She hesitated on the threshold, white, shaking with dread, almost afraid, now that she had come this far, to face the terrible men she knew she would find inside.

The ill-fame of the place was notorious.
But while she hesitated, she heard her father's voice--a sound that drove her to instant action, for it was high-pitched, and carried a note of anger.
She went inside, then, no longer thinking of herself; her heart a throb with concern, courage of a high order sustaining her.

She pushed the outside door open, burst through the double-swing door that screened the barroom from the street, and stood in the front of the room blinking at the lights.
The room was full of men--she did not know how many.

They made a great blur in front of her; and it seemed to her that all their faces were turned to her.

She had a flashing view of a multitude of inquiring eyes; she noted the thick haze that hung over the room; her nostrils were assailed by mingled odors that were nauseating.