The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1902-11-26
"The dcuilr' he n1uttcred. This is oddp

|. [TltR}lAlEEt@E:: - II
"Tne dcuiW" he 7eatttcred. This is oddP'
had committed suicide b? lcaping from
an ocean steamer. Some poor fellow
made that pitiful ending, and for my
own part firmly believed that it was
Henry Donaldson.
almost a year later, however, we
got word that Henry had been seen in
q lumber camp in the northwest.
heard Of it first and secretly attempted
an Investigation, sending detective
out into that region. His first commu-
nication to me seemed favorable, and
decided that it would be worth while
for Donald to go out there. took two
or three fellows whom I could trust
into my confidence, and we agreed to
put up the necessary money. We all
wanted Henry Donaldson to come
back and face his accusers, and we be-
lieved that we could clear him.
"We made a plan to lunch together
and have Donald with US and then dis
close the whole subject to him. So we
met about noon one day and went to
private room in Hobart's restaurant up
town. Donald did not know what was
in the wind, but for some days his
mind had been running upon his BROTH
er, and he looked all broken up with it.
AS he and l were going to Hobart's
that day be said to me:
az am sick with anxiety about Har-
ry.'
"'You don't believe that he is dead?
said I.
al never have he replied. T can't
Nothing more was said upon the
subject just then, and it was not men,
toned while we were eating luncheon.
This was by agreement. Donald was
very silent during the meal. He ate
scarcely anything. He was pale and in
a peculiar state Of nervous tension. I
observed him with considerable an1i-
ETY., for he looked like q man who is
going to break down,
eve had reached the cigars, and the
waiter was we'll out Of the way. One
of the fellows made sign to me to
open the subject that was on our
minds. / turned toward Donald. He
started as if from dream and said IL
hurried, strange voice:
"'Harry is all right
'Then the color rushed into his face.
which had been very pale. He reeled
in his chair, and put up my hand to
catch him.
"'What do you mean?' l asked.
"sI saw him. he said, I saw him.
He's all right. He's coming home
THAT was all that we could get out
of him at first, and we did not know
what to make Of it. Finally told him
frankly just why we were there and
what we had learned.
emo he said; it's all a mistake. He's
not in any lumber camp. don't know
where he is. I never saw any such
place before. think it's in China from
the look of it.
"Of course we tornented him with
questions, and ct last We got an ac-
curate description Of what he had seen.
Why, he even described the furniture
in the room and the view from the
window.
"There was man sitting at table
whom I think should have known If
he hadn't been back to me- said he. My
brother was sitting opposite, and there
was some sort Of document on the table
between them. My brother has grown
beard. BY heavensp he cried sud
denly. The other man was Joe Vlnal!
"Vinal was receiving teller Of tie
Dey Street bank. He had been slight
" implicated in the robbery and had
lost his place in the bank on account
of it, but had not been arrested. Ihal
he should have joined Henry Donald
son in a far corner Of the world was
not altogether q favorable circum'
stance, and l asked Donald why he had
said so confidently that his brother was
all right.
"I know by the look Of him. he re-
piled, and I heard him say that he was
coming home
Donald pledged US all to secrecy III
this matter, and I think the promise
has been fairly well kept. That after
neon Donald and I made an inTesdga'
ton into the case of Vinal and learned
that he had left New York and thai
his whereabouts We're unknown. his
wife, who was q beautiful woman OF
fine descent, was living. in this city, but
she had had no word Of her husband
IN six weeks. She told me that he had
left the city suddenly upon some mat
ter of business which she did not IN
derstand. He had been in very bao
health, and she was extremely anxious
about him.
"That was all the information that
we could get. About week later
Donald got a cable message from his
brother. 1t came from Ho!akong and
was addressed to my apartments. It
said: Am coming home; westward
Everything all right
"By subsequent messages we traced
him to the Mediterranean and Glbral-
tar and learned what steamer was
bringing him to this country. He was
Ill Of acute gastritis when he arrived,
and thought that we should hardly
get him off the steamer alive. But he
rallied and seemed on the road to
mend.
Tt appeared that he had gone from
this country to Japan and had lived IN
one of the smaller cities. He brought
photographs of his abode there and OF
q view from a certain window. 1 have
never been able to be skeptic upon
things occult since seeing that photo
graph. He told US that he had lived
| almost in secret; that he had never
dared communicate with Donald for
fear that the message would fall into
wrong hands and reveal his hiding
! r,1onn