While staying at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Moore, some old friends, Mr. and Mrs. Burton receive invitations to a dance. The evening of the dance, Mrs. Moore tells them that she and her husband will be away for the night, staying at her mother’s, and gives the key to Mrs. Burton so that she and her husband will have no trouble getting into the house when they return. As soon as the Moores and Burtons have driven away to keep their respective engagements, Maggie, the cook, also leaves the house; she is going to a wedding celebration and expects to be away all night and to return in the morning before her master and mistress get back. She tells the sleepy housemaid, Bridget, that she has the key in her pocket-book. When the Burtons get back from the dance they find that they have left the key behind. They ring and ring, but Bridget, who is a fat, sleepy individual, does not hear them. An attempt to enter the house by means of the cellar is futile. Burton does not have much trouble getting through the cellar window but is unable to get through the door that leads into the kitchen, as it is locked. He succeeds, however, in knocking over an ash barrel and getting his clothes badly messed. The Burtons then attempt to rouse the maid by telephoning to the house, but she still sleeps soundly and does not hear them. Incidentally it costs two dollars to appease the sleepy druggist for bringing him out of bed. They next decide to go to a hotel, but the clerk will not admit them as they have no baggage. The rest of the night they spend in a taxi-cab as it is too chilly to walk about the streets. About eight o’clock in the morning, Maggie returns from the wedding party and sees the taxi in front of the house. Maggie looks inside, and seeing the sleepers, becomes alarmed and shrieks out that they are dead. Her screams awake Mr. and Mrs. Burton, who joyfully recognize her and get the key at last. Not the least of their troubles is that the taxi meter has been piling up the bill steadily and Burton finds that he has about seventeen dollars to pay for what has been, at the best, an uncomfortable lodging house.