noise and hum of conversation lost life and
motion and color, and became the mere tapestry against which she alone
moved.

It was about half-after seven when the vigilant eye which Hayden had kept
so persistently on the door was rewarded; but to his disappointment, she
was not alone, but was accompanied by an elderly, gray-haired man.
However, his spirit was somewhat restored by the fact that they took a
table immediately within the line of his vision. She wore black to-night,
gauzy and diaphanous black. A small black toque with some upstanding
silver trimming rested on her hair, and the silver butterfly on her
breast seemed to flutter its delicate, shining wings; but depending from
it almost to her waist and encircling her neck, was an exquisite chain of
small, enameled butterflies. They were in all shades of yellow and
orange, with touches of black, and were held together by tiny, jeweled
links. Butterflies, more butterflies! Could it be? Was it a possibility?
Hayden cautioned himself lest his imagination ran away with him.

He could not fail to notice that here, as at the opera, she was again an
object of interest. Every one in the room seemed to be either openly or
furtively gazing at her. In this, he reflected, there was nothing very
peculiar, as her beauty, which was sufficiently marked to compel interest
anywhere, was not more noticeable than the unique and remarkably
beautiful ornaments she was wearing.

The man with her, unobtrusive and gray enough in all conscience to escape
any attention whatever, yet made a peculiar impression on Hayden. As he
sat, apparently ordering dinner in haste, with his watch in his hand, so
to speak, Hayden was struck by the deference he displayed to the lady he
accompanied, and the lack of ease in his manner. He was like a man who
had been unwittingly drawn into a situation which rendered him extremely
uncomfortable, and he was distinctly not of her world. On the other hand,
the lady of the silver butterfly, as Hayden was forced to call her, in
lieu of any other name, exhibited her usual calm, unruffled composure.

Hayden could not notice, watch her as closely as he would, that she
showed even curiosity as to whether or not he was in the room. Not once
did he succeed in surprising the smallest glance in his direction.
Instead, for the most part, she talked earnestly to the man opposite, who
had evidently ordered his dinner of dishes ready to be served, and was
hastily consuming t