Omaha daily bee., 1921-06-12
The Three Dead Men

one gal in Georgetown now, an she hab
friends but Solly, an she terrible fond OBJ him
"He treated her wel?'
Berry kind an good to her. She tell yo' de
same IL yo' ask her.
Farther inquiries respecting the character
and history of John Diggle and Solly Lawson
confirmed these reports of wife and mother In
dependent witnesses agreed with them and with
Amos Slanning who had already told me the
.same story. It was indeed, curious coincidence
that the three dead men had all been without
any sinister dangerously unsocial qualities
OF the young halfcaste, though it was clear he
had been lawless and more or less disreputable
it seemed unlikely that he could have wakened
sufficient enmity to lose his life for his sins.
To explain why Henry Slanning had gone
out in the night challenged me as the pregnant
point: and given the reason for that most un-
usual step, everything else might have followed
from it; but no reason offered; at every turn
in this exasperatng inquiry l was headed off
by blank wall, it seemed, for purpose and
motive, though they must have existed absolute
ly beyond my power to discover
Henry sanning had clearly gone where he
knew John Digglo was to- be found on his rounds;
but whether he had actually sought Diggle, or
another, could never be known, unless living
man furnished the information. None how
ever, came forward; there was a extraordinary
lack of all evidence; for in such cases, nine times
out OF ten chance offers foothold for a first
step, and this that man or women, from out
side the case. will appear with some incident or
observation that may open the way to inquiry
or suggest train of research. But no such
thing happened for Not a soul bore any
testimony Of any sort whatever, and not soul
actually came within the radius of the case.
Here apparently, one stood confronted with
three barefaced and deliberate murders. COM
mitted in night on a small island yet not
shadow of any motive explained them and not
a living being could fairly be pointed at as sus-
pect in any degree.
I made very copious notes and, of course
pursued inquiry through many minor channels
which all endedsdn failure and contributed no
light. / stood in the disagreeabe position OF
being unable TO make a case. and after
months very hard and conscientious work was
forced to own it to myself. A loss of self-esteem
resulted. 1 began all over again, only to COM
sSs,ete another circle of failure. Nor could 1t be
called comparative unsuccess. The futility OF
my investigation was complete. l arrived at no
theory Of any sort or kind and though once |
glimpsed the truth darkly as afterwards ap-
peared ! wandered from the right road the
moment it began to appear impossible.
My last week at Barbados. the last of six
spent upca the subject, devoted largely to
Amos Slannng. He had been extraordinarily
kind to me personally, and insisted upon my
spending a few days at the Pelican estate as
his guest before left the West Indies. He was
frankly disappointed at my failure but not
more than 1 confessed myself to being. 1t is
true that, though trained to this work by in
stinct and native bent, with already some fair
share of success in various cases. 1 failed sig
nally here.
I could only admit and hope my chief might.
prove more fortunate. We talked much Of
Henry Slanning; indeed, l kept the conversa-
ton to him as far as one decently might, and
- only with his twin brother; for now saw the
truth Of what men had told me--that Amos en-
tcrtained an opinion of his brothers character
that differed from the truth. He did not under
value his rectitude, the regard and respect
universally extended to the dead man; but he
had never fathomed character very different
from his own. and probably never felt, even ii
hs>had seen, the intellectual and inquisitive side
Of Henry Slannings character.
For example. when 1 returned to the pos
sibility of suicide, thought that haunted me
in connection with the case, though the facts
were there to prove murder, Amos Slanning as
sured me that nothing more unlikely, and
even when the revolver proved to have
been bought in England by his brother, he
stouty protested that it could not have been
purchased with any thought of such a purpose.
Others. however, no improbablty in the
idea OF Henry Slanning's suicide under certain
circumstances but, since obvious murder and
not suicide confronted US, they saw no object
in raising the question
I begged for photograph of the dead
10 take home with the rest OF my elaborate
AnA.iAn The picture he lent me resembled