pted.
Felix had gone down himself with Masie's message, and they both had said
they would come--Sam to be on hand half an hour before the appointed
hour of nine so as to serve as High Lord of the Robes, Masie having
determined that nobody but "dear old Mr. Dogger" should show her how to
put on the costume he had given her.

As for these two castaways, when they did enter the gorgeous room on the
eventful night they fairly bubbled over.

"Don't let old Kling touch it," Ganger roared out as soon as he stepped
inside, before he had even said "How do you do?" to anybody. "Keep it as
an exhibit. Better still, send circulars up and down Fifth Avenue,
and open it up as a school--not one of 'em knows how to furnish their
houses. How the devil did you--Oh, I see! Just plain yellow-wash and the
reflected red light. Looks like a stained-glass window in a measly old
church. Where's Sam. Oh, behind that screen. Well come out here and look
at that ceiling!"

Sam didn't come out, and didn't intend to. He was busy with the child's
curls, which were bunched up in the fingers of one hand, while the other
was pressing the wide leghorn hat into the precise angle which would
become her most, the Gossburger standing by with the rest of the
costume, Masie's face a sunburst of happiness.

"And now the long skirt, Mrs. Bombagger, or whatever your name is.
That's it, over her head first and then down along the floor so she will
look as if she was grown up. And now the big ostrich-plume fan--a little
seedy, my dear, and yellow as a kite's foot, but nobody'll see it under
that big, yellow lantern. Now let me look at you! Nat, NAT! where are
you, you beggar, stop rummaging around that dead stuff and come behind
here and look at this live child! yes, right in here. Now look! Did you
ever in all your born days see anything half so pretty?" the outburst
ending with, "Scat, you little devil of a dog!" when Fudge gave a howl
at being stepped upon.

Masie, as she listened, plumed her head as a pigeon would preen its
feathers, stood up to see her train sweep the floor, sat down again to
watch the stained satin folds crumple themselves about her feet, and was
at last so overcome by it all that she threw her arms around Sam, to his
intense delight, and kissed him twice, and would have given Nat an equal
number had not Felix called to him that the guests were beginning to
arrive.

As to these guests, you could not have gotten their names on one side o