Show 4 BOOK MADE HIDING PLACE FOR PISTOL white while AMU visiting ng in nn an old farmhouse in west virginia writes a contributor to tile the youths companion I 1 discovered between the covers of a book a curious reminder of the civil war I 1 had been looking over some volumes that had been slowly accumulating through three generations there were several textbooks of former days among them was a thick octavo graeca gracca majora bound in stout leather it was perhaps a hundred years old the work was in greek and had a latin preface idly turning over the pages I 1 found two or three hundred leaves that were cut in a peculiar manner for a moment I 1 was puzzled why the book should have been so mutilated then I 1 noticed that the hollow made I 1 was vas exactly in tile the shape of a pistol tile the work had evidently been done with a chisel for the edges were smooth when the book was closed it looked like any ordinary book it made an excellent hiding place for a small ore arm on mentioning the matter to my lily host I 1 learned that during the civil warthe war the owner odthe house had been suspected of being a southern sympathizer and that he fie had been accused of keeping a large number of firearms upon the place tor for use if there should be a secessionist cess uprising the authorities made frequent visits in search of weapons and all firearms were seized except one small pistol which he had concealed in that cunning manner |