The people near him were surprised to hear a wild yell from his lips and then to see him wave his hat so madly that there was some danger of its being knocked to pieces against the railing or upon the persons of those who stood too close to escape the whirling consequences.  So unexpected had been her reception of what he considered a calamitous indiscretion that he was to be pardoned for the ebullition of relief and joy that followed.  Had she drawn a revolver and fired angrily at him he could not have been more astounded.  But, to actually throw a kiss to him—­to meet his imprudence in the same spirit that had inspired it!  Too much to believe!  In the midst of his elation, however, there came a reminder that she did not expect to see him again, that she was playing with him, that it was a merry jest and not a heartache that filled her bosom at the parting.

While he was still waving his handkerchief, debating savagely and joyously the wisdom of the act, she became a part of the distant color scheme; the blue figure faded and blended into the general tone and could no longer be distinguished.  She was gone, but she had tossed him a kiss from lips that he should always see.  As he turned away from the water he found himself wondering if there had been tears in her eyes, but the probability was so remote that he laughed foolishly and aloud A couple of girls heard the laugh and giggled in sympathy, but he turned a scowling face upon them and disappeared in the throng.

Uppermost in his bewildered mind was the question:  Why is she not in the passenger list?  Acting on a sudden impulse, he again sought out the clerk in charge and made a most thorough inspection.  There was no Guggenslocker among the names.  As a last resort h asked: 

“They could not have sailed under an assumed name, could they?”

“I can’t say as to that.  Where are they going?”

“Graustark.”

But the young man shook his head slowly, Lorry’s shaking in unconscious accord.

“Are you sure that you saw the young lady on board?”

“Well, rather!” exclaimed Lorry, emphatically.

“I was going to say there are a lot of Italian and German singers on the ship, and you might have been mistaken.  But since you are so positive, it seems very strange that your friends are not on the list.”

So Lorry went away discouraged and with a vague fear that she might have been a prima donna whose real name was Guggenslocker but whose stage name was something more euphonious.  He instantly put away the thought and the fear.  She was certainly not an opera singer—­impossible!  He drove back to his hotel, and made preparations for his return to Washington.  Glancing casually over the register he came to the name that had been haunting him —­Guggenslocker!  There were the names, “Caspar Guggenslocker and four, Graustark.”  Without hesitation he began to question the clerk.