he had never seen such beautiful arms. And suddenly,
as though he had overheard these thoughts, Gideon turned and smiled to
her. She, too, smiled and coloured; and the double change became her so
prettily that Gideon forgot to turn away his eyes, and, swinging the
hammer with a will, discharged a smashing blow on his own knuckles. With
admirable presence of mind he crushed down an oath and substituted the
harmless comment, "Butter fingers!" But the pain was sharp, his nerve
was shaken, and after an abortive trial he found he must desist from
further operations.

In a moment Julia was off to the pantry; in a moment she was back again
with a basin of water and a sponge, and had begun to bathe his wounded
hand.

"I am dreadfully sorry!" said Gideon apologetically. "If I had had any
manners I should have opened the box first and smashed my hand
afterward. It feels much better," he added. "I assure you it does."

"And now I think you are well enough to direct operations," said she.
"Tell me what to do, and I'll be your workman."

"A very pretty workman," said Gideon, rather forgetting himself. She
turned and looked at him, with a suspicion of a frown; and the
indiscreet young man was glad to direct her attention to the
packing-case. The bulk of the work had been accomplished; and presently
Julia had burst through the last barrier and disclosed a zone of straw.
In a moment they were kneeling side by side, engaged like hay-makers;
the next they were rewarded with a glimpse of something white and
polished; and the next again laid bare an unmistakable marble leg.

"He is surely a very athletic person," said Julia.

"I never saw anything like it," responded Gideon. "His muscles stand out
like penny rolls."

Another leg was soon disclosed, and then what seemed to be a third. This
resolved itself, however, into a knotted club resting upon a pedestal.

"It is a Hercules," cried Gideon; "I might have guessed that from his
calf. I'm supposed to be rather partial to statuary, but when it comes
to Hercules, the police should interfere. I should say," he added,
glancing with disaffection at the swollen leg, "that this was about the
biggest and the worst in Europe. What in heaven's name can have induced
him to come here?"

"I suppose nobody else would have a gift of him," said Julia. "And for
that matter, I think we could have done without the monster very well."

"O, don't say that," returned Gideon. "This has been one of the