The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1911-12-03

have a great head on you, and II the otheE
boys would only think ahead as you do we
would get more of these fellows without 80
much fuss and bother following 'em up.
"I often had trouble in getting word to
the home office, due to the fact that had
to work with so much care to keep every
one from suspecting that was detective.
This would cause me eften to fight for a
delay in a contemplated crime 30 that
could get a proper warning to the men
marked for death.
But John Gibbons, Thomas Hurley and
Michael Doyle. the men who had been Sc
lected to kill Thomas and the two Major
boys, did not want to delay their deadly
work. They had expense money In their
pockets with which to buy whiskey, and
the bad liquor filled them with the lust to
kill. Notwithstanding the word of O'Brien
the three men said they were going ahead
with the plan and get Thomas anyhow
and pick of the other two men afterward.
The three men engaged a room at Mrs.
McDonnelPs. who lived in the road which
Thomas used in going to his work. There
had been a number of attempts to get
Thomas when he was in town. but he had
received tip and kept out of the way
of the three men. My cold had at last got
me down in bed The three assassins
called to see me. and Gibbons wanted to
know IL would not go along and help kill
Thomas
az am sick in bed said. and cannot
get out
"'Well. we are going to get him to-day
he said. and if you want to get in on it
you had better get up and get dressed
What could you do in. case like
that?' he was asked.
II did get up. after the men had gone"
he said. with faint smile. 81 had in
sisted that was too i'll to go with them.
as 1 was, even if 1 had wanted to be
in on the death of the poor fellow. /
sent out another warning, which / hoped
Thomas would get in time.
Some of the other Mollies had been
waiting to kill the Majors also, but they
did not leave their homes for days, and
the Mollies were too cowardly to attack
house when they knew two armed men
were inside.
ct was on January %, after many long
delays, that the three men made their
way to place called Shoemaker's Patch,
where Thomas worked. He had become
somewhat careless because he had es
capped attack after being warned a month
before. Doyle, Gibbons and Hurley
waited for Thomas to leave his home and
start for the mine, but for some reason
he delayed. They grew impatient and
decided to get out in the open and hunt
him down. They had not gone far when
they saw Thomas walk into barn. He
did not know he was being watched and
appeared again few moments and stood
in the doorway.
1.-THE three men fred together, one bull
let striking Thomas in the breast and
two in the neck. He ran back into the
barn and crawled in among the horses.
The three men ran into the barn and saw
their victim lying in a big stall as if he
were dead.
us he dead?" Doyle asked
".No one will ever be deader,' one of
the trio replied bending over him, and
then they hurried away, satisfied that
thew had killed their man.
while Thomas had suffered terrible
wounds. he did not die, but recovered
and was as we'll as ever in a short time.
The failure to kill Thomas did not stop
the plan to kill the Major boys.
yellow Jack Donohue called a meet