I saw she was
immensely stimulated by the circumstance that these friends were
unaware of her guest's identity. I divined that before the evening was
over she would contrive to disclose it.
His lordship responded but dully to her animated chat. He is never
less urbane than when hungry, and I took pains to have his favourite
soup served quite almost at once. This he fell upon. I may say that he
has always a hearty manner of attacking his soup. Not infrequently he
makes noises. He did so on this occasion. I mean to say, there was no
finesse. I hovered near, anxious that the service should be without
flaw.
His head bent slightly over his plate, I saw a spoonful of soup
ascending with precision toward his lips. But curiously it halted in
mid-air, then fell back. His lordship's eyes had become fixed upon
some one back of me. At once, too, I noted looks of consternation upon
the faces of the Belknap-Jacksons, the hostess freezing in the very
midst of some choice phrase she had smilingly begun.
I turned quickly. It was the Klondike person, radiant in the costume
of black and the black hat. She moved down the hushed room with
well-lifted chin, eyes straight ahead and narrowed to but a faint
offended consciousness of the staring crowd.
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