Read "The Life of the Party" by Irvin S. Cobb online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
"Hey, what's all the excitement about?"
A new and deeper voice here broke into the babel, and Mr. Leary recognising it at a distance, where he stood listening -- but not failing, even while he listened, to strive unavailingly with his problem of buttons -- knew he was saved. Knowing this he nevertheless retreated still deeper into the inner room. The thought of spectators in numbers remained very abhorrent to him. So he did not hear all that happened next, except in broken snatches.