"Don’t lose your head, Angelica; but come when you can. I’ll be in all the afternoon. And don’t worry. It’s only that I think you ought to know before all the others."

She didn’t wait to hear the rest. She left the telephone and turned to her friends a distracted and blanched face.

"I’ve got to go!" she said.

"Is anything wrong?" asked Sillon kindly, alarmed by her look.

"Yes! I’ve got to go!"

"Can’t I go with you?"

"No, no, no!"

Angelica was pinning on her hat, without even a glance in the mirror, and was starting out when Devery stopped her.

"Your bag!" she said. "Or are you coming back to-day?"

"Never!" she cried. "Never!"