"Will you allow me to say mine first?"
"Certainly; but I warn you, they will make no difference."
"To you, possibly not. They make all the difference to me. I'm not going to attempt to defend myself. I can see the whole thing from your point of view. I've been thinking it over. Didn't you say that what you heard you had not heard from Edith?"
"From Edith? Never!"
"When did you hear it, then?"
"Yesterday afternoon."
"From some one in the hotel?"
"Yes."
"From whom? Not that it matters."
"From those women who came yesterday. I didn't know whom they were talking about. They were talking quite loud. They didn't know who I was."