He looked at her in a bewildered way.

“You don’t expect me to remain here until after New Year’s, do you?” he inquired.

“I don’t see how you can avoid it.  Nobody seems to want to work until after New Year’s.”

“Stay in a cage—­two days and a night!”

“Perhaps I had better call up the police.”

“No, no!  Wait.  I’ll tell you what to do.  Start that man, Ferdinand, on a tour of the city.  If he hunts hard enough and long enough he’ll find some plumber or locksmith or somebody who’ll come.”

She rang for Ferdinand; together they instructed him, and he went away, promising to bring salvation in some shape.

Which promise made the young man more cheerful and smoothed out the worried pucker between Sacharissa’s straight brows.

“I suppose,” she said, “that you will never forgive my maid for this—­or me either.”

He laughed.  “After all,” he admitted, “it’s rather funny.”

“I don’t believe you think it’s funny.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Didn’t you want to go to Tuxedo?”

“I!” He looked up at the pretty countenance of Sacharissa.  “I did want to—­a few minutes ago.”

“And now that you can’t your philosophy teaches you that you don’t want to?”

They laughed at each other in friendly fashion.

“Perhaps it’s my philosophy,” he said, “but” I really don’t care very much....  I’m not sure that I care at all....  In fact, now that I think of it, why should I have wished to go to Tuxedo?  It’s stupid to want to go to Tuxedo when New York is so attractive.”

“Do you know,” she said reflectively, “that I came to the same conclusion?”

“When?”

“This morning.”

“Be-before you—­I——­”

“Oh, yes,” she said rather hastily, “before you came——­”

She broke off, pink with consternation.  What a ridiculous thing to say!  What on earth was twisting her tongue to hint at such an absurdity?

She said, gravely, with heightened color:  “I was standing by the window this morning, thinking, and it occurred to me that I didn’t care to go to Tuxedo....  When did you change your mind?”

“A few minutes a—­that is—­well, I never really wanted to go.  It’s jollier in town.  Don’t you think so?  Blue sky, snow—­er—­and all that?”

“Yes,” she said, “it is perfectly delightful in town to-day.”

He assented, then looked discouraged.

“Perhaps you would like to go out?” he said.

“I?  Oh, no....  The sun on the snow is bad for one’s eyes; don’t you think so?”

“Very....  I’m terribly sorry that I’m giving you so much trouble.”

“I don’t mind—­really.  If only I could do something for you.”

“You are.”

“I?”

“Yes; you are being exceedingly nice to me.  I am afraid you feel under obligations to remain indoors and——­”