e floor. The men present were largely officers attired in
dress-uniforms, although there was a considerable sprinkling of
civilians, a few conspicuous in garments of the latest cut and style.
Evidently invitations had been widely spread, and, considering time and
place, liberally responded to. Among the women present the Sergeant
saw very few he recognized, yet it was comparatively easy to classify
the majority--officers' wives; the frontier helpmates of the more
prominent merchants of the town; women from the surrounding ranches,
who had deserted their homes until the Indian scare ceased; a scattered
few from pretentious small cities to the eastward, and, here and there,
younger faces, representing ranchmen's daughters, with a school-teacher
or two. Altogether they made rather a brave show, occasionally
exhibiting toilets worthy of admiring glances, never lacking ardent
partners, and entering with unalloyed enthusiasm into the evening's
pleasure. The big room presented a scene of brilliant color, of
ceaselessly moving figures; the air was resonant with laughter and
trembling to the dashing strains of the band. Primitive as it was in
many respects, to Hamlin, long isolated in small frontier posts, the
scene was strangely attractive, his imagination responding to the glow
of color, the merry chime of voices, the tripping of feet. The smiling
faces flashed past, his ears caught whispered words, his eyes followed
the flying figures. For the moment the man forgot himself in this new
environment of thoughtless pleasure.

From among that merry throng of strangers, his eyes soon distinguished
that one in whom he felt special interest--Mrs. Dupont, dancing now
with McDonald, the rather corpulent Major exhibiting almost youthful
agility under the inspiration of music. The lady talked with
animation, as they circled among the others on the floor, her red lips
close to her partner's ear, but Hamlin, suspicious and watchful, noted
that her eyes were busy elsewhere, scanning the faces. They swept over
him apparently unseeing, but as the two circled swiftly by, the hand
resting lightly on the Major's shoulder was uplifted suddenly in a
peculiar, suggestive movement. He stared after them until they were
lost in the crowd, feeling confident that the motion of those
white-gloved fingers was meant as a signal of warning. To whom was it
conveyed? He glanced aside at the jam of figures in the doorway. Both
the black-whiskered