burned you to a form of ashes, leaving only a shape that might
be blown away with a breath."

"Like another Creusa," answered Sybil, coldly. Then changing her tone,
she said, with assumed lightness, "Come, Trix, you want to see some fun,
and you shall see it. You and I are of about one size. We will therefore
exchange dresses. You shall be the Fire Queen and I will be the Puritan
maid. You can sustain the part you will take admirably, and upon
occasion can disguise your own voice or imitate mine. I shall do my best
to enact the little Puritan. But with all we can do to support the
characters, we shall puzzle people to the end of their wits. They will
not feel quite so sure now as they were an hour ago that I am the Fire
Queen, or you the Puritan maid. But they will not know who we are. Come,
what have you to say to this?"

"Why, that it is enchanting. I agree to your plan at once."

"All right, then. We have no time to lose. It is half-past ten o'clock
now. At twelve supper will be served, when all the guests will lay aside
their masks. So you see that we have but an hour and a half to effect
our change of dress and hoax our wise companions. Just before supper we
must slip up here again and change back, so that we may unmask at supper
in our proper disguises."

"All right!" exclaimed Trix, delighted with the plan.

"And there is one more caution I must give you. Keep out of the way of
my husband. He knows my character of Fire Queen, and if he should see
you near him in that dress, he would be sure to speak to you for me; and
if you should attempt to reply, no matter how well you might imitate my
voice, your speech would certainly betray you."

"All right! I will keep away from your husband, if I can; but how shall
I know him?"

"He is dressed as Harold the last of the Saxon Kings!"

"Oh! is _that_ Mr. Berners? And I never suspected it! I thought _that_
was some single man, desperately smitten with the charms of Edith the
Fair," continued Beatrix.

"Oh, yes, I dare say you thought, but you were mistaken. Edith the Fair
is our guest, Mrs. Blondelle. And she took the character of Edith to
support Mr. Berners in Harold, and to be true to these characters they
must act as they do; for Harold and Edith were lovers in history,"
explained Sybil, speaking calmly, though every word uttered by her
companion had seemed like a separate stab to her already deeply wounded
bosom.

"'Lovers in history' were they? I should ta