It helped their mutual admiration and their friendship not a little to discover their common devotion to "the cause o' the paythriot in dear owld Ireland," and their mutual interest in the prisoner Kalmar, as a fellow "paythriot." Immediately upon his discovery of the rich possibilities in Mrs.
Fitzpatrick Mr.O'Hara got himself invited to drink a "cup o' tay," which, being made in the little black teapot brought all the way from Ireland, he pronounced to be the finest he had had since coming to Canada fifteen years ago.

Indeed, he declared that he had serious doubts as to the possibilities of producing on this side of the water and by people of this country just such tea as he had been accustomed to drink in the dear old land.

It was over this cup of tea, and as he drew from Mrs.Fitzpatrick the description of the scene between the Nihilist and his children, that Mr.O'Hara came to realise the vast productivity of the mine he had uncovered.
He determined that Mrs.Fitzpatrick should tell this tale in court.
"We'll bate that divil yet!" he exclaimed to his new-found friend, his brogue taking a richer flavour from his environment.

"They would be having the life of the poor man for letting a little of the black blood out of the black heart of that traitor and blackguard, and may the divil fly away with him! But we'll bate them yet, and it's yersilf is the one to do it!" he exclaimed in growing excitement and admiration.
At first Mrs.Fitzpatrick was most reluctant to appear in court.
"Sure, what would I do or say in the face av His 'Anner an' the joorymin, with niver a word on the tongue av me ?" "And would you let the poor man go to his death ?" cried O'Hara, proceeding to draw a lurid picture of the deadly machinations of the lawyer for the Crown, Rosenblatt and their associates against this unfortunate patriot who, for love of his country and for the honour of his name, had sought to wreak a well-merited vengeance upon the abject traitor.
Under his vehement eloquence Mrs.Fitzpatrick's Celtic nature kindled into flame.

She would go to the court, and in the face of Judge and jury and all the rest of them, she would tell them the kind of man they were about to do to death.