A curious whirring noise came from within.

He became an inconspicuous unit of the group and gazed in.

The lights were on, revealing a long table elaborately set as for a banquet, but the guests who stood about gave him instant uneasiness.

They were in the grossest caricatures of evening dress, both men and women, and they were not beautiful.

The gowns of the women were grotesque and the men were lawless appearing, either as to hair or beards or both.