He passes his hand over Miss Gower's gray head.
"It is--it is--it _must_ be!" cries he, in a positive tone.
"It"-- here his hand flies swiftly down her warlike nose--"it is Colonel Neilson!" declares he, with a shout of triumph.
"Unhand me, sir!" cries Miss Gower.
She had not spoken up to this--but to compare her to a man! She moves majestically forward.

Gower unhands her, and, lifting one side of his would-be blind, regards her fixedly.
"It was the nose!" He looks round reproachfully at Neilson.

"Just see what you've let me in for!" says he.
"Don't talk to me, sir!" cries his aunt indignantly.

"Make no excuses--none need be made! When one plays demoralizing games in daylight, one should be prepared for anything;" and with this she once more leaves the room.
"Ah, we should have played demoralizing games at _midnight,"_ says Mr.Gower, who doesn't look half as much ashamed of himself as he ought, "then we should have been all right." Here somebody who is standing at one of the windows says suddenly: "It is clearing!" "Is it ?" cries Tita.

"Then I suppose we ought to go out! But what a pity we couldn't have another game first!" She looks very sorry.
"You certainly seemed to enjoy it," says Sir Maurice with a cold smile, as he passes her..