He listened; went to the door--opened it, and looked out on the staircase; shut it again, locked it, and returned to the bureau. His hand shook so that he took another pull at his grog, and then uncorking the phial he poured the contents into the flask, filled it up with whisky, screwed the top on, and put it into his pocket. Then he went out once more, and bent his steps to a railway station, where he took a ticket to a small country place about an hour's ride from Dublin. It was growing dark when he arrived, but there was a moon, and the sky was fairly clear from clouds. He walked for a mile along the road, and then turned off by a path which crossed a moor, and pursued this until he came within sight of a small disused quarry, from which all the valuable stone had been long ago carried. As Daireh approached the place he clapped his hands three times, and a man came out of the shadow into the moonlight. "Stebbings, is that you?" said Daireh. "Yes, it is," replied the other, sulkily. "No thanks to you for having to skulk like a fox. As I told you in my letter, the police are after me, and if I cannot get out of the country I'm done." "What made you come to Ireland, then? It would have been just as easy to have shipped abroad." "Because I wanted to see you, for I couldn't trust you to send me a farthing." "How was it? You must have managed very badly." "The numbers of those bonds were known, though you were so sure they could not be, and they are advertised, and traced to having passed through my hands. That is certain to bring it out that I passed the forged cheque, too. Bad management yourself! However, there's no good in blaming one another. Have you got the two hundred?" "It is a large sum; but still, if it will get you out of your scrape, I will make the sacrifice. Only--" "Get _me_ out of my scrape! If I am taken, my fine fellow, you will be taken too." "Why, what good would it do you to pull me in with you?" asked Daireh. "You know precious well. If all the facts came out I should get about two years, and you fourteen at least. You actually took the bonds; you forged the cheque. I was only your tool, employed to cash the things." "And am I to have you sucking me like a leech all my life?" cried Daireh in a shrill voice, stamping his foot. "That is as it may be; you must take your chance of that. Perhaps you had sooner I gave myself up and told the whole story. I am not sure that it would not be the best thing for me to do." "That is nonsense. Here is the money. You know how to get to South America, you said." "Ay, I know. If the police have not tracked me here; and I think I have given them the slip," said Stebbings, counting the notes before putting them away. "Now the sooner you are off the better." "It is a chilly night," said Daireh, producing his flask, "and I am going to have a sup of whisky. Will you have a drop?" "Don't mind if I do," replied Stebbings.