It was not long before the theatre began to fill. Singly and in whole family groups the people were arriving, children and gray old men and bright-faced girls and youths; and all wore happy, expectant smiles, and all were clad in their pastel-tinted gowns that made them look like animated flowers. I had a chance now to observe the Atlanteans as never before; and, as never before, I was struck by the exceptional number of well formed and beautiful faces; by the fact that every one seemed tranquil and contented, and that there was little if any sign of tragedy or sorrow. Here was no evidence of the worn and withered, the distorted, the grotesque, the wolfish, the weasel and the bovine types so common on earth; even the old seemed to wear a sweet and placid and at times a beautiful look, which contrasted strangely with the sour and crochety expression I had regarded as natural; and most of the faces bore the imprint of something akin to poetry and music, an exalted something that I had first noted in Aelios and that set the Atlanteans apart from every other race I had ever known. Even to be among these people seemed to produce a strange and uplifting effect upon me. I do not know what mysterious psychic currents were at work, and I cannot say that my imagination did not betray me; but I do distinctly remember that, as the theatre gradually filled, a singular sense of well-being and almost of thankfulness came upon me, a feeling of spiritual tranquility and repose, as though by some subtle transference of thought I had shared the mood of the multitude and become one with them in heart. Even Stranahan seemed to have been affected, for he had none of his usual boisterousness; he talked but little, and there was a rapt and almost devout look in his eyes, as though he too had caught the glimmer of some rare loveliness. Yet there was still a shadow across my happiness--and possibly across his as well. As I scanned the faces that thronged down the aisles and along the tiers of seats, there was one smiling countenance for which I searched in vain. Surely, Aelios had not forgotten the day, nor had she forgotten her implied promise to see me here; yet till the last seat was filled by the expectant crowd, I scrutinized the faces of the newcomers, only to be assured that Aelios was not among them.