Captain Stevenson left us soon after dinner, he being one of the officers" committee on preparations for the ball, so that I spent a little time alone at his quarters, Orme and Major Williams having gone over to the Officers" Club at the conclusion of their call. I was aroused from the brown study into which I had fallen by the sound of a loud voice at the rear of Number 16, and presently heard also Kitty"s summons for me to come. I found her undertaking to remove from the hands of Annie, her ponderous black cook, a musket which the latter was attempting to rest over the window sill of the kitchen.
"Thar he goes now, the brack rascal!" cried Annie, down whose sable countenance large tears were coursing. "Lemme get one good shot at him.
I can sh.o.r.e hit him that clost."
"Be silent! Annie," commanded Kitty, "and give me this gun. If I hear of your shooting at Benjie any more I"ll certainly discharge you.
"You see," explained Kitty to me, "Annie used to be married to Benjie Martin, who works for Colonel Meriwether, at the house just beyond the trees there."
"I"se married to him _yit_," said Annie, between sobs. "Heap more"n that taller-faced yaller girl he done taken up with now."
"I think myself," said Kitty, judicially, "that Benjie might at least bow to his former wife when he pa.s.ses by."
"That"d be all I _wanted_," said Annie; "but I kaint stand them horty ways. Why, I mended the very shirt he"s got on his back right now; and I _bought_ them shoes fer him."
"Annie"s _such_ a poor shot!" explained Kitty. "She has taken a pot-shot at Benjie I don"t know how many times, but she always misses. Colonel Meriwether sent a file down to see what was going on, the first time, but when I explained it was my cook, he said it was all right, and that if she missed Benjie it harmed no one, and if she happened to kill him it would be only what he deserved. Annie"s the best cook in the Army, and the Colonel knows it. Aren"t you, Annie?"
"Ef I could only shoot as good as I ken cook," remarked Annie, "it would be a powerful sight o" res" to my soul. I sh.o.r.ely will git that n.i.g.g.e.r yet."
"Of course you will," said Kitty. "Just wait till to-morrow morning, Annie, and when he starts around in the yard, you take a rest over the window sill. You see," she resumed to me, "we try to do everything in the world to keep our servants happy and comfortable, Mr. Cowles.
"But now, as to you, sir, it is time you were getting ready for the serious business of the evening. Go into Matt"s room, there, and Johnson will bring you your disguise."
So finally I got into Captain Stevenson"s uniform, which I did not dislike, although the coat was a trifle tight across the back. At the domino mask they fetched I hesitated, for anything like mummery of this sort was always repugnant to me. Not to comply with the order of the day, however, would now have made me seem rather churlish, so presently, although with mental reservations, I placed myself in the hands of my hostess, who joined me in full ball costume, mask and all.
"You may know me," said Kitty, "by the pink flowers on my gown. They"re printed on the silk, I suspect. When Matt and I are a major, we"ll have them hand embroidered; but a captain"s pay day doesn"t come half often enough for real hand embroidery."
"I should know you anywhere, Mrs. Kitty," I said. "But now as to this Ellen? How shall I know _her_?"
"You will not know her at all."
"Couldn"t you tell me something of how she will look?"
"No, I"ve not the slightest idea. Ellen doesn"t repeat herself. There"ll be a row of a dozen beauties, the most dangerous girls in all St. Louis.
You shall meet them all, and have your guess as to which is Ellen."
"And shall I never know, in all the world?"
"Never in all the world. But grieve not. To-night joy is to be unconfined, and there is no to-morrow."
"And one may make mad love to any?"
"To any whom one madly loves, of course; not to twelve at once. But we must go. See, isn"t it fine?"
Indeed the scene on Parade was now gayer than ever. Laughter and chatter came from the crowded galleries all about the square, whose houses seemed literally full to overflowing. Music mingled with the sound of merry voices, and forsooth now and again we heard the faint popping of corks along Officers" Row. The Army entertained.
At once, from somewhere on Parade, there came the clear note of a bugle, which seemed to draw the attention of all. We could see, ascending the great flagstaff at the end of its halyard, the broad folds of the flag.
Following this was hoisted a hoop or rim of torches, which paused in such position that the folds of the flag were well illuminated. A moment of silence came at that, and then a clapping of hands from all about the Parade as the banner floated out, and the voices of men, deep throated, greeting the flag. Again the bands broke into the strains of the national anthem; but immediately they swung into a rollicking cavalry air. As they played, all four of the bands marched toward the center of the Parade, and halted at the dancing pavilion, where the lighter instruments selected for the orchestra took their places at the head of the floor.
The throngs at the galleries began to lessen, and from every available roof of the Post there poured out incredible numbers of gayly-dressed ladies and men in uniform or evening garb, each one masked, and all given over fully to the spirit of the hour.
"To-night," said Kitty to me, "one may be faithless, and be shriven by the morning sun. Isn"t it funny how these things go? Such a lot of fuss is made in the world by ignoring the great fact that man is by nature both gregarious and polygamous. Believe me, there is much in this doctrine of the Mormons, out there in the West!"
"Yes, look at Benjie, for instance," I answered. "It is the spell of new faces."
"You see a face on the street, in the church, pa.s.sing you, to be gone the next instant forever," she mused. "Once I did myself. I was mad to follow the man. I saw him again, and was yet madder. I saw him yet again, and made love to him madly, and then--"
"You married him," said I, knowing perfectly well the devotion of these two.
"Yes," said Mrs. Kitty, sighing contentedly, "it was Matt, of course.
There"s something in that "Whom G.o.d hath joined together." But it ought to be G.o.d, and not man, that does the joining."
"Suppose we talk philosophy rather than dance."
"Not I! We are here to-night to be young. After all, Jack, you are young, and so is--"
"Ellen?"
"Yes, and so is Ellen."
The floor now was beginning to fill with dancers. There moved before us a kaleidoscope of gay colors, over which breathed the fragrance of soft music. A subtle charm emanated from these surroundings. Music, the sight and odor of sweet flowers, the sound of pleasant waters, the presence of things beautiful--these have ever had their effect on me. So now I felt come upon me a sort of soft content, and I was no longer moved to talk philosophy.
Sighing, I said to myself that I was young. I turned to speak to my hostess, but she was gone on business of her own. So there I stood for half an hour, biting my thumb. I had as yet seen nothing of the mysterious Ellen, although many a score of eyes, in license of the carnival, had flashed through their masks at me, and many others as their owners pa.s.sed by in the dance or promenade near where I stood.
Presently I felt a tug at my sleeve.
"Come with me," whispered a voice.
It was Kitty. We pa.s.sed to the opposite side of the dancing floor, and halted at the front of a wide marquee, whose flaps were spread to cover a long row of seats.
"Count them," whispered Kitty hoa.r.s.ely. "There are twelve!"
And so indeed there were, twelve beautiful young girls, as one might p.r.o.nounce, even though all were masked with half-face dominos. Half of them were dressed in white and half in black, and thus they alternated down the row. Twelve hands handled divers fans. Twelve pairs of eyes looked out, eyes merry, or challenging, or mysterious, one could not tell. About these young belles gathered the densest throng of all the crowd. Some gentlemen appeared to know certain of the beauties, but these had hard work to keep their places, for continually others came, and one after another was introduced in turn, all down the line, as presently it was to be my fortune to be.
"Is she here, Mrs. Kitty?" I whispered.
"You shall guess. Come." And so, as occasion offered, I was put through this ordeal, by no means an easy one. At each fair charmer, as I bowed, I looked with what directness I dared, to see if I might penetrate the mask and so foil Kitty in her amiable intentions. This occupation caused me promptly to forget most of the names which I heard, and which I doubt not were all fict.i.tious. As we pa.s.sed out at the foot of the row I recalled that I had not heard the name of Ellen.
"Now then, which one is she?" I queried of my hostess.
"Silly, do you want me to put your hand in hers? You are now on your own resources. Play the game." And the next moment she again was gone.
I had opportunity, without rudeness, the crowd so pressing in behind me, to glance once more up the line. I saw, or thought I saw, just a chance glance toward where I stood, near the foot of the Row of Mystery, as they called it. I looked a second time, and then all doubt whatever vanished.
If this girl in the black laces, with the gold comb in her hair, and the gold-shot little shoes just showing at the edge of her gown, and the red rose at her hair, held down by the comb--half hidden by the pile of locks caught up by the ribbon of the mask--if this girl were not the mysterious Ellen, then indeed must Ellen look well to her laurels, for here, indeed, was a rival for her!
I began to edge through the ranks of young men who gathered there, laughing, beseeching, imploring, claiming. The sparkle of the scene was in my veins. The breath of the human herd a.s.sembled, s.e.x and s.e.x, each challenging the other, gregarious, polygamous.
I did not walk; the music carried me before her. And so I bowed and murmured, "I have waited hours for my hostess to present me to Miss Ellen." (I mumbled the rest of some imaginary name, since I had heard none.)
The girl pressed the tip of her fan against her teeth and looked at me meditatively.