"Who's winning?" cried Archie.
"What an absurd question," I said. "As if we should tell you."
"All right. Dahl—Miss Blair, have you ever seen billiards played really well?"
"Never."
"Then now's your chance. Ninety, ninety-nine—they've only just begun. This is Thomas's first break, I expect. There—he's got a clear board. You get five extra for that, and the other man is rubiconed. Ninety-nine all. Now, it is only a question of who misses first."
I put down my cue.
"Thomas," I began, "we have said some hard things about each other to-night, but when I listen to Archie I feel very friendly towards you."
"Archibald," said Thomas, "is a beastly name."
"So I told Miss Blair. For a man who was, so to speak, born with a silver billiard-table in his mouth to come here and make fun of two persevering and, in my case, promising players, is——"
"You'll never finish that sentence," said Myra. "Try some more billiards."