Moffat surveyed all this thoughtfully, and proceeded proudly
to the hotel to don a "boiled" shirt, and in other ways prepare himself
to do honor to his exalted office. Much to the surprise of McNeil,
lounging with some cronies on the shaded porch, he nodded to him
genially, adding a hearty, "Hello there, Bill," as he passed carelessly
by.
The invited guests arrived from the sparsely settled regions round
about, not a few riding for a hundred miles over the hard trails. The
majority came early, arrayed in whatsoever apparel their limited
wardrobes could supply, but ready for any wild frolic. The men
outnumbered the gentler sex five to one, but every feminine
representative within a radius of about fifty miles, whose
respectability could possibly pass muster before the investigations of
a not too critical invitation committee, was present amid the throng,
attired in all the finery procurable, and supremely and serenely happy
in the assured consciousness that she would not lack partners whenever
the enticing music began.
The gratified president of the Pleasure Club had occasion to expand his
chest with just pride.
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