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r," said the little man. "Now my job begins; and I guess it's as ticklish as yours. You may need the skill, but I need the gall." "The daring of the leopard when it leaps from the bush where it crouches, the daring which is half cunning, eh, my friend?" said the Swami comfortably. "Here, take the package and go thy way. There will be more in the future. These I brought with me from India, and even the eagle customs found them not. Many night-hours have I spent in preparing them, and mine eyes have been robbed of sleep. It is no slight task to produce a masterpiece." "Well, you certainly are a dandy," said the man, examining the contents of his package. "I never seen anything like it. And those big hands, too." "My hands obey the skill of my mind. And here, under the shadow of the Early, I can work with purer courage. This is the perfection of a place. It was the idea of genius to come here. Hold, let me examine the way before thou goest." "Aw, there won't be any body in the garden at this time o' night, and at this time o' year." "Nay, but it is the wise man who leaves no loophole for mistake," said the Hindu, with practical caution. He blew out the light and stepped in darkness to the entrance with the air of one who would refresh his soul by gazing at the stars and wiping out the trivialities of the day. After he had looked at the heavens, his eyes fell with piercing swiftness upon the shadows of the garden, its bushes, manlike or animal-like in the night. It was as complete a piece of acting as though a large audience had been there to see, but all thrown away on silence and solitude. "Coast clear?" said a voice behind him. "All is well," said the Swami. "Go forth to fortune." The door closed softly, and Ram Juna sought the repose he had earned. CHAPTER XV THE HONEYMOON The first months of winter were full of excitement to Lena. She frequently assured herself that she was rapturously happy, but, while intellectually she accepted the fact, no genial warmth pervaded her consciousness. The entrance to her new life was too brier-sprinkled for bliss. Daily to face her mother's mingling of complaisance, self-pity and fault-finding; to meet Dick's friends, whom Lena, in her suspicions, regarded as thinly-disguised enemies; to scrimp together some little show of bridal finery for her quiet wedding; all this filled her with mingled irritation and gratification. Most aggravating of all
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