about ten o'clock
The gambling within the big rotunda had no interest for either of them , and a quarter of an hour later Madame , with her peculiar rasping voice , said -- `` Pierrette , _ ma chère _ , it is time we returned , '' to which the girl acquiesced without comment . Therefore I took them along to Beaulieu and deposited them at the door of their hotel . Having seen them safely inside , I turned the car round and went back to Nice . It was then about ten o'clock , but on the night of a Carnival ball the shops in the Avenue de la Gare are all open , and the dresses necessary for the ball are still displayed . Therefore , having put the car into the garage again , I purchased a pierrot 's kit similar to that worn by the reveller , a black velvet _ loup _ , or mask , put them on in the shop , and then walked along to the Casino . I need not tell you of the ball , of the wild antics of the revellers of both sexes , of the games of leap-frog played by the men , of the great rings of dancers , joining hand in hand , or of the beautiful effect of the two shades of colour seen everywhere . It has been described a hundred times .