I call these mossy balls Jökla-mýs, literally glacier mice, and you will have noted, Sir, that rolling stones can gather moss.

In my own case, I was beaten about the head by their wings, so we have had a remarkable exhibition of their various methods of offence. It has been touch and go for our lives, said Lord John, gravely, and I could not think of a more rotten sort of death than to be outed by such filthy vermin.

The room was arranged by low wooden partitions into bays, where eight or ten men could sit together and rest their pewters and glasses on the narrow tables between.

'Roll another fat one, Rashid,' Dooley said, looking over. 'Another giant bifta for the tea-break.'