Andanhourlaterthedancewasprogressingasevenlyasthoughnothingintheleastextraordinaryhadoccurred。Theincidentwasclosed——thatabruptswoopofterrorandimpendingdeathdroppingdowntherefromoutthedarkness，cuttingabruptlyathwartthegayetyofthemoment，comeandgonewiththeswiftnessofathunderclap。Manyofthewomenhadgonehome，takingtheirmenwiththem。butthegreatbulkofthecrowdstillremained，seeingnoreasonwhytheepisodeshouldinterferewiththeevening’senjoyment，resolvedtoholdthegroundformerebravado，iffornothingelse。Delaneywouldnotcomeback，ofthateverybodywaspersuaded，andincaseheshould，therewasnotfoundwantingfullyhalfahundredyoungmenwhowouldgivehimadressingdown，byjingo！TheyhadbeentoosurprisedtoactwhenDelaneyhadfirstappeared，andbeforetheyknewwheretheywereat，thebusterhadclearedout。Inanotherminute，justanothersecond，theywouldhaveshownhim——yes，sir，byjingo！——ah，youbet！
Onallsidesthereminiscencesbegantocirculate。Atleastonemanineverythreehadbeeninvolvedinagunfightatsometimeofhislife。Ah，yououghttohaveseeninYubaCountyonetime——Why，inButteCountyintheearlydays——Pshaw！thisto-nightwasn’tanything！Why，onceinasalooninArizonawhenIwasthere——andsoon，overandoveragain。OstermansolemnlyassertedthathehadseenagreasersawnintwoinaNevadasawmill。OldBrodersonhadwitnessedaVigilantelynchingin’55
onCaliforniaStreetinSanFrancisco。Dykerecalledhowonceinhisengineeringdayshehadrunoveradrunkatastreetcrossing。GethingsoftheSanPablohadtakenashotatahighwayman。HoovenhadbayonettedaFrenchChasseuratSedan。
AnoldSpanish-Mexican，acentenarianfromGuadalajara，rememberedFremont’sstandonamountaintopinSanBenitoCounty。ThedruggisthadfiredataburglartryingtobreakintohisstoreoneNewYear’seve。YoungVaccahadseenadogshotinGuadalajara。FatherSarriahadmorethanonceadministeredthesacramentstoPortuguesedesperadoesdyingofgunshotwounds。
Eventhewomenrecalledterriblescenes。Mrs。CutterrecountedtoaninterestedgrouphowshehadseenaclaimjumpedinPlacerCountyin1851，whenthreemenwereshot，fallinginafusilladeofrifleshots，andexpiringlateruponthefloorofherkitchenwhileshelookedon。Mrs。Dykehadbeeninastagehold-up，whentheshotgunmessengerwasmurdered。Storiesbythehundredswenttheroundofthecompany。Theairwassurchargedwithblood，dyinggroans，thereekofpowdersmoke，thecrackofrifles。Allthelegendsof’49，theviolent，wildlifeoftheearlydays，wererecalledtoview，defilingbeforethemthereinanendlessprocessionundertheglareofpaperlanternsandkerosenelamps。