should come back to the
store. I just seen Flixman on the street and he tells me he's got a
young feller by the name Karpfer _oder_ Kapfer now running his store;
and," he continued in an access of inspiration, "the stock is awful run
down there; so, if Elkan goes right back to Bridgetown with a line of
low-priced goods he could do a big business with Kapfer."

Polatkin had long since concocted what he had conceived to be a
perfectly good excuse for his letter, and he had intended to lend it
color by prefacing it with an abusive dissertation on "Wasting the Whole
Afternoon over Lunch"; but Scheikowitz' greeting completely disarmed
him. His jaw dropped and he gazed stupidly at his partner.

"What's the matter?" Scheikowitz cried. "Is it so strange we should
bring Elkan back here for the chance of doing some more business? Three
dollars carfare between here and Bridgetown wouldn't make or break us,
Polatkin."

"Sure! Sure!" Marcus said at last. "I would--now--write him as soon as I
get back from lunch."

"Write him right away!" Scheikowitz insisted; and, though Marcus had
breakfasted before seven that morning and it was then half-past two, he
turned to his desk without further parley. There, for the second time
that day, he penned a letter to Elkan; and, after exhibiting it to his
partner, he inclosed it in an addressed envelope. Two minutes later he
paused in front of Wasserbauer's cafe and, taking the missive from his
pocket, tore it into small pieces and cast it into the gutter.

* * * * *

"I suppose, Elkan, you are wondering why we wrote you to come home from
Bridgetown when you would be back on Saturday anyway," Scheikowitz began
as Elkan laid down his suitcase in the firm's office the following
afternoon.

"Naturally," Elkan replied. "I had an appointment for this morning to
see a feller there, which we could open maybe a good account; a feller
by the name Max Kapfer."

"Max Kapfer?" Polatkin and Scheikowitz exclaimed with one voice.

"That's what I said," Elkan repeated. "And in order I shouldn't lose the
chance I got him to promise he would come down here this afternoon yet
on a late train and we would pay his expenses."

"Do you mean Max Kapfer, the feller which took over Flixman's store?"
Polatkin asked.

"There's only one Max Kapfer in Bridgetown," Elkan replied, and Polatkin
immediately assumed a pose of righteous indignation.

"That's from yours an idee, Scheikowitz," he