f laughter. One ate oysters _a la poulette_, terrapin-salads, and
croquettes; the wines were Sauternes and champagnes. With the nuts and
dessert the caps came on, and in a few minutes were cracking and
snapping all over the room.

Six of the unfortunates who knew no one, but who had managed through a
common affliction to become acquainted with each other, gathered at a
separate table. Ellis was one of their number; he levied a twenty-five
assessment, and tipped the waiter a dollar and a half. This one
accordingly brought them extra bottles of champagne in which they found
consolation for all the _ennui_ of the evening.

After supper the dancing began again. The little stiffness and
constraint of the earlier part of the evening was gone; by this time
nearly everybody, except the unfortunates, knew everybody else. The good
dinner and the champagne had put them all into an excellent humour, and
they all commenced to be very jolly. They began a Virginia Reel still
wearing the magician's caps and Phrygian bonnets of tissue paper.

Young Haight was with Turner Ravis as much as possible during the
evening, very happy and excited. Something had happened; it was
impossible for him to say precisely what, for on the face of things
Turner was the same as ever. Nothing in her speech or actions was
different, but there was in her manner, in the very air that surrounded
her, something elusive and subtle that set him all in a tremor. There
was a change in his favour; he felt that she liked to have him with her
and that she was trying to have him feel as much in some mysterious way
of her own. He could see, however, that she was hardly conscious of
doing this and that the change was more apparent to his eyes than it was
to hers.

"Must you really go home now?" he said, as Turner began to talk of
leaving, soon after supper. They had been sitting out the dance under a
palm at the angle of the stairs.

"Yes," answered Turner; "Howard has the measles and I promised to be
home early. Delphine was to come for me and she ought to be here now."

"Delphine?" exclaimed young Haight. "Didn't you come with Van?"

"No," answered Turner quietly. Only by her manner, and by something in
the way she said the word, Haight knew at once that she had broken
definitely with Vandover. The talk he had had with her at her house came
back to him on the instant. He hesitated a moment and then asked:

"There is something wrong? Has Van done anything--never