He swung open the door and released the sound like a wall of water. It rushed over us, and I felt stunned by its volume. Beneath the roar of voices there was the heavy bass beat of hip hop. The air beyond the door was warm and moist, and it held the sweet smell of fresh sweat, of cigar smoke, expensive wine and rich food, and many scents and colognes. I could see the room at the end of the passage. I could see the backs of a number of men jostling for position, crowded around one another and waving fistfuls of money like brokers in the bear pit. They seemed to be surrounding something in a ring. I felt like an explorer penetrating deep into the temple of some forgotten tribe. I came into a room filled with young men and women in evening dress. There were perhaps thirty or forty, the boys heavily outnumbering the girls. It was difficult to tell through the press of bodies, as the only light in the room came from the fire burning in the grate, and the vast silver candelabra growing like some mythical tree out of the centre of a long dining table. Each of its slender silver limbs bore a great ivory candle, which had already burned halfway down, the wax suspended like luminous fungus from the base of each one. The table was still set with the remnants of a sumptuous dinner, and had been pushed up against the far wall to create a space in the centre of the room about fifteen feet in diameter. A ring. The crowd had gathered around the other three sides, and were leaning over as far as they dared, straining to get close like hungry animals about a patch of firelight. The rap came from wall-mounted speakers, with bass so loud the beat hit the air in little percussive bursts. A blackboard had been erected on one end of the table, and a small dark girl was marking the changing odds in chalk and taking bets from the howling boys. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a severe ponytail that stood out from the back of her skull. She was conspicuous by being the only person in everyday clothes, a singlet and black combats, and had about her an aura of calm efficiency quite out of keeping with the prevailing abandon. She plucked money out of the sea of raised hands and gave out tickets. She moved nimbly between the decanters, the cheese plates and the place mats. Some of the spectators stood on chairs against the walls, which were panelled with oak edged in gilt. They raised their fists. The room was hot, and their wide-open mouths punched black holes in their faces, turning them into thick red rings. The amber firelight burnished them to a passionate glow. Many of the boys seemed very drunk. Some still carried the crystal port glasses they must have picked up from the final course, half full of burgundy liquid.