The return of Dougherty to Mahanoy City, an event occurring about the ninth of May, was made remarkable by a prompt renewal of hostilities between the lately liberated man and Jesse Major, a brother of Dougherty’s former victim. Major was at the time accompanied by Wm. M. Thomas, _alias_ “Bully Bill,” a notorious desperado, who was known to be opposed to the Mollies and always ready to pull a revolver and shoot, upon the slightest possible provocation. Dougherty was fired upon and narrowly escaped death. Instead of calming the strife between the Welsh and Irish miners, this encounter added fury to the fire, and it raged more fiercely. The detective heard of the circumstance on the following day, and made up his mind that, if the feud was kept up, it could be but a very short time before Mahanoy City would become a modern Gehenna. In the meantime John Gibbons brought the startling information to the Mollies of Shenandoah, one morning, that preparations were going on, looking to the early resumption of work by the surrounding collieries, and, this time, the Coal and Iron Company seemed determined to protect their laborers with arms. He suggested that such a course must be properly met by the Hibernians, force with force. The rumor was, that the company had already stationed seven heavily armed policemen at Plank Ridge Colliery, fourteen at West Shenandoah Colliery, and eleven at Indian Ridge Colliery. “And,” said Gibbons, with an oath, “the next thing to be done is for the boys on our side to get their guns; for I hear that these new police are all armed wid repeating rifles. If Irish miners are to be forced into open war, we will at least have suitable arms!” Gibbons was loudly applauded by the surrounding Mollies, and by none more vociferously than by Jim McKenna, whose enthusiasm over the prospect of a fight was unreasonable and knew no bounds.