Thereupon the ex-beau, leaving Monsieur Blanquette, walked toward the benches on which the ladies were seated, and offered his gloved hand to one of the younger ones, saying: "Will you do me the honor, lovely coryphee, to accept my hand for this contra-dance?" "I am engaged, monsieur." Cherami thereupon addressed the same request to one after another, varying his phrase slightly; but there was no variation in the replies; it was always the same formula: "I am engaged." For no young woman, married or unmarried, cared to dance with a person so red of face, so shabbily dressed, smelling so strongly of rum, and with his right hand always behind his back. "Sapristi! it seems that all the ladies have been engaged beforehand!" cried Cherami, glaring at the benches in turn; "I am refused all along the line!" But at every ball there is sure to be some elderly woman, ugly, dowdily dressed, who still has the assurance to take her place among the dancers. Our Arthur finally espied a lady of that type, sitting in a corner; on her head was a sort of turban, laden with an appalling mass of flowers, feathers, and lace. "I shall be unlucky indeed, if this creature is engaged!" said Cherami to himself, boldly directing his steps toward the turbaned dame. He had not delivered half of his invitation, when she rose as if impelled by a spring, and seized his gloved hand, saying: "With pleasure; yes, monsieur; I accept. Oh! I will dance as long as you please." "In that case, fair lady, let us take our places." Almost all the sets were full. But Cherami was not to be denied; he planted himself in front of a short youth and his partner; and when the youth remonstrated: "But, monsieur, this place is taken, we were here before you," he replied, in a supercilious tone: "I don't know whether you were before us, my good man; but I do know that I have the honor to be here now with madame, and that I will not stir except at the point of the bayonet!" The young man dared not make any further resistance; moreover, the guests were whispering to one another on all sides: "That original is dancing with Aunt Merlin!" "What! Aunt Merlin dancing?" "Yes, with the man in Scotch trousers. This is going to be great fun!" And all those who were not dancing ran to watch the set in which Cherami and Aunt Merlin were to figure. "Sapristi! I have lost one of my gloves!" cried Arthur, making a pretence of feeling in his pocket, and looking on the floor. "Will you pardon me, fair lady, for dancing with a single glove?" "Oh! certainly, monsieur," replied the lady with the turban, in a simpering tone; "you are forgiven; indeed, the same thing happened to Monsieur Courbichon; when he arrived here for the ball, he discovered that he had lost one of his gloves--only it was the left one, in his case." "Ah! that's very amusing! Then we have the pair between us! I shall laugh a long while over that. It's our turn, fair lady."