And stark naked he went out into the hall, striding a strange, white figure between the unliving furniture. He came back with the towels, and took his former position, crouching seated before the fire on the fender.

‘Don’t you love to feel the fire on your skin?’ he said.

‘It IS rather pleasant,’ said Gerald.

‘How perfectly splendid it must be to be in a climate where one could do without clothing altogether,’ said Halliday.

‘Yes,’ said Gerald, ‘if there weren’t so many things that sting and bite.’

‘That’s a disadvantage,’ murmured Maxim.

Gerald looked at him,