Somewhat reluctantly the minstrel followed. It had been his intention
to unmask in some secluded corner whence, presently, he might slip away
to his room, but finding himself jostled and pushed on by a Greek and a
Bedouin who, to do them justice, seemed quite unaware of their
importunities, he surrendered to the press about him and presently
found himself in an unpleasantly conspicuous spot in the great room
which the Sherrills occasionally used as a ballroom.
All about him girls and men were unmasking amid a shower of laughing
raillery. That the Seminole chief with her tunic and beaded sash and
her brilliant turban was very near him, was a pleasant and altogether
accidental mitigation of his mishap. That a Greek and a Bedouin were
just behind him--a fact not in the least accidental--and that a gray
monk was slipping about among the guests whispering to receptive ears,
did not interest him in the least. A string orchestra played softly in
an alcove. The leader's eyes, oddly enough, were upon the ancient
Greek.
Now suddenly a curious hush swept over the room. Uncomfortably aware
that he was a spectacular object of interest by reason of his mask and
that every unmasked eye was full upon him, the minstrel, following the
lines of least resistance, removed the bit of cambric from his eyes.
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