After a montage of preparation, The Party- as they would be known henceforth throughout history in tale and song- began their "adventure honeymoon" with all deliberate haste. No sooner had they begun, than:
(Edited without permission to facilitate verb tense agreement, etc.)
A group of men headed by. They were not tarrying or running. Nor were they singing. They didn't seem to be making apple pies. As far as The Party could tell, they were not talking about sports. They neither had sombreros nor stilts. These men were not acrobats. They had no expression as they didn't dally to the west.
(Edited without permission to facilitate verb tense agreement, etc.)