ry on der coat and vest," he said. "Here, Rachel, hold der young
gentleman's coat an' vest till I fit him to perfection," he went on to his
wife, who had come up.

"Oh, Isaac, it vos a shame to sold dem peautiful allvool suits for twelfe
dollars!" she cried, in assumed dismay.

"I vos sold dem for nine and ten dollars," returned Isaac.

"Vot, you reduced dem again?" she cried, in well-assumed horror.

"Yah, I vos got to haf der monish."

"It vos der greatest pargain sale in der vorld!" cried the woman. "You
ought to buy two suits vile it lasts," she went on to Ralph.

In the meantime her husband was trying to make Ralph take off his coat and
vest. He at length succeeded, and in a trice had part of one of the store
suits on his back.

"Ach! vot an elegant fit!" he cried, in deep admiration. "Chust like it vos
made to order!"

"Peautiful! peautiful!" joined in his wife.

"Vill you try on der bants?" asked the Jew.

"No," returned Ralph, decidedly.

"You had better. Da might not fit chust so vell as der coat."

"But I do not want to buy," cried Ralph, desperately.

"Vat?" screamed the old Jew. "And dot suit fits so elegantly!"

"Of course he takes dot suit," put in his wife. "Vot more you vonts, hey?"

"I didn't want to buy from the start," returned Ralph. "Give me my coat and
vest."

And taking off the store coat and vest, he flung them on a counter.

"You dinks I vos a fool!" shrieked the old Jew. "Vot you try dem clothes on
for, hey? Dot suit chust fits you--it's chust vot you vonts. I wraps dem up
and you bays for dem and say noddings more! I vos here to sell goots--not
to be fooled mit!"

CHAPTER XXXII.

NEW EMPLOYMENT.

Had Ralph been more familiar with the ways of the city, and particularly
with the ways of such merchants as the one with whom he now had to deal, he
would have known that the Jew's anger was only put on in order to
intimidate him into purchasing a suit he did not want.

The Bowery is full of such shops as I have described, and despite the many
protests that have been made, "pullers-in" and their associates continue to
flourish. In more than three-quarters of the cases where passers-by are
enticed into stores they are forced into buying, no matter how hard they
protest against the outrage.

But although he was ignorant of the real facts of the matter, one thing was
clear to Ralph. He did not want to buy, and he was not going to be forced
into doing so.

"I did not c