"Because the natural formation of most people's noses allows them
to see straight down beneath an ordinary bandage. I doubt if one
child out of a hundred who plays 'Blind Man's Buff' is really
unable to see at all."

"That's so," said Embury, "when I played it, as a kid, I could
always see straight down--though not, of course, laterally."

"And noses are different," went on Hanlon. "Some prominent beaks
could never be blindfolded, but some small, flat noses might be.
However, this refers to ordinary blindfolding with an ordinary
handkerchief. When it comes to putting fat cotton pads in one's
eye sockets, before the thick bandage is added, it necessitates
previous preparation. So, my powers of contracting and expanding
my forehead muscles allow me to push the pads out of the way, and
enable me to see straight down the sides of my nose from under
the bandage. Of course, I can see only the ground, and that but
in a circumscribed area around my feet, but it's enough."

"How?" asked Eunice, her piquant face eagerly turned to the
speaker. "How did you know which way to turn?"

"I don't like it," declared Aunt Abby. "I hate it--I'm
absolutely disgusted with the whole performance! I detest
practical jokes!"

"Oh, come now, Miss Ames," and Hendricks chuckled; "this isn't
exactly a joke--it's a hoax, and a new one, but it's a legitimate
game. From the Davenport Brothers and Herrmann, on down through