"Then," said he, "I have no time to waste here. I am looking for a tin box. I beg your pardon for disturbing you."
"Oh, Mr. O'Dowd, I shall never forget all that you have—"
"Whist, now! There is one thing I must insist on your forgetting completely: all that has happened in the last five minutes. I shall put no obstacles in your way. You may go with my blessings. The only favour I ask in return is that you never mention having seen me to-night."
"We can do that with a perfectly clear conscience," said Barnes. "You are absolutely invisible."
"What I am doing now, Mr. Barnes," said O'Dowd seriously, "would be my death sentence if it ever became known."
"It shall never be known through me, O'Dowd. I'd like to shake your hand, old man."
"God bless you, Mr. O'Dowd," said the girl in a low, small voice, singularly suggestive of tears. "Some day I may be in a position to—"
"Don't say it! You'll spoil everything if you let me think you are in my debt. Bedad, don't be so sure I sha'n't see you again, and soon. You are not out of the woods yet."
"Tell me how to find Hart's Tavern, old man. I'll—"
"No, I'm dashed if I do. I leave you to your own devices. You ought to be grateful to me for not stopping you entirely, without asking me to give you a helping hand. Good-bye, and God bless you. I'm praying that ye get away safely, Miss Cameron. So long, Barnes. If you were a crow and wanted to roost on that big tree in front of Hart's Tavern, I dare say you'd take the shortest way there by flying as straight as a bullet from the mouth of this pit, following your extremely good-looking nose."