was the most
amazing. He had danced in his younger days, it is true, but his were
dances of quite another variety. Quadrilles and Virginia reels he was
acquainted with, but tangos and Bostons and all the infinite varieties
of the one-step were to him revelations, and revelations of a kind which
caused him to gasp. He saw middle-aged matrons dipping and hopping and
twisting about the room in company with middle-aged, stout, red-faced
men who looked as if on the verge of apoplexy. He saw Mr. Hungerford
laboring dutifully to pilot a woman of forty through the sinuosities
of the "hesitation waltz," and when the lady, who was inclined toward
plumpness, had collapsed into an armchair, he sought out her late
partner and vented his feelings.

"For the land sakes!" he demanded; "what did you do that for?"

"Do what?" inquired Mr. Hungerford, himself as fresh and unwilted as an
Easter lily.

"Why, that--to her. Look at her, she's pretty nigh gone! She ain't
caught more than two breaths in the last minute and a half. I've been
watchin' her."

Cousin Percy condescended to smile. "It's her own fault," he observed.
"She said she was dying to learn the 'hesitation' and asked me to teach
it to her."

"Well, she ought to be satisfied. If she was dyin' before, she's pretty
near dead now. Why didn't you stop sooner? She all but capsized a dozen
times in the last two or three turns you and she took around the room."

Percy's smile became broader. "That is all part of the dance," he
explained. "Watch this couple here."

Daniel watched as directed. The couple were a young man and a girl about
Gertrude's age. They were doing the "hesitation" with the hesitancy
emphasized.

"My soul!" muttered the captain. "Where's that girl's mother? Somebody
ought to tell her."

Hungerford smiled once more. "That was her mother I was dancing with,"
he said.

"Good Lord!" exclaimed Daniel. It was the only comment he made. He
watched the rest of the dancing in silence.

The collation followed the dancing, and Azuba and Mr. Hapgood served it,
assisted by four waiters who, at Mr. Hungerford's suggestion, had been
hired for the occasion. The butler's serving was done with grace and
elegance, not to mention dignity. Azuba served as if the main object to
be attained was to provide each guest with as much food as possible in
the shortest possible time. She was arrayed in a new black gown, worn
under protest, for her own idea had been to wear her Sund