Читать книгу The Crime of the Century; Or, The Assassination of Dr. Patrick Henry Cronin - Henry M. Hunt - Страница 34

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In another dispatch it was stated that Dr. Cronin had, on Saturday night, accepted the hospitalities of W. J. Starkey, an ex-Chicago lawyer. On the following morning, so the same dispatch went on to say, the physician had actually been entertained by Long at his residence. To ninety-nine out of a hundred people, this was conclusive. Everything pointed to the fact that the hitherto missing man was alive and in the flesh. No chain of evidence could have been more complete. Had not Miss Murphy seen him on the car? Had he not ridden down town with Conductor Dwyer, to whom he said that he was on his way to the Union Depot, and had he not appeared in Toronto, broken bread with Starkey and Long, and admitted that he was on his way to cross the ocean? What more was wanted? At this point, too, his enemies in Chicago began to add leaven to the lump. The story told by Woodruff was recalled, and it was insidiously suggested in one quarter that the physician was the mysterious "Doc," and that having performed a criminal operation upon the equally mysterious "Alice," whose remains had been taken to the park in the trunk, he had fled the country to avoid the legal consequences of his crime. In another direction it was boldly charged that before many days the physician would turn up in London in the role of a second Le Caron. Said one of his most inveterate opponents:

"Dr. Cronin is not dead; at least he wasn't assassinated at the end of his buggy ride with a strange man last Saturday night. Neither is he likely to be found in this city or State, and perhaps not in the United States. And there is much reason to suspect that he went at the beck and call of the English Government—in short, that he was a British spy, and has gone to join Le Caron, his friend and companion and near neighbor both here and in St. Louis. A startling communication in cipher has been received from the other side, and the information comes from a source whose accuracy cannot be doubted. It is to the effect that agents of the English Government have been arranging to place another American informer on the stand in the Parnell inquiry. It seems that the informer has offered to testify for a stated sum, which is said to be $100,000, and that the Government is only awaiting the report of its experts, who are inspecting his documentary proof before accepting his proposition. That is the way the matter stands now. I have been asked to find out who this new informer is. I have tried my best to do so, but I can't say I have been entirely successful. Dr. Cronin's mysterious disappearance has left a deep suspicion on my mind. I never liked that fellow, anyway, for I always considered him a contemptible rascal. I don't believe, either, that he has been assassinated, because I don't know of any good reason for killing him. I wouldn't be surprised if he turned up in London shortly. It wouldn't be at all strange. He was Le Caron's friend, as nearly as I can ascertain from Chicagoans, who knew them both, and what would be more natural than for him to cross the Atlantic to pay the druggist a friendly visit?"

On the heels of this came an alleged dispatch from London:

"Le Caron, the man who acted as a spy for the British Government on the movements of the Irish leaders in America, and who testified for the Times before the Parnell Commission, declares that he and Dr. Cronin were the closest friends. Le Caron believes that Dr. Cronin has been killed, and that the friendship of the murdered man may account for his removal."

Naturally enough, these diabolical insinuations had their full effect on the public mind. The search for the body was practically abandoned by the police, and the theory that the physician had left the town of his own free will was generally accepted by the public.

Even some of those who had been closely associated with him were inclined to the same view, except that they ascribed his possible trip to London to different purposes to those advanced by his enemies.

"I believe Dr. Cronin is in New York on his way to London for the purpose of testifying before the Parnell Commission," said one of his friends.

"Why do you think so?" he was asked.

"Apart from certain things I cannot divulge," was the response, "Dr. Cronin has for several years been prepared to prove that not one-tenth of the amount of funds published in the American papers as having been collected for the Land League ever went across the water."

"How would testimony to that effect benefit Parnell?"

"It would show that his connection with certain extensive movements among the Irish factions in America has not been as close as was supposed. If, as a matter of fact, he has received no financial help from these factions, he cannot be held responsible for their statements of his advocacy of their advocacy."

"Do any other persons entertain this theory?"

"Yes, a number of Irish-Americans, who know of Dr. Cronin's possession of the information I speak of, have expressed the opinion I hold."

And, as if to demonstrate the fact that the speaker was on the right track, a dispatch was received in Chicago, through the agency of The United Press, within the hour, that said:

"New York: It is reported to-night that Dr. Cronin is in this city."