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They spent half an hour in trying various positions and poses before he got just what he wanted. His impersonal way of treating her, his frank comments, some of them flattering, others the reverse, amused her immensely. But he was as unconscious of her amusement as of her personality or his own. She obeyed him without a protest, patiently held the pose he asked—held it full fifteen minutes. He had a way—the way of the man who knows what he is about—that inspired her with respect and made her feel she was at something worth while. “That’ll do beautifully,” he said at last. “You must be tired.”

“I can stand it a while longer,” she assured him.

“Not a second. I’ve enough for to-day. And I don’t want to frighten you off. I mustn’t tempt you to leave me in the lurch—disappear—never show up again.”

“I’ve promised,” said she. “I’ll keep my word. Besides”—she flushed, with eyes sparkling; her smile was merry, but embarrassed—“I’m not doing this for nothing.”

“We haven’t talked business yet, have we?” said he, not a bit embarrassed. “You can have anything you like, within reason.”