noon
Veins of optimism and of gratulation like threads of gold ran through the texture of their talk . There seemed to exist a tacit understanding that , with the death of Drummond , the cloud that had shadowed the career of Sara Law had lifted , while her renunciation of her public career had left her with a future of glorified serenity and assured happiness . By common consent , with an almost superstitious awe , they begged the question of the shadowed and inexplicable past -- left the dead past to bury itself , bestowing all their fatuous concern with the to-day of rejoicing and the to-morrow of splendid promise . Toward noon they parted ashore , each taking a taxicab to his lodgings . The understanding was that they were to dine together -- all three , Whitaker promising for his wife -- upon the morrow . At six that evening , returning to his rooms to dress , Whitaker found another note awaiting him , in a handwriting that his heart recognized with a sensation of wretched apprehension . He dared not trust himself to read it in the public hall .