t of Mr. Sullivan until 1886, when he was concerned in some
speculations in grain through the house of Morris Rosenfeld & Co. He was
a winner up to July, 1887, when the great Cincinnati wheat corner broke,
his profits were swept away and he sustained a loss, which he settled by
giving his note for an amount somewhere between one and two thousand
dollars. This indicated that between the first and the last transactions
he had gotten rid of the $95,000 turned over to him by J. T. Lester &
Co. What had become of this large sum of money was a mystery. Perhaps it
had been lost in speculation, perhaps it had been returned to Patrick
Egan, from whom, as was generally supposed, it had originally been
obtained.

LUKE DILLON'S PLAIN WORDS.

[Illustration:

Luke Dillon. John F. Beggs. John Moss. Pat McGarry.

Police Capt. Officer Brown. Chief of Police Mrs. T. T. Conklin.
O'Donnell. Hubbard.

PRINCIPAL WITNESSES BEFORE THE CORONER'S JURY.]

It was not until June the 7th, in the closing days of the inquest, that
Luke Dillon, one of the nine members of the Executive Committee of the
Clan-na-Gael in America, and who had taken a leading and determined part
in the movement to unravel the mystery which enshrouded the murder of
Dr. Cronin, was called as a witness. Those who were in the court room
when he ascended the stand, saw a man above the medium statue, broad
shouldered, of well-knit figure, square cut face and well moulded
features. His dark blonde hair receded slightly from his forehead; while
a full blonde mustache of lighter hue shaded his firm compressed lips.
His chin was square, indicating tremendous energy and great
determination of character. His voice was full, resonant and well
modulated, and he spoke fluently and yet in a measured way that
indicated caution. In answer to the questions of the Coroner he said
that he was a member of the Clan-na-Gael, but that there was nothing in
the obligation which he had taken that conflicted with the laws of the
United States. He went on to say that Dr. Cronin, shortly before his
murder, had said to him that the personal ambition of Alexander
Sullivan, to rule both in Ireland and American politics would be the
cause of his (Cronin's) death, for he felt that the man had no more
blood than a fish and would not hesitate to take his life. The witness
related the circumstances connected with the meetings of the trial
committee at Buffalo