Mr. Henley, the released captive, has been interviewed here. He is exhausted after relaxation from the strain. He says that the bandits will shortly release four more prisoners and then hold the remaining four, namely one British, one French, one American and one Italian until their terms are finally met. Despite Mr. Musso's serious condition, the bandits flatly refused believing him to be. the most important captive and they will hold him till the last.
Mr. Henley credits Mr. Roy Anderson and Wen Shih-chen with all the success of the outside negotiations, but adds that the Chinese captives, who gained the confidence of the bandit Jeaders, advised moderate terms and helped the releases from within. He says that many bandits are after loot only, but the captives are convince ed, after pumping individual brigands, that the enterprise was political and particularly anti-Tsao Kun. Mr. Henley says the indications were that the chiefs intended to ask for favours for Chang Chin-yao (ex-Tuchun of Hunan), but this the chiefs denied in a formal statement.
The most trying experience was the actual attack on the train, since when conditions have been hard but the leaders have often been surprisingly considerate and the guards kind to the sick, though frequently threatening all with death. Mr. Henley says escape was easy at any time, but each felt that his escape would make conditions for the others harder. Mr. Musso was once marked for execution, when the soldiers were firing on the bandits, the plan being to lay the blame of his death on the soldiers and secure their withdrawal, but a former Chinese Labour Corps coolie saved Mr. Musso's life. Mr. Henley says the soldier cordon has not interrupted the bandit communications, but that pedlars, who are spies for both sides, came and went, and that individual bandits brought in ammunition which they asserted they had purchased from Japanese and that articles in the Shanghai foreign papers were quoted frequently to the captives, while the publication of the Paotzeku map was immediately known and much resented.
Mr. Henley doubts that the final release of the other prisoners will come immediately, believing that the last four will be held for several weeks.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.