Meanwhile the detective slowly retreated, still facing his opponent, to the table on which the drunken man’s weapons rested, and, without changing aim or lowering the revolver, proceeded to deposit the knife in his pocket. The second loaded pistol he retained in the left hand, ready for use should his own miss fire or the cartridges be exhausted. At this stage of proceedings, Flynn, whose reason seemed partly to have resumed sway, through fright, thought death was sure to follow and his legs would no longer support him. Falling prone upon his knees, the tall hat came off, and he held up both hands, begging abjectly, like the arrant coward he was, that life might be spared, saying: “Don’t kill me, McKenna! For my poor childer’s sake, don’t shoot!” “I don’t intend to shoot, right here, in the presence of Hugh an’ the good lady—but you had no such hesitation. Do you see that opening the carpenter left in yonder wall? What I now want is, that you get up from the floor an’ betake yourself down thim stairs as fast as ye can go!” “I’ll do anything ye say!” answered Flynn. And the big, lubberly fellow, completely cowed and almost sobered, moved slowly toward the door, McKenna following close upon him, his weapon steadily directed full upon Flynn’s bushy head. Down the staircase in this order of procession they slowly continued their march. “Get ye in here!” said the detective, and he opened the door of a sort of vault, where Mrs. Mulligan stored her bottled ale and other liquors. “Step quickly,” was added, as the result of an evident hesitation on the part of the prisoner. The dark muzzle of the pistol emphasized the language, and made it impossible for him to disobey; so in he went. “It is well you got in,” said McKenna, “fur I had brought ye to the place where I intinded fur to kill ye!” “I’ll niver hesitate agin!” said Flynn, and he looked about the dark recess. McKenna shut the door with a bang, shot to its place the bolt of the ponderous lock, withdrew the key, and placed it in his pocket. Then with a heavy piece of timber, which had been employed as a support for whisky barrels, he propped the massive oaken panels in their position, resting the upper end of the brace against the boards and the lower portion behind a solid brick-and-mortar projection, forming part of the chimney. Thus was Dick Flynn safely caged. To make sure that he remained where he had confined him, the detective closed and fastened all the shutters to the windows, locked and barred every outer entrance to the lower part of the house, took possession of the keys, and then, only pausing a few moments to inform Mrs. Mulligan that she was perfectly safe, and that he would send an officer to her relief, with the frantic cries and oaths of the imprisoned man ringing in his ears, experiencing a feeling of gratitude that he had escaped, he started for Shenandoah, following the track left by the carriage which had borne away his wounded companion.