rever sand had touched fabric, fabric had disappeared.

Their suits had of course approached the minimum to start with. Now
Bernadine wore only a wisp of nylon perched precariously on one breast
and part of a ribbon that had once been a belt. Discovering the
catastrophe, she shrieked once and leaped into the pool any-which-way,
covering her breasts with her hands and hiding in water up to her neck.

Meanwhile, the involuntarily high diver had come to the surface,
laughing apologetically. Surprised by the hair dangling down over her
eyes, she felt for her cap. It was gone. So was her suit. Naked as a
fish. She swam a couple of easy strokes, then stopped.

"Frank! Oh, Frank!" she called.

"Over here, Bev." Her husband did not quite know whether to laugh or
not.

"Is it the radiation or the water? Or both?"

"Radiation, I think. These new skins of ours don't want to be covered
up. But it probably makes the water a pretty good imitation of a
universal solvent."

"Good-by, clothes!" Beverly rolled over onto her back, fanned water
carefully with her hands, and gazed approvingly at herself. "I don't
itch any more, anyway, so I'm very much in favor of it."

* * * * *

Thus the Ardans came to their new home world and to a life that was to
be more comfortable by far and happier by far than any of them had known
on Earth. There were many other surprises that day, of course; of which
only two will be mentioned here. When they finally left the pool, at
about seventeen hours G.M.T.[2], everybody was ravenously hungry.

[2] Greenwich Mean Time. Ardvor was, always and everywhere, full
daylight. Terran time and calendar were adapted as a matter of course.

"But why _should_ we be?" Stella demanded. "I've been eating everything
in sight, just for fun. But now I'm actually hungry enough to eat a
horse and wagon and chase the driver!"

"Swimming makes everybody hungry," Beverly said, "and I'm awfully glad
_that_ hasn't changed. Why, I wouldn't feel _human_ if I didn't!"

Hilton and Temple went home, and had a long-drawn-out and very wonderful
supper. Prince waited on Temple, Dark Lady on Hilton; Larry and Moty ran
the synthesizers in the kitchen. All four Omans radiated happiness.

Another surprise came when they went to bed. For the bed was a raised
platform of something that looked like concrete and, except for an
uncanny property of molding itself somewhat to the contours of their
bodies, w