Childress ,walking up to the spring where the little girl sat, said,"Will we find plenty of deer out in this direction?"

 "Oh yes, pap killed a buck over there yesterday." 

The little girl kept her eyes on Childress as he passed along until she thought he was out of sight when she darted like an arrow and disappeared under the waterfall. 

Childress had seen her and at once beckoned to his friends who were on the lookout and four of the gang besides Childress followed the child under the waterfall hastily. 

There was a space of about three feet between the cascade and the bluff serving as an opening so that one could pass in and under keeping at the same time perfectly dry. They found over head a flat rock extending the entire width of the creek over which the waters rushed in a body with a regularity and precision as if the hands of man had made the dam out of solid timbers for the express purpose of letting the stream pour over it .

There was also under foot a solid rock without a perceivable crack in it and this was dry within a few feet of the plunge. Under the edge of the rock over which the waters poured and for eight or ten feet inwardly there was light enough to see clearly across the cavern but beyond all was darkness impenetrable. The five men passed rapidly across and at the side beyond groped onward in the darkness feeling every step of the way by pointing their rifles ahead above and under foot. The rock was firm beneath while above and all around them was nothing visible The hunters touched each other to assure themselves said nothing and moved on cautiously listening.

Suddenly a gleam of light flashed upon them as if from an opening shutter. 

"What is it, Lizzie?", said a gruff voice at the opening.

"There's a gang of men here hunters they say just now crossing the creek."

 The opening was closed and the hunters advanced rapidly to the spot. Feeling their hands came in contact with a rough plank or slab upright and firmly set as if in a wall. It was about two feet wide six or seven feet high on one edge of it was a strip of undressed raw hide running all the way from top to bottom and was nailed to the slab on one side and to a post on the other and was undoubtedly used as a hinge for the slab to swing on.  Childress made a light from his tinder box and took the surroundings. There was a cavernous yawning on each side of them in front a wall with a slab door. The men arranged themselves on the opening side of the slab the light was extinguished and they waited for events supposing that the door and they waited for events supposing that the door would open directly to let out the little girl.

 There were voices within but unintelligible.  

(the entire story of Tuscaloosa's 1822 counterfeiters from William R. Smith's REMINISCENCES OF A LONG LIFE has been copied onto my blog, ZERO, NORTHWEST FLORIDA) https://robertoreg.blogspot.com/