"Then I'll place you. It will be my affair."
"You're very kind"—he quite rose to it. "Isn't it a simple matter for me to take a stall? This week I suppose they're to be had."
"I'll send you a box," said Miriam. "You shall do it well. There are plenty now."
"Why should I be lost, all alone, in the grandeur of a box?"
"Can't you bring your friend?"
"My friend?"
"The lady you're engaged to."
"Unfortunately she's out of town."
Miriam looked at him in the grand manner. "Does she leave you alone like that?"
"She thought I should like it—I should be more free to paint. You see I am."