Lawler gave a treat to all the “boys” that night, as he was confidently expected to do after winning two fights in succession, and everything passed off smoothly, with a single exception. One Dick Flynn, charged to the muzzle with bad liquor, and being naturally of a fiery disposition, was very mad because he had lost five dollars which he ventured on Murphy’s chickens, and wanted to fight Lawler, to secure his revenge. The innkeeper having other duties to attend to, besides being in a sportive humor from the success of the day, only laughed at his big antagonist, telling him to “call at another time, when he could have all the fighting he might feel in want of.” Flynn lived in the town of Colorado, was a known ruffian, capable of shooting a man from behind a bush, or performing almost any infamous act, and it is more than probable that Lawler had rather make no attack upon him. Be this as it may, Flynn left late at night, swearing many oaths and loudly threatening that he would beat Lawler or kill McKenna, his “butty,” if he had to wait a dozen years for the opportunity. It would appear, from an incident transpiring a few weeks later, that Flynn had a good memory, and did his best to carry this promise into execution. The event, however, will have to await relation in another chapter. ————●———— CHAPTER XVI. A ROUGH JOURNEY AND A THRILLING ADVENTURE. A few days after McKenna’s initiation into the Mollie Maguires, he was surprised, upon entering Lawler’s bar-room, to find his friend with one limb bandaged, sitting by the fire, in an easy chair, while Mrs. Lawler busied herself behind the counter attending to the spirituous wants of several acquaintances and patrons, and Mike commenting upon some serious difficulty which had befallen him. In response to an inquiry by one of the new arrivals, the landlord, between groans and grimaces, informed those present that he had received a shot in the leg, the night before, while attempting to quell a difficulty in front of Cleary’s drinking place. He was quite seriously wounded; his countenance wore a pale and anxious appearance, and Mrs. Lawler, only recently recovered from a protracted and dangerous illness, was nervous and low spirited. McKenna promptly gave assistance, made himself generally useful about the premises, and also attended to some outside business for the tavern-keeper. When the people had all dispersed, Lawler proceeded to show him his hurt, which the quick eye of the detective was not long in discovering must have occurred as a result of Mike’s careless handling of his own revolver, and not through any assault by a second person. The bullet penetrated the anterior portion of the right thigh, ranged downward, deflecting a little toward the left, and finally found lodgment near the skin immediately above the knee-joint, whence the scalpel of the surgeon had already removed it. There was a long, painful