Had this suggestion been advanced earlier, it would have made an important modification in my plans; but it was now too late to draw back. I bethought myself, too, that it was highly improbable--considering how short a time she had been in town--that she should have received an invitation; and if the worst came to the worst, I could slip away whenever I chose. We went on up the illuminated staircase, therefore, and having delivered our credentials to the doorkeeper--a warrior of the sixteenth century, armed cap-à-pie in panoply of proof--we advanced to pay our respects to the host and hostess of the occasion, who smiled to us in the guise of Nutcracker and Sugardolly. 'It is the greatest pleasure that I meet you,' said the former, in broken English, but with entire cordiality, holding my hand affectionately as he spoke. 'We have too little seen of you here--you are too much to yourself. It shall be our hope that you now do us the honour very often. You shall find some of your compatriots here to-night, I think, all very anxious to enjoy the favour of your presentation. Dear sir, till our next meet!' Meanwhile, Madame Sugardolly was saying something equally civil to Floyd. That was natural enough; his wealth and consequent importance were probably well known; but I was at a loss to understand such a sudden access of flattering attention to me. I was nobody, and accustomed to be treated accordingly. Could my worthy banker be labouring under the delusion that I was somebody else? Leaving this question to solve itself, I took Floyd's arm, and we threaded our way slowly through the brilliantly and grotesquely attired crowd. Many a quaint and graceful figure was there, but none with which either of us was familiar. I saw that Floyd was keeping a keen look out for some one, and had no difficulty in guessing who it might be. But we made the circuit of all the rooms in vain. We drifted at length into the haven of a small side-room, curtained off from the other apartments by a heavy _portière_ hanging across the doorway. Lights were burning in it, and a comfortable sofa stood at one end, but there was no one there. It was a discovery of our own. 'Tell you what we'll do, old chap,' said Floyd. 'It is now eleven o'clock. Let us separate here, and pursue our several fortunes for the space of an hour; after which--that is, at twelve precisely--we will rendezvous in this room and compare notes. What say you?'