River," was established at the rear extremity of the long
building, just inside the entrance to the dancehall, where patrons
of the drama might, with a modicum of delay and inconvenience,
quaff as deeply of the beaker as of the ballet.

Now, however, the show had closed, the hall had been cleared of
chairs and canvas, exposing a glassy, tempting surface, and the
orchestra had moved to the stage. They played a rollicking, blood-
stirring two-step, while the floor swam with dancers.

At certain intervals the musicians worked feverishly up to a
crashing crescendo, supported by the voices of the dancers, until
all joined at the top note in a yell, while the drummer fired a
.44 Colt into a box of wet sawdust beside his chair--all in time,
all in the swinging spirit of the tune.

The men, who were mostly young, danced like college boys, while
the women, who were all young and good dancers, floated through
the measures with the ease of rose-leaves on a summer stream.
Faces were flushed, eyes were bright, and but rarely a voice
sounded that was not glad. Most of the noise came from the men,
and although one caught, here and there, a hint of haggard lines
about the girlish faces, and glimpsed occasional eyes that did not
smile, yet as a whole the scene was one of genuine enjoyment.

Suddenly the music ceased and the couples crowded to the bar. The
women took harmless drinks, the men, mostly whiskey. Rarely was
the choice of potations criticised, though occasionally some ruddy
eschewer of sobriety insisted that his lady "take the same,"
avowing that "hootch," having been demonstrated beneficial in his