ll, which had been the one absorbing topic of conversation till
Mrs. Ess Kay's invitations appeared, became a matter of secondary
interest, and Mrs. Ess Kay and Mrs. Pitchley both began thus early to
be avenged.

Potter surprised me one morning with the design of a fancy dress, which
he announced that he'd been inspired in the night to sketch for my
benefit. According to him, I was to represent the Frost Sprite, in
glittering white garments, with a long veil like a trail of sparkling
mist. I thought it rather suggestive of a diamond-dusted Christmas
card, but Mrs. Ess Kay was so charmed with the idea that she begged me
to have it. "Potter will be broken-hearted if you don't, and besides,
it will cost you next to nothing," she said.

It was the latter consideration rather more than the first which
decided me to give my gracious consent. Mrs. Ess Kay telegraphed to a
_costumier_, who was also an artist. He came, made a few practical
alterations in Potter's design, and arranged costumes for Mrs. Ess Kay
and Sally. Afterwards, when my bill came in, which it didn't do till I
asked for it, it certainly was ridiculously small, a mere nothing even
for me; but I couldn't help having some uncomfortable suspicions, and I
have them still.

XI

ABOUT A GREAT AFFAIR

And now I have come to the Great Affair.

It is the day after, and I have been scribbling down in a hurry all the
things that happened to me in Newport meanwhile, for somehow most
things have seemed to lead up to that.

I knew no more than anybody outside about the mystery of the Maze, and
Aladdin's Cave. The secret was wonderfully kept, although there was a
constant undertone of excitement running through the house for days
beforehand, and an army of workmen were busy in "the grounds"--as
everyone calls them--first putting up a gigantic marquee, and then
working inside it. One man told Mrs. Ess Kay that he had been offered a
hundred dollars by a New York newspaper to tell what was the nature of
his work at The Moorings, but either the bribe wasn't enough, or else
he was impeccable.

All under the house runs a great cellar. I knew this from the first,
because one broiling hot day, soon after I came, Sally took me down to
get cool after I had dressed for somebody's At Home, and looked like a
freshly boiled lobster. It's a series of rooms, perfectly ventilated,
with rough walls, and cemented floors. One of the rooms is of enormous
size, and there are sto