STUBBS THE BADGER 213 
very tired. However, there was no dog left to match 
him. 
The men stood round undecidedly, when suddenly 
a voice in the group said : ' Shure, ye should set 
Kinchella's dog agin him ! ' 
' Me dog 's too good for this sort of job,' returned 
Kinchella. But his voice was none of the steadiest, 
for, in addition to the farm and a flourishing poaching 
business, Borrigan showed the match-box in the 
window. 1 
' Ah, now, what hurt to him,' said Mark in 
honeyed tones, for he was in no hurry for his 
customers to depart. ' Shure, he is twice the size 
o' that little baste there, and he 'd have him pulled 
down aisy.' 
' Pull him down, is it ? ' broke in another. 
' Begob, that badger would skkin anny dog between 
this an' the say, let alone that bit of a sheep-dog o' 
Kinchella's.' 
' He 'd pull him down fast enough,' retorted 
Kinchella sharply, ' but I 've no mind to have 
him kilt on me, an' that lad's claws cut like a 
mower ! ' 
' Bring him, an' let us see it ! ' shouted another. 
1 In some parts of Ireland a box of matches in a cottage 
window is a secret sign that the place is a ' shebeen,' or house 
where drink is distilled, or sold without a licence, 
