At that instant the telephone bell rang.
It sent the expected shock through the little assemblage, and Cora jumped up as if she anticipated a message.
Tillie took down the receiver.
Presently she was saying "no" and "yes," and then she repeated Cora's name.
She handed the receiver to Cora with a whispered word.
Hazel's face went very white.
"You little goose!" exclaimed Bess, who instantly noticed the change.
"Is there no one here worth a telephone message but Hazel Hastings?"
"Yes, Ed—Ed Foster," they heard Cora say. Then she listened a long time. Her face did not betray pleasure, and her words were plainly disguised.
"All right, Ed," she said finally. "I will attend to it at once. Oh, yes, a perfectly lovely time. Thank you—we are just about to dine. Good-by."
Cora was slow to hang up the receiver. And when she turned around
Hazel Hastings confronted her.