The gold leaf., 1910-09-01

was not positive at first but pressed to
| answer yes or no to the question as to
whether ne would swear he was or was
not the man. Mr. Aiken finally said he
was. This positive declaration seemed
to bring the matter right down to busi-
ness and the case assumed a deeper in
terest.
WERE IN APEX SUNDAY.
Mr.. Fogle testified that he wasin Apex
all day Sunday leaving there somewhere
about II o'clock coming to Henderson.
He arrived here on the train due at LAO
a. m. got something to eat at Bats
restaurant and went to Mr.. Bat Duke s
boarding house for breakfast With him
were Mr.. W. J. Gentry and young Mr..
| Gentry. They all came together from
| APEX where they had been working
several days around there. Mr. ii. b.
| Fople. the manager or boss OF the crew,
| was with them in Apex and left there on
the same train coming this way. lie
stopped at Franklinton intending to
come on and Join them later. Young
| Mr.. Gentry testified to the same elect.
Policemen Crabtree and Sherman said
they saw all three OF the men here after
the train for Portsmouth had left. They
were at the station after the train
passed and they did not see them there
| before it came.
Ticket agent Elmer Powell testified to
seeing Mr. ". ]. Gentry in front OF the
station building walking along with
other messengers as if he had just gotten
off the train and he did not see him be-
fore the train arrived. He had seen the
man before and recognized him. he had
asked him about schedules when he was
in Henderson on a previous occasion,
several months ago.
| Mr.. Russ Danniel proved the star wit
ness for the accused. He had spent Sun
| dav in Norfolk Returning on the night
| train. due in Henderson at lao, he was
asleep and failed to get off. Just before
reaching Kittrell the conductor aroused
| him and asked where he wanted to get
| off. When told he was informed that
| they had passed Henderson and he would
| have to get off and take the next train
| hack. This he did and as the train reached
| the coal chute when Henderson was called
| ont he saw these three men, W. j. Gentry,
J. W. Fogle and young Gentry, get up
and prepare to leave the train. He got
| off and he saw them later in the restau-
| rant.
| SPENT MONDAY IN HENDERSON,.
After killing time about the station
until people began to get out, Messrs
| Gentry and Forgle went to Mr.. Dukes
! boarding house. where they had stopped
before. to get breakfast. Later the elder
Gentry visited Murrell 4 Pages barber
shop and had his hair clipped. He also
paid his respects to Mr.. Enoch Powell at
| Watkins store for the purpose ofbuying
a pair of shoes. When he was here in
| March. Mr.. Gentry bought some shoes
from Mr.. Powell and he liked them so
well that he wanted another pair OF the
| same kind. In response to enquiries as TO
the country in the other direction from
town which they did not work when
here before Mr.. Powell gave Mr.. Gentry
directions about going to Dabney, ana lt
was upon his suggestion that they went
that way.
Mr.. Foge called at a house III town
| the same day to get some pictures tnaC
had been left there on previous Vislt:
There is abundant evidence, then, that
| these men were in Henderson on Monday,
August 22nd, the day that Mr.. Aiken
says the men who had robbed him near
Dabney, somewhere between the hours
OF eleven and twelve o'clock the night be-
fore; who got in his buggy with him and
forcing him to drink something that stole
away his senses, brought him to Hen,
derson, put him on the train and carried
| him away with them, were with MN III
Norfolk, 130 miles distant, abandoning
| him on one of the streets OF that city
only when their own safety from the
| clutches of the police seemed to dlctatelt.
STATEMENT FROM CONDUCTOR.
Conductor NJ. V. Byrd who was in
charge Of the train makes a statement
/ OoIrOuI oUTnS orooor rr.- oe--+rJ --a L~Sie
about their being in Apex Sunday and
| coming to Henderson that night. lie
says these men (four OF them got on at
| Apex. One had mileage and the Others
tickets. The man travelling on mileage
got off at Franklinton The others got
off at Henderson. He is sure of this one
incident in connection with them impress
ing him especially. One of the men asked
| the conductor if there would be any OBJ
| lection to their playing social game OF
cards to while the time away. 1t was
| Sunday night but after II O oclOck-Mon-
day morning in reality-and this togeth
er with not knowing the rules OF the
| road caused the question to be asked.
| The conductor replied that there was no
| objection if they did not play for money
"a social game as was suggested
would be ali right.
I db W "HCILCl
| any knowledge OF three men getting on
his train at Henderson going to Norfolk,
| or whether one man got on who appear
| ed to be drunk or under the influence OF
some drug or poison, he said he had no
! knowledge OF any such person or per-
sons getting on his train here.
HOW DID AIKEN GET TO NORFOLK?
There is a rumor to the effect that Mr..
Aiken got on or was put on the rear
| platform OF the Pullman car and was
| found there when the train arrived in
Portsmouth the next morning. This re-
| port has not been verified and Mr.. Aiken
cannot throw any light on the subject
| Tie says he had no knowledge of when
he reached Portsmouth or how he got
there. Them reasonable supposition
is that he was on the rear platform of
the Pullman. Once inside the iron rail-
ing enclosing the platform one might
sieep or lie in a condition of stupor from
! other causes with perfect safety, and
being at night it is likely the rear door
was locked and there was no passing
through it by conductor or porter be-
tween Henderson and Portsmouth,
1t is very probable that the conductor
would have noticed any passenger in the
| condition that Mr.. Aiken says that he
was in, if travelling alone, and certainly
three men, two who had charge of
another unable to help himself, and who
| didn't know where he was or what he
was doing, would have been still more
| liable to attract attention.
The following account is taken from
| the Norfolk Nirginian-Pi of Tuesday
| after reporter had interviewed Mr.
Aiken on Monday while he was there:
Claiming that he had been robbed Of
a sum OF money, then drugged and
spirited away to Norfolk by two COM
| panions unknown to him, ". l. Aiken,
who says that he is prosperous farmer
residing at Oxford, n. c., called at Cen
tral police sta lion yesterday and asked
| Tor assistance in locating the parties he
claimed had mistreated him.
Aiken told the Norfolk police one of
the strangest stories of the kind which
has been reported for long time past