The daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1904-1905, 1904-04-25

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(N~1NyJLMl MIMI -
THE deuilr' he muttered "Th.s is oddr
got word that Henry had been seen in
a lumber camp in the northwest.
heard of it first and secretly attempted
an investigation. sending a 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 l 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.
1--WE made plan to lunch together
close the whole subject to him. So we
met about noon one day and went to a
private room in Hobarts 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 he said to me:
81 am sick with anxiety about Har-
ry.'
"'You don't believe that he is dead?'
said l.
81 never have he replied. 4 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. !
observed him with considerable anxi-
ETY., for he looked like a man who is
going to break down.
I've had reached the cigars, and the
waiter was well out of the way. One
of the fellows made a sign to me to
open the subject that was on our
minds. l turned toward Donald. He
started as if from a dream and said in
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 l put up my hand to
catch him.
"'What do you mean" l asked.
"T saw him. he said, i saw him.
He's all right. He's coming home
oil
Of him at first, and we did not know
what to make of it, Finally l told him
frankly just why we were there and
what we had learned.
"'No, he said; it's all {. mistake He's
not in any lumber camp. don't know
where he is. l never saw any such
place before. l think it's in China from
the look of it,
"Of course we tormented him with
questions. and at 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 a man sitting at table
whom l think l 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 heavens! he cried sud.
denly. The other man was Joe Vinal!
"Vinal was receiving teller of the
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. That
he should have joined Henry Donald.
son in far corner of the world was
not altogether a favorable circum.
stance, and asked Donald why he had
said SO confidently that his brother was
all right.
"T know by the look of him. he re-
piled, and heard him say that he was
coming home
Donald pledged us all to secrecy in
this matter, and 1 think the promise
has been fairly we'll kept. That after
noon Donald and l made an investiga'
ton into the case Of Vinal and learned
that he had left New York and that
his whereabouts were unknown. His
wife, who was a 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 un.
derstand. He had been in very bad
health. and she was extremely anxious