noon
The sound of the voices and laughter drew away , slowly died out altogether , and the silence of the street was strange and unfamiliar to Betty . She went to the hedge and watched the musicians , who were the last to go , until they passed from sight : little black toilsome figures , carrying grotesque black boxes . While she could still see them , it seemed to her that her ball was not quite over , and she wished to hold the least speck of it as long as she could ; but when they had disappeared , she faced the truth with a deep sigh : the long , glorious night was finished indeed . What she needed now was another girl : the two would have gone to Betty 's room and danced it all over again until noon ; but she had only her father . She found him smoking a Principe cigar upon the veranda , so she seated herself timidly , nevertheless with a hopeful glance at him , on the steps at his feet ; and , as she did so , he looked down upon her with something more akin to geniality than anything she had ever seen in his eye before . It was not geniality itself , but might be third cousin to it . Indeed , in his way , he was almost proud of her , though he had no wish to show it .