Meanwhile，thedancerremainedmotionlessuponthethreshold。Herappearancehadproducedasingulareffectupontheseyounggirls。Itiscertainthatavagueandindistinctdesiretopleasethehandsomeofficeranimatedthemall，thathissplendiduniformwasthetargetofalltheircoquetries，andthatfromthemomenthepresentedhimself，thereexistedamongthemasecret，suppressedrivalry，whichtheyhardlyacknowledgedeventothemselves，butwhichbrokeforth，nonetheless，everyinstant，intheirgesturesandremarks。
Nevertheless，astheywereallverynearlyequalinbeauty，theycontendedwithequalarms，andeachcouldhopeforthevictory——Thearrivalofthegypsysuddenlydestroyedthisequilibrium。Herbeautywassorare，that，atthemomentwhensheappearedattheentranceoftheapartment，itseemedasthoughshediffusedasortoflightwhichwaspeculiartoherself。Inthatnarrowchamber，surroundedbythatsombreframeofhangingsandwoodwork，shewasincomparablymorebeautifulandmoreradiantthanonthepublicsquare。Shewaslikeatorchwhichhassuddenlybeenbroughtfrombroaddaylightintothedark。Thenobledamselsweredazzledbyherinspiteofthemselves。Eachonefeltherself，insomesort，woundedinherbeauty。Hence，theirbattlefrontmaywebeallowedtheexpression，wasimmediatelyaltered，althoughtheyexchangednotasingleword。Buttheyunderstoodeachotherperfectly。Women’sinstinctscomprehendandrespondtoeachothermorequicklythantheintelligencesofmen。Anenemyhadjustarrived；
allfeltit——allralliedtogether。Onedropofwineissufficienttotingeaglassofwaterred；todiffuseacertaindegreeofilltemperthroughoutawholeassemblyofprettywomen，thearrivalofaprettierwomansuffices，especiallywhenthereisbutonemanpresent。
Hencethewelcomeaccordedtothegypsywasmarvellouslyglacial。Theysurveyedherfromheadtofoot，thenexchangedglances，andallwassaid；theyunderstoodeachother。Meanwhile，theyounggirlwaswaitingtobespokento，insuchemotionthatshedarednotraisehereyelids。
Thecaptainwasthefirsttobreakthesilence。\"Uponmyword，\"saidhe，inhistoneofintrepidfatuity，\"hereisacharmingcreature！Whatthinkyouofher，faircousin？\"