In the moonshine he saw the grinning
Hamet, suspiciously observing him. The runaway stood up and pressed
Pobloff's hand desperately, uttering the cry of her forlorn heart:--
"Don't play in the great hall; don't play in that accursed place. You
will be asked, but refuse. Make any excuse, but do not set foot on its
ebon floors."
He was so confused by the strangeness of this adventure, so confused by
the admonition of the unknown when he saw her white draperies disappear,
that his jaw fell and his courage wavered. A moment later two oddly
caparisoned soldiers, bearing lights, approached, and in the name of her
Highness invited him make midnight music in the Palace of a Thousand
Sounds.
IV
Seated before a Steinway grand pianoforte, an instrument that found its
way to this far-away province through the caprice of some artistic
potentate, Pobloff nervously preluded. Notwithstanding the warning of
the girl, he had allowed himself to be convoyed to the great Hall of
Ebony, and there, quite alone, he sat waiting for some cue to begin.
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