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Alarmed, Patty's group fled Manhattan and rented an isolated farmhouse near South Canaan, a hamlet in northwest Pennsylvania about 25 miles from Scranton. They had picked an ideal spot. There were already a number of established hippie communes on the region's abandoned farms, and no one was likely to notice another group arriving in a dusty van to set up housekeeping. Scott paid the total rent of $1,200 in cash.
For unexplained reasons, the Scotts, the Harrises and Patty pulled out of their sanctuary in late fall and began driving west. At one point, the van was stopped by a highway patrolman. Scott, who was driving, bluffed his way out of the jam by telling the cop that he and the others were driving home from a football game in Pennsylvania.
Officials now believe that Patty, the Scotts and the Harrises decided to split up and go their own way. A Pennsylvania grand jury began looking into reports that the S.L.A. band had found shelter in the area. The FBI used bloodhounds to help link Patty to the suspected farmhouse. Given her scent from a piece of Patty's clothing, one dog led agents to a bed in the house.
Last week the grand jury heard the testimony of Jay Weiner, 20, a would-be sportswriter who is a student at Philadelphia's Temple University, but who attended Oberlin from 1972 to 1974. Scott became Weiner's mentor. After his appearance before the grand jury, Weiner refused to say anything about the group, but he did ask newsmen to send his greetings to Tania (the underground name that Patty has adopted) and "my comrade Jack and my dearest sister Micki," who clearly were the Scotts. Weiner also said that he hoped the Scotts and Patty were safe "in or out of this monster's belly," an apparent reference to American society.
As part of another grand jury investigation in San Francisco, FBI agents questioned U.C.L.A. Graduate Walton. An enigmatic, moody man, Walton is a bitter critic of U.S. society. "I don't believe in capitalism," he said when he signed his pro contract. "I believe wealth should be spread around." Walton's deal gave him $2.5 million.
When Walton met Scott and his wife, he was so attracted by the couple that last year he invited them to move into his $100,000 A-frame house outside Portland. Last week, after talking to the FBI, Walton said that his new guru had never mentioned any involvement with the S.L.A. Walton said that he had last seen Scott two or three weeks ago, when his friend had told him he was "going away for a while." Added the basketball star: "All I can go on is my personal experience, and I had some of the most beautiful experiences in my life with Jack Scott and some of the worst with the FBI."