diff --git a/node/utils/Abiword.js b/node/utils/Abiword.js
index ff70eb4fc..344c23f27 100644
--- a/node/utils/Abiword.js
+++ b/node/utils/Abiword.js
@@ -89,8 +89,6 @@ else
     throw "Abiword died with exit code " + code;
   });
 
-  //delegate the processing of stdout to a other function
-  abiword.stdout.on('data',onAbiwordStdout);
 
   var stdoutCallback = null;
   var stdoutBuffer = "";
@@ -122,6 +120,9 @@ else
     }
   };
 
+  //delegate the processing of stdout to a other function
+  abiword.stdout.on('data',onAbiwordStdout);
+
   doConvertTask = function(task, callback)
   {
     abiword.stdin.write("convert " + task.srcFile + " " + task.destFile + " " + task.type + "\n");