om its hinges. And lastly, all bystanders being pressed
into the service, the packing-case mounted the steps upon some fifteen
pairs of wavering legs--scraped, loudly grinding, through the
doorway--and was deposited at length, with a formidable convulsion, in
the far end of the lobby, which it almost blocked. The artisans of this
victory smiled upon each other as the dust subsided. It was true they
had smashed a bust of Apollo and ploughed the wall into deep ruts; but,
at least, they were no longer one of the public spectacles of London.

"Well, sir," said the vanman, "I never see such a job."

Gideon eloquently expressed his concurrence in this sentiment by
pressing a couple of sovereigns in the man's hand.

"Make it three, sir, and I'll stand Sam to everybody here!" cried the
latter, and this having been done, the whole body of volunteer porters
swarmed into the van, which drove off in the direction of the nearest
reliable public-house. Gideon closed the door on their departure, and
turned to Julia; their eyes met; the most uncontrollable mirth seized
upon them both, and they made the house ring with their laughter. Then
curiosity awoke in Julia's mind, and she went and examined the box, and
more especially the label.

"This is the strangest thing that ever happened," she said, with another
burst of laughter. "It is certainly Morris's handwriting, and I had a
letter from him only this morning, telling me to expect a barrel. Is
there a barrel coming too, do you think, Mr. Forsyth?"

"'Statuary with Care, Fragile,'" read Gideon aloud from the painted
warning on the box. "Then you were told nothing about this?"

"No," responded Julia. "O, Mr. Forsyth, don't you think we might take a
peep at it?"

"Yes, indeed," cited Gideon. "Just let me have a hammer."

"Come down, and I'll show you where it is," cried Julia. "The shelf is
too high for me to reach"; and, opening the door of the kitchen stair,
she bade Gideon follow her. They found both the hammer and a chisel; but
Gideon was surprised to see no sign of a servant. He also discovered
that Miss Hazeltine had a very pretty little foot and ankle; and the
discovery embarrassed him so much that he was glad to fall at once upon
the packing-case.

He worked hard and earnestly, and dealt his blows with the precision of
a blacksmith; Julia the while standing silently by his side, and
regarding rather the workman than the work. He was a handsome fellow;
she told herself s