McAndrew was excessively proud of the eminence to which he had been conducted, and acted as though not far from parting with his senses when a delegation of neighboring Bodymasters, comprising “Bucky” Donnelly, of Raven Run, James Munley, of Rappahannock, and several other prominent Mollies, called in a crowd at his house, with their congratulations upon his good luck, and wishing him every success in office. As a natural consequence of such a shower of compliments, McAndrew treated several times to the best that could be found in the city, and, after making a day of it, went to bed late at night as drunk as a lord, when he had bid his visitors farewell at the train by which they departed. It was a considerable task for McKenna to teach McAndrew the prayers with which every meeting of the Mollie Maguires was opened and closed—for these men of blood did not hesitate to introduce and canvass their murderous acts and begin and end their councils, at which the taking of human life was deliberately discussed, with a petition for the blessing of the Father to rest upon them—therefore, after receiving one or two lessons at the house, and in the bush, the Bodymaster said if the operative would reduce the forms to writing he would have his wife repeat them to him until they were fixed in his memory. When this was done, and McAndrew had secured some instruction in parliamentary usage, the new-fledged President considered his education complete. At each and every conference of the two men, McAndrew now would say to the detective that Monaghan, or some other party, had once more been urging the necessity of doing something with Gomer James. McKenna endeavored to make the Bodymaster believe it useless to pay any attention to these demands, holding that they would soon cease and their cause be forgotten. But that official, while he did not wish to assume any such responsibility, was not able to see the road by which it could be avoided. And McKenna, on his part, did not dare oppose too strenuously. Such a course would cause McAndrew to drop his communications on the subject, and then possibly the work might go on without his Secretary’s knowledge. One day the head of the division arrived at the decided stand that, as soon as the number of members should justify, he would levy an assessment, and collect a fund to pay for the services of men from some adjoining division to come over to Shenandoah and “put Gomer James off his legs.”