redit man. She don't believe nothing nobody
tells her."

* * * * *

When Sam entered the showroom of Henry Schrimm's place of business,
half an hour later, Henry hastened to greet him. "_Wie gehts_, Mr.
Gembitz?" he cried.

He drew forward a chair and Sam sank into it as feebly as he considered
appropriate to the role of a convalescent.

"I'm a pretty sick man, Henry," he said, "and I feel I ain't long for
this world."

He allowed his head to loll over his left shoulder in an attitude of
extreme fatigue; in doing so, however, his eye rested for a moment upon
a shipping clerk who was arranging Henry's sample garments on some
old-fashioned racks.

"Say, lookyhere, Henry," Sam exclaimed, raising his head suddenly, "how
the devil could you let a feller like that ruin your whole sample
line?"

He jumped from his chair and strode across the showroom.

"_Schlemiel!_" he cried. "What for you are wrinkling them garments like
that?"

He seized a costume from the astonished shipping clerk and for half an
hour he arranged and rearranged Henry's samples until the job was
finished to his satisfaction.

"Mr. Gembitz," Henry protested, "sit down for a minute. You would make
yourself worse."

"What d'ye mean, make myself worse?" Sam demanded. "I am just as much
able to do this as you are, Henry. Where do you keep your piece goods,
Henry?"

Henry led the way to the cutting room and Sam Gembitz inspected a dozen
bolts of cloth that were piled in a heap against the wall.

"That's just what I thought, Henry," Sam cried. "You let them fellers
keep the place here like a pig-sty."

"Them's only a lot of stickers, Mr. Gembitz," Henry explained.

"Stickers!" Sam repeated. "What d'ye mean stickers? That's the same
mistake a whole lot of people makes. There ain't no such thing as
stickers, Henry. Sometimes you get ahold of some piece goods which is
out of demand for the time being, Henry; but sooner or later the
fashions would change, Henry, and then the stickers ain't stickers no
more. They're live propositions again."

Henry made no reply and Sam continued:

"Yes, Henry," he went on, "some people is always willing they should
throw out back numbers which really ain't back numbers at all. Take
them boys of mine, for instance, Henry, and see how glad they was to
get rid of me on account they think I am a back number; but I ain't,
Henry. And just to show you I ain't, Henry, do you hap