contracted with swift pain, and as Easter leaned toward him, with
subtle delicacy, he touched, not her lips, but her forehead, as reverently as though she had been a saint.

Instantly the fiddles began, the floor was cleared, the bridal party
hurried into the kitchen, and the cabin began to shake beneath
dancing feet. Hicks was fulfilling his word, and in the kitchen his
wife had done her part. Everything known to the mountaineer
palate was piled in profusion on the table, but Clayton and Easter
ate nothing. To him the whole evening was a nightmare, which
the solemn moments of the marriage had made the more hideous.
He was restless and eager to get away. The dancing was becoming
more furious, and above the noise rose Hicks's voice prompting the
dancers. The ruder ones still hung about the doors, regarding
Clayton curiously, or with eager eyes upon the feast. Easter was
vaguely troubled, and conflicting with the innocent pride and joy
in her eyes were the questioning glances she turned to Clayton's
darkening face. At last they were hurried out, and in came the
crowd like hungry wolves.

Placing Clayton and Easter in a corner of the room, the attendants
themselves took part in the dancing, and such dancing Clayton had
never seen. Doors and windows were full of faces, and the room
was crowded; from the kitchen came coarse laughter and the
rattling of dishes.

Occasionally Hicks would disappear with several others, and
would return with his face redder than ever.

Easter became uneasy. Once she left Clayton's side and
expostulated with her father, but he shook her from his arm