It was the beginning of the ball.  These were the first arrivals.  At the head of the hall, far off, sat three musicians, negroes alleged to play violins and an accordion, and by that merit raised to a bad eminence.  Gloomy, haughty, superior, these gazed sternly out before them, ready for the worst.  Now and then they leaned over the one toward another, and ventured some grim, ghastly remark.  Once the leader, an old and gray-haired man, was heard to utter, inadvertently above his breath, the ominous expression, “Yass, indeed!” All in all, the situation was bodeful in the extreme.  There was no speech other than that above noted.

After a vast hiatus the door at the main entrance was pulled cautiously open, a little at a time.  Evidently some one was looking in.  The consciousness of this caused two or three men to shuffle their feet a trifle upon the floor, as though they expected the death march soon to begin.  The littlest waiter girl, unable to stand the nervous strain, tittered audibly, which caused Nora, the head waiter, to glare at her through her glasses.  At length the door opened, and two figures entered affrightedly, those of Hank Peterson, a neighbouring rancher, and his wife.  Hank was dressed in the costume of the time, and the high heels of his boots tapped uncertainly as he made his way over the wide hollow-sounding floor, his feet wabbling and crossing in his trepidation.  None the less, having forthwith decoyed to the row of men sitting silent against the wall, he duly reached that harbour and sank down, wiping his face and passing his hand across his mouth uncertainly.  His wife was a tall, angular woman, whose garb was like that of most of the other women—­cotton print.  Yet her hair was combed to the point of fatality, and at her neck she had a collarette of what might have been lace, but was not.  Conscious of the inspection of all there assembled, Mrs. Peterson’s conduct was different from that of her spouse.  With head held very high and a glance of scorn, as of one hurling back some uttered word of obloquy, she marched down the hall to the side occupied by the ladies; nay, even passed the full line as in daring review, and seated herself at the farther end, with head upright, as ready for instant sally of offence.

The door opened again and yet again.  Two or three engineers, a rodman, a leveller, and an axeman came in, near behind them more cattlemen.  From among the guests of the hotel several came, and presently the clerk of the hotel himself.  The line of men grew steadily, but the body upon the opposite side of the room remained constant, immobile, and unchanged.  At these devoted beings there glared many eyes from across the room.  More and more frequent came the scrape of a foot along the floor, or the brief cough of perturbation.  One or two very daring young men leaned over and made some remark in privacy, behind the back of the hand, this followed by a nudge and a knowing look, perhaps even by a snicker, the latter quickly suppressed.  Little by little these bursts of courage had their effect.  Whispers became spasmodic, indeed even frequent.