le down. After all, Mr.
Rothman, he is only a boy, y'understand."

"At twenty-one," Rothman replied, "a boy ain't a boy no longer, Mr.
Zwiebel. Either he is a man or he is a loafer, y'understand."

"The boy ain't no loafer, Mr. Rothman. He's got a good heart, Mr.
Rothman, and he is honest like the day. That boy wouldn't dream of
taking no money from the cash drawer, Mr. Rothman, without he would
tell me all about it afterward. That's the kind of boy he is, Mr.
Rothman; and certainly Mrs. Zwiebel she thinks a whole lot of him, too.
Not that he doesn't think a whole lot of her, Mr. Rothman. Yes, Mr.
Rothman, that boy thinks a whole lot of his mother. If he would stay
out all night he always says to her the next morning, 'Mommer, you
shouldn't worry about me, because I could always take care of myself,'
and I bet yer that boy could take care of himself, too, Mr. Rothman. I
seen that boy sit in a game with such sharks like Moe Rabiner and Marks
Pasinsky, and them fellers couldn't do nothing with him. Yes, Mr.
Rothman, that boy is a natural-born pinochle player."

"Might you think that a recommendation, maybe?" Rothman exclaimed.

"Well, Mr. Rothman, my brother Sol, _selig_, used to say, 'Show me a
good pinochle player and I will show you a natural-born salesman.'"

"Yes, Mr. Zwiebel," Rothman retorted, "and show me a salesman what is a
good pinochle player, Mr. Zwiebel, and I will also show you a feller
what fools away his time and sells the firm's samples. No, Mr. Zwiebel,
if I would take your boy in my place I certainly wouldn't take him
because he is a good pinochle player. Ain't he got no other
recommendation, Mr. Zwiebel?"

"Well, certainly, everybody what that boy worked for, Mr. Rothman,
couldn't say enough about him," Mr. Zwiebel said enigmatically; "but,
anyhow, what's the use talking, Mr. Rothman? I got this proposition to
make you: Take the boy into your place and learn him the business, and
all you would got to pay him is five dollars a week. Myself I will put
ten to it, and you could pay him fifteen, and the boy wouldn't got to
know nothing about it."

"I wouldn't give him five dollars a week or five cents, neither," Mr.
Rothman answered in tones of finality. "Because I don't need nobody in
my place at present, and if I would need somebody I would hire it a
feller what knows the business. I got lots of experience with new
beginners already, Mr. Zwiebel, and I always lost money by 'em."

Mr. Zwiebel rec