e on Sunday, May 4th, was
a mystery. From the statement of the train dispatcher at the Union
Depot, as well as of a business man who had talked with him just prior
to the departure of the train, it was certain that he had left on the
noon passenger train of the Grand Trunk. He had not purchased a ticket
however, and consequently must have paid his fare to the conductor on
the train. His wife insisted that he had been absent from Toronto,
continuously from this time, but although the intuitive wifely forecast
of danger which induced her to make such a statement was entitled to due
respect, it was established by a dozen reputable witnesses, among them,
some of his oldest friends, that he had been seen in the city on the
Friday and Saturday, one week later, when Long had manufactured his
telegrams and interviews.

Four days after this he was met in New York by Richard Powers, of
Chicago, ex-president of the Seamen's Union, and a warm friend of Dr.
Cronin, who taxed him with being concerned in the manufacture of the
bogus dispatches. Starkey not only denied this with some show of
feeling, but also declared that he was not acquainted with Long. Strange
to say, John F. Beggs, the Chicago lawyer who presided at that time over
Camp 20 of the Clan-na-gael, was also in New York at that time. On
Thursday, May 23d, the day following the discovery of Cronin's corpse,
numerous telegrams, in cipher, passed between Starkey and Mason, the
former's address being given as 135 Fourth avenue, New York. The
following day Starkey was seen in conversation with certain members of
the executive committee of the Clan-na-gael, and in about a week he
reappeared in Toronto, vigorously disclaiming all connection with the
movements of his friend Long. All the circumstances pointed to the fact
that the sole object of the Toronto end of the conspiracy had been to
distract attention from the scene of the crime, in order that the search
for the body, then decomposing in the catch basin, might be
discontinued, and, had it not been for the opportune discovery, this
portion of the plot would have been entirely successful. No effort,
however, was made by those interested in bringing the murderers to
justice, to pursue the inquiries in this direction, owing to the fact,
that, however important the information obtained, it would not have been
admissible before an American court. The result was that the mystery
surrounding the "hidden hand" that directed the mov