midnight
Everybody knew it , and everybody smiled upon Broussard and Anita ; even second lieutenants who envied Broussard 's luck ; good wishes and kind congratulations were showered upon them . It was a very gay ball ; as Colonel Fortescue held , the sharp cold , the radiant arc lights , always going , the wall of ice by which the fort was surrounded , gave an edge to joy as well as to pain . To mark this last ball of the year the young officers introduced some of the prankish features of their happy cadet days . At five minutes to midnight , when the great floor was a whirl of dainty young girls , their heads crowned with roses or with flashing ornaments that matched their sparkling eyes , and with dashing young officers , glittering in gold and blue , the band , with Neroda leading , stopped suddenly . A handsome young bugler appeared and in the midst of the tense silence the wonderful melody of `` Taps , '' the last farewell , was played for the dying year . Then Anita , as the commanding officer 's daughter , had the honor of turning off the lights . To-night she looked her sweetest , wearing a little white dancing gown that showed her satin-slippered feet .