"It is," she said; "by that pure and noble metal are we united." "Well," said Leander, "that being so, I should wish to have it tested, else there might be a hitch somewhere or other." "Tested!" she cried; "what is that?" "Trying it, to see if it's real gold or not," he said. "We can easily have it done." "It is needless," she replied, haughtily. "I will not suffer my power to be thus doubted, nor that of the pure and precious metal through which I have obtained it!" Leander might have objected to this as an example of that obscure feat, "begging the question;" for, whether the metal _was_ pure and precious, was precisely the point he desired to ascertain. And this desire was quite genuine; for, though he saw no other course before him but that upon which the goddess insisted, he did wish to take every reasonable precaution. "For all I know," he reasoned in his own mind, "if there's anything wrong with that ring, I may be left 'igh and dry, halfway to Cyprus; or she may get tired of me, and turn me out of those grottoes of hers! If I must go with her, I should like to make things as safe as I could." "It won't take long," he pleaded; "and if I find the ring's real gold, I promise I won't hold out any longer." "There is no time," she said, "to indulge this whim. Would you mock me, Leander? Ha! did I not say so? Listen!" The private bell was ringing loudly. Leander rushed to the window, but saw no one. Then he heard the clang of the shop bell, as if the person or persons had discovered that an entrance was possible there. "The guards!" said the statue. "Will you wait for them, Leander?" "No!" he cried. "Never mind what I said about the ring; I'll risk that. Only--only, don't go away without me.... Tell me what to say, and I'll say it, and chance the consequences!" "Say, 'Aphrodite, daughter of Olympian Zeus, I yield; I fulfil the pledge; I am thine!'" "Well," he thought, "here goes. Oh, Matilda, you're responsible for this!" And he advanced towards the white extended arms of the goddess. There were hasty steps outside; another moment and the door would be burst open. "Aphrodite, daughter of----" he began, and recoiled suddenly; for he heard his name called from without in a voice familiar and once dear to him. "Leander, where are you? It's all dark! Speak to me; tell me you've done nothing rash! Oh, Leander, it's Matilda!" That voice, which a short while back he would have given the world to hear once more, appalled him now. For if she came in, the goddess would discover who she was, and then--he shuddered to think what might happen then! Matilda's hand was actually on the door. "Stop where you are!" he shouted, in despair; "for mercy's sake, don't come in!" [Illustration: "STOP WHERE YOU ARE!... FOR MERCY'S SAKE, DON'T COME IN!"] "Ah! you are there, and alive!" she cried. "I am not too late; and I _will_ come in!"