ful fact, the day was warm, the breeze under the tree was
gentle, the ground on which they sat was not too wet for comfort.
Except for custom, for modesty, clothes weren't really needed; and
perhaps the shock of being without them would pass. Nudists, on Earth,
claimed that one very quickly lost all self-consciousness if no one were
clothed; that such was part of the value; that sex, for instance, became
less of an issue instead of more because, without concealment, one could
see instead of imagining, and the sight more often discouraged than
enticed. Cal wondered what the militant moralists would make of the idea
that clothes encouraged immorality.

"It was a hard thing to believe," Jed was saying. "It wasn't like a
natural thing--like a cyclone, or earthquake, or fire, or flood. Nothin'
like that. Them things a man can understand. Even if he's dyin', at
least he knows, he understands, what's killin' him. I never thought I'd
hear myself say it would be a comfort to know what you was dyin' of,
but, believe me ..."

He broke off and stared in front of himself. His voice took on a note of
perplexity.

"Only nobody died. Nobody even got hurt. We was like little kids
screamin' at the top of their lungs when they ain't hurt at all--only
scared." He looked abashed. "I got to tell you, real truthful," he said,
"most of the yellin' came from the men. The women, by and large, was
real swell.

"Fact is," he continued, "come to think of it, I don't recollect ever
seein' a woman in real hysterics. Plenty of fake, of course. Say she's
tryin' to hook some man into protectin' her; or lay public blame on him
for not doin' it. Other times, in real danger, womenfolks, our kind of
womenfolks, anyhow, they pitch right in and help. It takes a man to make
a jackass outta himself at the wrong time."

Cal nodded and smiled. There was an attempt at a hollow laugh from
Louie, as if the shoe had fit. Jed didn't seem to realize it, and made
no apology about present company being excepted.

"It wasn't like the aftermath of a storm, either," Jed said, "where you
begin pickin' up the pieces to start over. We--we couldn't pick up any
pieces."

They couldn't pick up any pieces. In a way, that was worse than the
disappearance of things. In a catastrophe, after taking care of those
that are hurt, first thing a man does is gather the materials and tools
to fix things up again. The women, after soothing them that's hurt,
taking care of them as muc