in that dingy little hall, with its small proscenium opening guarded
by a frayed old curtain, and he smiled as he remembered the landscape it
bore. With the sophistication of his race he had enjoyed many a good
laugh at the performance that had evoked the tears of his fellow
townsmen. What Rubes they were, to be sure! And yet, what good fellows
the boys had been! He recalled various ones by name and found himself
wondering how they looked and whether they were married or single.
Another half hour of like musing and suddenly he slapped his thigh.

"By jinks!" he said, "I'll do it. I need a vacation and I'm going to
have it too."

When Morris returned to his place of business that afternoon he had
packed Sam Green off to his store upstate with instructions to return in
a week, during which Morris hoped to take the matter up with Abe. As for
his hour-long absence from his place of business, Morris had provided
himself with a plausible explanation in rebuttal to the quiet, ironical
greeting that he knew would await him. His program was a little upset,
however, by Abe's inquiry, which was not in the least ironical.

"Loafer, where have you been?" Abe demanded.

"What d'ye mean, loafer?" Morris cried.

"I mean, while you are fooling away your time, Moe Griesman comes in
here to see us and naturally he don't find none of us here; so he goes
away again. From us he goes straight over to Sammet Brothers--and that's
the way it goes."

"But, Abe," Morris protested, "I thought you told me he cancels his
order this morning and buys only from Klinger & Klein."

"Sure, I know," Abe said; "but I suppose he finds out he couldn't find
all the goods he wants with one concern and now he goes over to Sammet
Brothers."

"How do you know he went over to Sammet Brothers?" Morris asked.

"A question! How do I know it?" Abe exclaimed. "Ain't he left a
memorandum I should ring him up there?"

"Well, why don't you ring him up and find out what he wants?" Morris
retorted.

"What do I care what he wants, Mawruss?" Abe rejoined. "Whatever he
wants he don't want it now, because them two cut-throats would suck him
dry of orders. Once a feller gets into the hands of Sammet Brothers they
wouldn't let him go till he bought himself blue in the face."

"Ring him up, anyhow," Morris insisted; and the next moment Abe was
engaged in a heated altercation with "Central." Finally he heard Leon
Sammet at the other end of the wire.

"Hello!" he yelle