Leander was free! His hazardous experiment had succeeded. As it was the ring which had brought the passionate, imperious goddess into her marble counterfeit, so--the ring once withdrawn--her power was instantly at an end, and the spell which had enabled her to assume a form of stone was broken. He had hoped for this, had counted upon it, but even yet hardly dared to believe in his deliverance. He had not done with it yet, however; for he would have to get the statue out of that shop, and abandon it in some manner which would not compromise himself, and it is by no means an easy matter to mislay a life-size and invaluable antique without attracting an inconvenient amount of attention. The chemist, who had been staring meanwhile in blank astonishment, now looked inquiringly at Leander, who looked helplessly at him. At last the latter, unable to be silent any longer, said, "The lady seems unwell, sir." "Why," Leander admitted, "she does appear a little out of sorts." "Has she had these attacks before, do you happen to know?" "She's more often like this than not," said Leander. "Dear me, sir; but that's very serious. Is there nothing that gives relief?--a little sal volatile, now? Does the lady carry smelling salts? If not, I could----" And the chemist made an offer to come from behind his counter to examine the strange patient. "No," said Leander, hastily. "Don't you trouble--you leave her to me. I know how to manage her. When she's rigid like this, she can't bear to be taken notice of." He was wondering all the time how he was to get away with her, until the chemist, who seemed at least as anxious for her departure, suggested the answer: "I should imagine the poor lady would be best at home. Shall I send out for a cab?" he asked. "Yes," said Leander, gratefully; "bring a hansom. She'll come round better in the open air;" for he had his doubts whether the statue could be stowed inside a four-wheeler. "I'll go myself," said the obliging man; "my assistant's out. Perhaps the lady will sit down till the cab comes?" "Thanks," said Leander; "but when she's like this, she's been recommended to stand." The chemist ran out bare-headed, to return presently with a cab and a small train of interested observers. He offered the statue his arm to the cab-door, an attention which was naturally ignored. "We shall have to carry her there," said Leander. "Why, bless me, sir," said the chemist, as he helped to lift her, "she--she's surprisingly heavy!" "Yes," gasped Leander, over her unconscious shoulder; "when she goes off in one of these sleeps, she does sleep very heavy"--an explanation which, if obscure, was accepted by the other as part of the general strangeness of the case. On the threshold the chemist stopped again. "I'd almost forgotten the ring," he said. "_I'll_ take that!" said Leander. "Excuse me," was the objection, "but I was to give it back to the lady herself. Had I not better put it on her finger, don't you think?"