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1Billy Andrews insisted that Anne should ride on the front seat with him, so she unwillingly climbed up. She would have
2much preferred to sit back with the girls, where she could have laughed and chattered to her heart's content. There was
3not much of either laughter or chatter in Billy. He was a big, fat, stolid youth of twenty, with a round, expressionless
4face, and a painful lack of conversational gifts. But he admired Anne immensely, and was puffed up with pride over the
5prospect of driving to White Sands with that slim, upright figure beside him. Anne, by dint of talking over her shoulder
6to the girls and occasionally passing a sop of civility to Billy--who grinned and chuckled and never could think of any
7reply until it was too late--contrived to enjoy the drive in spite of all. It was a night for enjoyment. The road was
8full of buggies, all bound for the hotel, and laughter, silver clear, echoed and reechoed along it. When they reached
9the hotel it was a blaze of light from top to bottom. They were met by the ladies of the concert committee, one of whom
10took Anne off to the performers' dressing room which was filled with the members of a Charlottetown Symphony Club, among
11whom Anne felt suddenly shy and frightened and countrified. Her dress, which, in the east gable, had seemed so dainty
12and pretty, now seemed simple and plain--too simple and plain, she thought, among all the silks and laces that glistened
13and rustled around her. What were her pearl beads compared to the diamonds of the big, handsome lady near her? And how
14poor her one wee white rose must look beside all the hothouse flowers the others wore! Anne laid her hat and jacket
15away, and shrank miserably into a corner. She wished herself back in the white room at Green Gables. It was still worse
16on the platform of the big concert hall of the hotel, where she presently found herself. The electric lights dazzled her
17eyes, the perfume and hum bewildered her. She wished she were sitting down in the audience with Diana and Jane, who
18seemed to be having a splendid time away at the back. She was wedged in between a stout lady in pink silk and a tall,
19scornful-looking girl in a white-lace dress. The stout lady occasionally turned her head squarely around and surveyed
20Anne through her eyeglasses until Anne, acutely sensitive of being so scrutinized, felt that she must scream aloud; and
21the white-lace girl kept talking audibly to her next neighbor about the "country bumpkins" and "rustic belles" in the
22audience, languidly anticipating "such fun" from the displays of local talent on the program. Anne believed that she
23would hate that white-lace girl to the end of life. Unfortunately for Anne, a professional elocutionist was staying at
24the hotel and had consented to recite. She was a lithe, dark-eyed woman in a wonderful gown of shimmering gray stuff
25like woven moonbeams, with gems on her neck and in her dark hair. She had a marvelously flexible voice and wonderful
26power of expression; the audience went wild over her selection. Anne, forgetting all about herself and her troubles for
27the time, listened with rapt and shining eyes; but when the recitation ended she suddenly put her hands over her face.
28She could never get up and recite after that--never. Had she ever thought she could recite? Oh, if she were only back at
29Green Gables! At this unpropitious moment her name was called. Somehow Anne--who did not notice the rather guilty little
30start of surprise the white-lace girl gave, and would not have understood the subtle compliment implied therein if she
31had--got on her feet, and moved dizzily out to the front. She was so pale that Diana and Jane, down in the audience,
32clasped each other's hands in nervous sympathy. Anne was the victim of an overwhelming attack of stage fright. Often as
33she had recited in public, she had never before faced such an audience as this, and the sight of it paralyzed her
34energies completely. Everything was so strange, so brilliant, so bewildering--the rows of ladies in evening dress, the
35critical faces, the whole atmosphere of wealth and culture about her. Very different this from the plain benches at the
36Debating Club, filled with the homely, sympathetic faces of friends and neighbors. These people, she thought, would be
37merciless critics. Perhaps, like the white-lace girl, they anticipated amusement from her "rustic" efforts. She felt
38hopelessly, helplessly ashamed and miserable. Her knees trembled, her heart fluttered, a horrible faintness came over
39her; not a word could she utter, and the next moment she would have fled from the platform despite the humiliation
40which, she felt, must ever after be her portion if she did so. But suddenly, as her dilated, frightened eyes gazed out
41over the audience, she saw Gilbert Blythe away at the back of the room, bending forward with a smile on his face--a
42smile which seemed to Anne at once triumphant and taunting. In reality it was nothing of the kind. Gilbert was merely
43smiling with appreciation of the whole affair in general and of the effect produced by Anne's slender white form and
44spiritual face against a background of palms in particular. Josie Pye, whom he had driven over, sat beside him, and her
45face certainly was both triumphant and taunting. But Anne did not see Josie, and would not have cared if she had. She
46drew a long breath and flung her head up proudly, courage and determination tingling over her like an electric shock.
47She would not fail before Gilbert Blythe--he should never be able to laugh at her, never, never! Her fright and
48nervousness vanished; and she began her recitation, her clear, sweet voice reaching to the farthest corner of the room
49without a tremor or a break. Self-possession was fully restored to her, and in the reaction from that horrible moment of
50powerlessness she recited as she had never done before. When she finished there were bursts of honest applause. Anne,
51stepping back to her seat, blushing with shyness and delight, found her hand vigorously clasped and shaken by the stout
52lady in pink silk. "My dear, you did splendidly," she puffed. "I've been crying like a baby, actually I have. There,
53they're encoring you--they're bound to have you back!" "Oh, I can't go," said Anne confusedly. "But yet--I must, or
54Matthew will be disappointed. He said they would encore me." "Then don't disappoint Matthew," said the pink lady,
55laughing. Smiling, blushing, limpid eyed, Anne tripped back and gave a quaint, funny little selection that captivated
56her audience still further. The rest of the evening was quite a little triumph for her. When the concert was over, the
57stout, pink lady--who was the wife of an American millionaire--took her under her wing, and introduced her to everybody;
58and everybody was very nice to her. The professional elocutionist, Mrs. Evans, came and chatted with her, telling her
59that she had a charming voice and "interpreted" her selections beautifully. Even the white-lace girl paid her a languid
60little compliment. They had supper in the big, beautifully decorated dining room; Diana and Jane were invited to partake
61of this, also, since they had come with Anne, but Billy was nowhere to be found, having decamped in mortal fear of some
62such invitation. He was in waiting for them, with the team, however, when it was all over, and the three girls came
63merrily out into the calm, white moonshine radiance. Anne breathed deeply, and looked into the clear sky beyond the dark
64boughs of the firs. Oh, it was good to be out again in the purity and silence of the night! How great and still and
65wonderful everything was, with the murmur of the sea sounding through it and the darkling cliffs beyond like grim giants
66guarding enchanted coasts. "Hasn't it been a perfectly splendid time?" sighed Jane, as they drove away. "I just wish I
67was a rich American and could spend my summer at a hotel and wear jewels and low-necked dresses and have ice cream and
68chicken salad every blessed day. I'm sure it would be ever so much more fun than teaching school. Anne, your recitation
69was simply great, although I thought at first you were never going to begin. I think it was better than Mrs. Evans's."
70"Oh, no, don't say things like that, Jane," said Anne quickly, "because it sounds silly. It couldn't be better than Mrs.
71Evans's, you know, for she is a professional, and I'm only a schoolgirl, with a little knack of reciting. I'm quite
72satisfied if the people just liked mine pretty well."
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