What ensued? Is it necessary to tell? The costume in which she stood
forth was no more startling or immodest than the simple gown which the
American high-school girl wears on her Commencement Day, and it was
decidedly more ample than the sum of all the garments worn at polite
social gatherings in communities somewhat to the west. Nevertheless, the
company stood aghast. They were doubly horrified--first, at the
effrontery of the girl, and second, at the revelation of her real
person, for they saw that she was doomed, helpless, bereft of hope, slim
beyond all curing.
V
HE ARRIVES
Kalora was alone.
After putting the company to consternation she had flung herself
defiantly back into the chair and directed a most contemptuous gaze at
all the desirable young men of her native land.
The Governor-General made a choking attempt to apologize and explain,
and then, groping for an excuse to send the people away, suggested that
the company view the new stables. The acrobats were dismissed. The
guests went rapidly to an inspection of the carriages and horses. They
were glad to escape. Jeneka, crushed in spirit and shamed at the brazen
performance of her sister, began a plaintive conjecture as to "what
people would say," when Kalora turned upon her such a tigerish glance
that she fairly ran for her apartment, although she was too corpulent
for actual sprinting.
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