The nearest row of the people got their closest attention.  Without exception, they had the same general build as Estra; slim, delicate, and anemic, they resembled a “ward full of convalescent consumptives,” as the doctor commented under his breath.  Not one of them would ever give a joke-smith material for a fat-man anecdote; at the same time there was nothing feverish, nervous, or broken down in their appearance.  “A pretty lot of invalids,” as Billie added to the doctor’s remark.

Many observers would have been struck, first, by the extreme diversity in the matter of dress.  All wore skin-tight clothing, and much of it was silky, like Estra’s.  But there was a bewildering assortment of colors, and the most extraordinary decorations, or, rather, ornaments.  So far as dress went, there was no telling anything whatever about sex.

“Are they all men?” asked Billie, wondering, of Estra.  The Venusian shook his head with his invariable smile.  “Nor all women either,” said he enigmatically.

But in many respects they were astonishingly alike.  Almost to a soul their upper lips were withered and flat.  One and all had short, emaciated-looking legs.  Each and every one had a crop of really luxuriant hair; the shades varied between the usual blonde and brunette, with little of the reddishness so common on the earth; but there were no bald people at all.  On the other hand, there were no beards or mustaches in the whole crowd; every face was bare!

“Like a lot of Chinamen,” said Van Emmon in an undertone; “can’t tell one from another.”  But Billie pointed out that this was not strictly true; a close inspection of the faces showed an extremely wide range of distinction.  No two chins in the crowd were exactly alike, although not one of them showed any of the resolute firmness which is admired on the Earth.  All were weak, yet different.

Neither were there any prominent noses, although there were none that could have been called insignificant.  And while every pair of eyes in the place was large, as large as Estra’s, yet there was every desirable color and expression.

To sum it all up, and to use the doctor’s words:  “They’ve developed a standard type, all right, just as the characteristic American face is the standard Earth type; but—­did you ever see such variations?”

Nevertheless, the most striking thing about these people to the eyes of the visitors was their mutual resemblance.  For one thing, there seemed to be no nervous people present.  There were many children in the crowd, too; yet all sat very still, and only an occasional movement of the hands served to indicate consciousness.  In this sense, they were all remarkably well bred.

In another, they were remarkably rude.  At any given moment a good half of the people were eating, or, rather, sipping liquids of various sorts from small tumblers.  Probably every person in the house, before the affair was over, had imbibed two or three ounces of fluid; but not once was the matter apologized for, nor the four invited to partake.