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.  Over and over again O’Hara had her repeat her story, emphasising with adjurations, oaths and even tears, those passages that his experience told him would be most effective for his purpose, till he felt sure she would do full credit to her part.

During the trial the court room was crowded, not only with the ordinary morbid sensation seekers, but with some of Winnipeg’s most respectable citizens.  In one corner of the court room there was grouped day after day a small company of foreigners.  Every man of Russian blood in the city who could attend, was there.  It was against the prisoner’s will and desire, but in accordance with O’Hara’s plan of defence that Paulina and the children should be present at every session of the court.  The proceedings were conducted through an interpreter where it was necessary, Kalmar pleading ignorance of the niceties of the English language.

The prisoner was arraigned on the double charge of attempted murder in the case of Rosenblatt, and of manslaughter in that of the dead Polak.  The evidence of Dr. Wright and of Sergeant Cameron, corroborated by that of many eyewitnesses, established beyond a doubt that the wound in Rosenblatt’s breast and in the dead Polak’s neck was done by the same instrument, and that instrument the spring knife discovered in the basement of Paulina’s house.