The fascination of her wonderful presence, and then her glorious voice, moved him with the rest of the audience.

He clapped as the others did at the end of the first act, and he leaned forward just as eagerly to catch a glimpse of her when she reappeared and stood there with that marvelous smile upon her lips, accepting with faint, deprecating gratitude the homage of the packed house.
Just before the curtain rose upon the second act, there was a knock at his box door.

One of the attendants ushered in a short man of somewhat remarkable personality.

He was barely five feet in height, and an extremely fat neck and a corpulent body gave him almost the appearance of a hunchback.

He had black, beady eyes, a black moustache fiercely turned up, and sallow skin.