It was one night in middle October when Billy and Caroline met by accident on Thirty-fourth Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Caroline stood looking into a drug-store window where an automatic mannikin was shaving himself with a patent safety razor. "There's a wax feller going to bed in an automatic folding settee, a little farther down the street," Billy offered gravely at her elbow; "and on Forty-second Street there is a real live duck pond advertising the advantages of electric heaters in the home." "H'lo," said Caroline, who was colloquial only in moments of real pleasure or excitement. "I've just written to you. I asked you to come and see me to-morrow evening," she added more seriously, "to talk about something that's weighing on my mind." "I'm going out with a blonde to-morrow, night," Billy said speciously, "but what's the matter with to-night? I'm free until six-fifty A. M. and I could spare an hour or two between then and breakfast time." "I can't to-night," Caroline said, "I promised Nancy to dine at the Inn." "That wasn't your line at all," Billy groaned. "Who's the blonde?--that was your cue. If it's only Nancy you're dining with--that can be fixed." "I regard an engagement with Nancy as just as sacred as--" "So do I," Billy cut in. "She is the blonde. Well, let to-morrow night be as it may; let's you and I call up the Nancy girl now and tell her that we're going batting together; she won't care." "I don't like doing that," Caroline said; "it's a nice night for a bat, though." "I walked down Murray Hill and saw the sun set in a nice pinky gold setting," Billy said artfully. Caroline liked to have him get an artistic perspective on New York. "Let's walk down the avenue to the Café des Artistes and have Emincé Bernard, and a long wide high, tall drink of--ginger ale," he finished lamely. "We'd have to telephone Nancy," Caroline hesitated. Billy took her by the arm and guided her into the interior of the drug-store to the side aisle where the telephones were, and stepped into the first empty booth that offered. Caroline stopped him firmly as he was about to shut himself inside. "I'd rather hear what you say," she said. Billy slipped his nickel in the slot and took up the receiver. "Madison Square 3403 doesn't answer," Central informed him crisply after an interval. "Oh! Nancy, dear," Billy replied softly into her astonished ear. "Caroline and I are going off by ourselves to-night, you don't care, do you?" "Ringing thr-r-ree-four-o-thr-r-ee, Madison Square." "That's nice of you," Billy responded heartily. "I thought you'd say that." "Madison Square thr-r-ree-four-o-t-h-r-r-ree doesn't answer. Hang up your receiver and I'll call you if I get the party." "Of course I will. You're always so tactful in the way you put things, always so generous and kind and thoughtful. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it." "What did Nancy say?" Caroline asked, as they turned away from the booth.