In the midst of this revelry, I was careful to maintain a scrupulous watch over our hostess. That no untoward happenstance was likely to occur—that our fears for Mrs. Nicodemus’ safety were utterly without a basis in reality—had become abundantly clear. Nevertheless—in strict accordance with the obligation I was there to fulfill—I made certain to keep the corpulent widow more-or-less continuously within my view. Crodkett, too, while freely engaging in the festivities, made every effort to position himself in relatively dose proximity to our hostess as she circulated around the ballroom. Thus, it remained possible for us to discharge our duty while simultaneously indulging in the pleasures of the ball.

Though opportunities to exercise my talent had, in recent years, been exceedingly scarce, I was, in truth, a dancer of considerable virtuosity, my terpsichorean skills having been perfected in the grand salons of my Richmond youth. Now, transported by the infectious spirit of the occasion, I took my angelic Sissy into my arms and whirled her about the floor in giddy, enraptured revolutions, pausing only occasionally to refresh myself with another—and still another—cup of the singularly invigorating punch.

How much time elapsed in this frolicsome manner, I cannot say with any sense of accuracy. At length, however, I became aware of an overpowering need for a respite. A sudden sense of the deepest fatigue had suffused every fibre of my being. Drawing Sissy to the periphery of the dance floor, I communicated my desire for a brief interregnum. The angelic child, whose own appetite for merrymaking seemed limitless, responded with a charming petulance, stamping her foot and exclaiming: “Oooh, Eddie. You are always spoiling my fun!”

Her adorable denunciation was interrupted by the timely appearance of Colonel Crockett. “Miz Virginny,” he declared, “I’d be tickled if you’d oblige me with a spin around the floor.”

This invitation elicited a delighted exclamation of assent from Sissy, who immediately slipped one hand through the crook of the frontiersman’s proffered right arm. Before leading her onto the dance floor, Crockett turned to me and declared, “Well, Poe, I don’t reckon there is much to be afeard of tonight.”

“Indeed,” I replied, “our apprehensions regarding the security of our hostess appear to have been groundless.”

Arranging her features into an endearingly querulous look, Sissy suddenly exclaimed, “Why have you stopped to talk to Eddie, Colonel Crockett? I thought we were going to dance.” Then, with an insistent tug on the frontiersman’s arm, she drew him onto the floor, where the two of them were quickly lost amidst the swirling throng of waltzers.