Joe Larrabee came from a small town in the West, with a great gift for painting and very little money. At twenty he went to New York to study art, sure that one day the whole world would know his name. Delia Caruthers came from a town in the South. She played the piano so well that her family gathered enough money to send her north to study music. Joe and Delia met in a studio where young people who loved art often came together in the evenings. In a very short time they were in love, and a little later they were married. The Larrabees began their life together in a small flat. It was a poor home, but they were happy, for they had their art and they had each other. Joe was studying painting under the great Magister, whose lessons cost a great deal. Delia was studying music under Rosenstock, a famous teacher who could make a piano sing. They were very happy while their little money lasted. Every morning Joe went to his class, and in the afternoon he painted at home. In the evening Delia played for him, and they talked for hours about the great artists they hoped to become. Joe believed that his pictures would soon hang in the finest galleries. Delia was sure that her music would one day fill great halls. The little flat was full of laughter and the smell of paint. There were no clouds in their sky. But money does not last for ever, and after a while theirs began to grow small. Soon there was not enough for two sets of lessons and for food at the same time. When one loves one's art, no service seems too hard — yet the rent must still be paid each week, and bread must still be bought. One evening the two young people sat quietly, and each of them was thinking about the same thing.