THE NIGHT ATTACK The Halma men were not naturally lazy.

They were, in the days before the coming of the Great Sloth, a most energetic and industrious people.

Now that the Sloth was obliged to work eight hours a day, the weight of its constant and catching sleepiness was taken away, and the people set to work in good earnest.

(I did explain, didn't I, that the Great Sloth's sleepiness really was catching, like measles ?) So now the Halma men were as busy as ants.

Some dug the channel for the new stream, some set to work to restore the buildings, while others weeded the overgrown gardens and ploughed the deserted fields.