For this reason Aldous was glad that Keller had not gone to bed.

He knocked at the door and entered without waiting for an invitation.
The engineer stood in the middle of the floor, his coat off, his fat, stubby hands thrust into the pockets of his baggy trousers, his red face and bald cranium shining in the lamplight.

A strange fury blazed in his eyes as he greeted his visitor.

He began pacing back and forth across the room, puffing volumes of smoke from a huge bowled German pipe as he motioned Aldous to a chair.
"What's the matter, Peter ?" "Enough--an' be damned!" growled Peter.

"If it wasn't enough do you think I'd be out of bed at this hour of the night ?" "I'm sure it's enough," agreed Aldous.