rly all the light before falling
asleep, and I now groped my way to the light dial and moved the hand
round until the room was brightly illuminated. The silence of the place
was remarkable; it was almost as if I had been in an uninhabited house.
I opened the door of my room a little way, and was pleased to find a
bundle of clothes awaiting me outside. I brought the bundle in and
investigated it. At first sight it looked as if some mad and malicious
tailor had made two pairs of trousers out of a material suitable for an
overcoat. The reason of course was that the suit had been made with a
view to the conformation and habits of the natives of this curious
island. They wear two garments only, and therefore require them to be of
considerable thickness, and their arms are of about the same length as
their legs. (The difference in our own case is much less than most
people imagine.) I soon put the two garments on, and found that they
fitted me well enough if I rolled back the sleeves to leave my hands
free. I was also provided with a pair of boots similar to those my host
wore. They were too large for me, but could be kept on by a buckle and
strap fastening at the ankle.

I now made some examination of the room itself. The walls and ceiling
were covered with a hard shiny substance, which I at first thought to be
paint, but afterwards decided to be of the nature of our water-glass.
The usual right-angles between floor and walls and ceiling were in every
case softened into a curve, which I recognised to be an advantage from
the point of view of cleanliness. The floor itself was covered with the
same material as the walls and ceiling, but in this case had a minute
corrugation all over it, to prevent slipping. In the middle of the floor
was a small grating, about one foot square. As I inspected this, a fan
below it began to whirl rapidly, but without the slightest sound. As I
was looking at it my host knocked and entered. I was pleased to see that
he brought with him a sealed bottle and two aluminium cups that would
have held about half a pint apiece.

"We now drink," he said briefly.

"An excellent idea," I began, but he immediately bade me to be quiet,
saying that it was not customary to talk while drinking was in progress.

He divided the contents of the bottle (not quite fairly) between the two
cups. He gave himself the advantage of the choice and finished his drink
at a draught. I followed his example and found that I was