"How are ye?" asked one husky fellow, gripping Esther's hand like a vise.
"Happy ter know yer acquaintance," said another.
The girls snickered and looked foolish, keeping time to the music with the tapping of their feet.
"You like to dance, I see," said Esther to one girl.
"You bet I do!"
The girl's jaws kept time to the music as she vigorously chewed gum.
"Come, Jim," said another loud-voiced cowlass, "that's our set."
And away they went, hand in hand, edging their way through the crowded rooms. Soon they were in the midst of the boisterous dancers.
Kenneth joined the human fringe around the dance room. He stood watching as though what he saw amused him.
"Swing y'r pardners," shouted the fiddler, above the din of voices. Down came the bow across the strings, that responded in shrill, piercing notes. Around flew the dancers, their cheeks growing redder and redder. The clatter of the cowboys' spurs, and the tapping of the fiddler's foot kept time to the music.