longing she had had to be
sitting on the veranda of their forsaken up-country home, listening to
the baby owls crying "More pork" in the moonlight, was changed to a rush
of joy so sweet that it was hard to bear alone. She clutched her fan,
and, gazing at the gleaming, golden floor, the azaleas, the lanterns,
the stage at one end with its red carpet and gilt chairs and the band in
a corner, she thought breathlessly, "How heavenly; how simply heavenly!"

All the girls stood grouped together at one side of the doors, the
men at the other, and the chaperones in dark dresses, smiling rather
foolishly, walked with little careful steps over the polished floor
towards the stage.

"This is my little country cousin Leila. Be nice to her. Find her
partners; she's under my wing," said Meg, going up to one girl after
another.

Strange faces smiled at Leila--sweetly, vaguely. Strange voices
answered, "Of course, my dear." But Leila felt the girls didn't really
see her. They were looking towards the men. Why didn't the men begin?
What were they waiting for? There they stood, smoothing their gloves,
patting their glossy hair and smiling among themselves. Then, quite
suddenly, as if they had only just made up their minds that that was
what they had to do, the men came gliding over the parquet. There was a
joyful flutter among the girls. A tall, fair man flew up to Meg, seized
her programme, scribbled something; Meg passed him on to Leila. "May I
have the pleasure?" He ducked and smiled. There came a dark man wearing
an eyeglass, then cousin Laurie with a friend, and Laura with a little
freckled fellow whose tie was crooked. Then quite an old man--fat, with
a big bald patch on his head--took her programme and murmured, "Let me
see, let me see!" And he was a long time comparing his programme,
which looked black with names, with hers. It seemed to give him so much
trouble that Leila was ashamed. "Oh, please don't bother," she said
eagerly. But instead of replying the fat man wrote something, glanced at
her again. "Do I remember this bright little face?" he said softly. "Is
it known to me of yore?" At that moment the band began playing; the fat
man disappeared. He was tossed away on a great wave of music that came
flying over the gleaming floor, breaking the groups up into couples,
scattering them, sending them spinning...

Leila had learned to dance at boarding school. Every Saturday afternoon
the boarders were hurried off to a little