Hearts and Masks

The smoke wavered and rolled about me. I took out the ten of hearts

and studied it musingly. After all, should I go? Would it be wise? I

confess I saw goblins' heads peering from the spots, and old Poe

stories returned to me! Pshaw! It was only a frolic, no serious harm

could possibly come of it. I would certainly go, now I had gone thus

far. What fool idea the girl was bent on I hadn't the least idea; but

I easily recognized the folly upon which I was about to set sail.

Heigh-ho! What was a lonely young bachelor to do? At the most, they

could only ask me to vacate the premises, should I be so unfortunate as

to be discovered. In that event, Teddy Hamilton would come to my

assistance. . . . She was really beautiful! And then I awoke to the

alarming fact that the girl in Mouquin's was interesting me more than I

liked to confess.

Presently, through the haze of smoke, I saw a patch of white paper on

the rug in front of the pier-glass. I rose and picked it up.

NAME: Hawthorne

COSTUME: Blue Domino

TIME: 5:30 P. M.

RETURNED:

ADDRESS: West 87th Street FRIARD'S

I stared at the bit of pasteboard, fascinated. How the deuce had this

got into my apartments? A Blue Domino? Ha! I had it! Old Friard had

accidentally done up the ticket with my mask. A Blue Domino; evidently

I wasn't the only person who was going to a masquerade. Without doubt

this fair demoiselle was about to join the festivities of some

shop-girls' masquerade, where money and pedigree are inconsequent

things, and where everybody is either a "loidy" or a "gent." Persons

who went to my kind of masquerade did not rent their costumes; they

laid out extravagant sums to the fashionable modiste and tailor, and

had them made to order. A Blue Domino: humph!

It was too late to take the ticket back to Friard's; so I determined to

mail it to him in the morning.

It was now high time for me to be off. I got into my coat and took

down my opera hat. Outside the storm was still active; but the snow

had a promising softness, and there were patches of stars to be seen

here and there in the sky. By midnight there would be a full moon. I

got to Jersey City without mishap; and when I took my seat in the

smoker, I found I had ten minutes to spare. I bought a newspaper and

settled down to read the day's news. It was fully half an hour between

Jersey City and Blankshire; in that time I could begin and finish the

paper.