Pinkerton sends James McParlan (Richard Harris) to investigate. He arrives by train in the late evening and goes to a local bar and orders a beer, while Kehoe (Sean Connery) observes and motions for Dougherty and Frazier to deal with the matter. McParlan joins Dougherty and Frazier at a card table and says he is looking for work in the mine. They are suspicious and see his hands have never dug coal. They accuse him of cheating and deliberately start a fight. Police Captain Davies (Frank Finlay) breaks up the fight and arrests McParlan. However this is just a ploy as the police know McParlan's role. Davies explains to McParlan the problem of the Molly Maguires - and that they are named after a gang in Ireland. They need an inside man to infiltrate the pit.