me to work by me. Yes? How much you get by
that--that M. Garfunkel?"

"Twenty dollars a month," Anna replied.

"All right, we'll pay you twenty-two," he said. "You're cheap at the
price. So I expect you this evening."

He turned to his partner after the girls had gone.

"Mawruss," he said, "put them goods for M. Garfunkel back in stock. I
rung up Klinger & Klein and they sold him four thousand. I also rung up
the Perfection Cloak and Suit Company--also four thousand; Margolius &
Fried--two thousand; Levy, Martin & Co.--three thousand, and so on. The
way I figure it, he must of bought a hundred thousand dollars' worth of
goods, all in the last few days, and all at ninety days net. He couldn't
get a quarter of the goods in that First Avenue building of his,
Mawruss, so where is the rest? Auction houses, Mawruss, north, south,
east and west, and I bet yer he got the advance checks for each
consignment deposited in Montreal right now. I bet yer he didn't even
unpack the cases before he reshipped. Tell Miss Cohen to come in and
bring her book."

When Miss Cohen took her seat Abe rose and cleared his throat for an
epistle worthy of the occasion.

"The Paris. M. Garfunkel, Proprietor," he said. "Gents: Owing to
circumstances which has arose----No. Wait a bit."

He cleared his throat more vigorously.

"The Paris. M. Garfunkel, Proprietor," he said. "Gents: Owing to the
fact that the _U_-nited States bankruptcy laws don't go nowheres except
in the _U_-nited States, we are obliged to cancel the order what you
give us. Thanking you for past favors and hoping to do a strictly-cash
business with you in the future, we are truly yours, Potash &
Perlmutter."

Miss Cohen shut her book and arose.

"Wait a bit, Miss Cohen. I ain't through yet," Abe said. He tilted
backward and forward on his toes for a moment.

"P. S.," he concluded. "We hope you'll like it in Canada."

CHAPTER V

"Things goes pretty smooth for us lately, Mawruss," Abe Potash remarked,
shortly after M. Garfunkel's failure. "I guess we are due for a _schlag_
somewheres, ain't it?"

"Always you got to kick," Morris cried. "If you would only listen to
what _I_ got to say oncet in a while, Abe, things would always go
smooth."

Abe emitted a raucous laugh.

"Sure, I know," he said, "like this here tenement house proposition you
was talking to me about, Mawruss. You ain't content we should have our
troubles in the cloak and suit business, Mawruss,