began kicking on the
door. At last there was a sound of metal,
the door was thrown slightly open and his
head, which had been pressed against the
crack, fell forward within reach of the
big brakeman. With an oath the train
man grabbed Dan, dragged him out far
enough to let him fall, then kicked him
twice before resuming his journey toward
the rear. A smell of burning grease bore