... He hesitated, and the coward in him (there are other
names than this) triumphed. He went straight to the bar as the stranger
had requested, and ordered the liquor.
His step was weaker as he returned to the compartment. The stranger was
sitting at the little table, staring at the opposite wall just as he
had stared across the street. He wore a wide-brimmed slouch hat, pulled
well over his eyes. Carringer could only vaguely take the measure of
the man's face.
It was only after Carringer had set the bottle and the glasses on the
table and seated himself opposite that the stranger noticed his return.
"Oh, you have brought it!" he exclaimed without raising his voice. "How
kind of you. Now please close the door."
Carringer was counting out the change from his pocket when the stranger
interrupted him. "Keep that," he said. "You will need it, for I am
going to win it back in a way that may interest you. Let us drink
first, though, and I will explain."
He mixed two drinks of absinthe and water, and the two men lifted their
glasses. Carringer had never tasted the liquor before, and it offended
his palate at first; but no sooner had it passed down his throat than
he began to feel warm again, and the most delicious thrills.
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