u, Gurin," he concluded. "Either you would
send us a check the first thing to-morrow morning, _oder_ we would give
your account to our lawyers, and that's all there is to it."

He puffed away at his cigar as he trudged down the street, and he had
nearly reached the corner when he heard a familiar voice shouting: "Mr.
Perlmutter!" He turned to view B. Gurin hastening after him.

"Well, Gurin," he grunted, "what you want now?"

Gurin stopped and gasped for breath, and Morris's heart gave a
triumphant leap as he noted the anxiety displayed on B. Gurin's
clean-shaven features.

"Speak up, Gurin," he said; "I got to get my train."

Gurin smiled in surrender.

"All right, Mr. Perlmutter," he murmured; "make for me a date and I will
look the lady over."

* * * * *

When Morris entered his place of business the next morning he found his
partner examining the advertising columns of a morning paper with an
absorption hardly justified by the tabulated list of births, marriages
and deaths at which he was gazing.

"What's biting you now, Abe?" Morris demanded.

"What d'ye mean, what's biting me?" Abe rejoined, and Morris blushed in
the consciousness of his oversleeping that morning by more than half an
hour.

"Say, lookyhere, Abe," he cried. "I don't know what you are driving
into, understand me, but if you think you could get _brogus_ at me just
because I am ten minutes late once in a while, y'understand, let me tell
you I am catching a twelve o'clock train from Mount Vernon last night,
and not alone I am talking myself blue in the face to that feller Gurin,
y'understand, but when I got home already I couldn't get to sleep till I
told the whole thing to my Minnie yet."

Abe nodded slowly.

"Yes, Abe," Morris continued, "I got to go over the story twice over
already, and even then, y'understand, my Minnie gets mad because I
didn't contradict myself.

"Only one idee that woman got it in her head, Abe. If I am out of the
house _schon_ ten minutes already you couldn't tell her otherwise but I
am playing auction pinocle."

"Well, you might just as well of been playing auction pinocle last night
for all the good it would do us."

"What are you talking about--all the good it would do us?" Morris almost
whimpered.

"I actually got the feller dead to rights, Abe, and all I must do now is
to work from the other end."

Abe burst into a mirthless laugh and handed Morris the paper.

"You