quarter after six
As Lena Harpster drank her coffee and noted her lover 's increasing uneasiness , she gave no sign of her resentment , part of which was due to the unwillingness of a sensuous nature to leave a warm corner by the fire on a winter night . Her awakened sense of power made her for the first time rebellious of being hustled out of sight and kept in the dark . The struggle between her and Emmet was on in earnest , and her heart beat fast with a resolve to delay him there until they should be seen together . It was quarter after six when the jingle of bells was heard before the door , and Cobbens 's voice calling loudly for the stable-man . Even then there was time to escape . Emmet had only to pay his bill and slip quickly out the side door as his enemy entered at the front . Lena too saw the chance and started from her chair , her eyes fixed upon his with instinctive questioning and submission , all her high resolves forgotten in the actual crisis .