At this moment a heavy knocking sounded upon the door, so resonant, so brutal that they both trembled.
"They are about to begin!" cried a voice in the passage. Perhaps it may seem singular to those who have not experienced similar situations, that such an incident can save a young girl; that the sentiment of secondary but immediate duty can brusquely awaken her at the moment that the notion of primal duty is losing its hold upon her. Esther recovered her presence of mind upon the instant.
"I am on in the first scene!" she cried. "Quick, my costume!"
She threw open the door. The callboy had disappeared, but one of the company who was to play the part of Hero, already dressed, was just descending to the greenroom.
"Are they beginning?" Esther demanded.
"Not yet."
"But I have just been called."
"Who could have done it? Some joke of course. You have a quarter of an hour yet."
"But I am alone!"
"Then I will help you."