For a second he had the look of a man who has been stabbed in the back.

Then with a swift effort he pulled himself together.
In the same moment Stella rose.

She was smiling, and there was a red flush in her cheeks.

She took her fan from the table.
"And now," she said, "I am going to dance--all night long.

Every officer in the mess--save one--has asked me for a dance." He was on his feet in an instant.