"I'm not sure which it most resembles," he said, "a masked ball without the masks, or an ensemble number in a musical comedy."
The women were magnificent; their gowns shone, their shoulders and arms gleamed under the many lights. The officers attached to the various embassies made a dashing picture in their gorgeous uniforms; the official dress of the diplomats was stately and picturesque. Here was a white-haired old Austrian, his chest aglitter with crosses and orders, engaged with the Turkish envoy; the Chinese minister, his flowing silken robes tucked in about him, sat placidly in the midst of a group of admiring ladies; the flaming scarlet and gold lace of one South American republic contrasted strongly with the white and silver of another; Mexico vied with Russia in splendor, while less spectacular states ran from sober greens and grays to the plain black of conventional dress.
Plants and lights were everywhere; from the ballroom came the strains of a German waltz; the dancers floated about upon the shining floor.
The handsome Baroness Von Stunnenberg greeted the secret agent and his aide; the ambassador, who was a massive man with a snowy, up-twisted moustache and the stride of a Prussian cavalryman, stood near by.
"I was informed of your coming," he said to Ashton-Kirk. "And although I do not quite understand, still I am pleased to see you."
The secret agent had replied, and Von Stunnenberg was turning away when a delighted voice exclaimed:
"Kirk, old chap, I'm astonished! Here, of all places in the world."
Ashton-Kirk turned and came face to face with a brilliantly beautiful woman, and a young man with a vastly contented look.
"Mrs. Pendleton," said the secret agent, as he took the outstretched hand, "I can only repeat your husband's exclamation, 'Here, of all places in the world.'"
"But what does it mean?" demanded Jimmie Pendleton, as he, too, gripped his friend by the hand. "Here you are—you whom I have heard discourse so wisely about such affairs as this—the folly and the vanity of it, and the——" but he paused, snapped his fingers and turned to his wife. "I know what it is! He's here on business."