ten o'clock
One corner of the room was set apart for the fiddler , and here a daïs of rough boarding , also draped in print stuff , was erected to meet the requirements of that honored personage . Such was the uncouth place where the Breeds proposed to hold their orgie . And of its class it was an excellent example . At ten o'clock the barn was lit up , and strangely bizarre was the result . The draught through the broken windows set the candles a-guttering , until rivers of yellow fat decorated the black bottles in which they were set . The stench from these , and from the badly-trimmed coal oil lamps down the center , blended disgustingly with the native odor of the place , until the atmosphere became heavy , pungent , revolting in the nostrils , and breathing became a labor after the sweet fresh air of the prairie outside . Soon after this the dancers began to arrive .