rspiration from his bulging forehead,
for the third movement of the sonata, marked in the score _Allegro con
fuoco_, had taxed even the technic of its composer.

"A winner of what?" Boris asked--"money? Because supposing a miracle
happens that somebody would publish it nobody buys it."

Max nodded his head slowly in sympathetic acquiescence.

"But anyhow you ain't so bad off like some composers," he said. "You've
anyhow got a good musician to play your stuff for you."

He smiled at Jacob Rekower, who plunged his hands into his trousers
pockets and shrugged deprecatingly.

"Sure, I know," Rekower said; "and if we play too much good stuff
Marculescu raises the devil with us we should play more popular music."

He spat out the words "popular music" with an emphasis that made a
_Tarrok_ player at the next table jump in his seat.

"_Nu_," said the latter as the deal passed, "what is the matter with
popular music? If it wouldn't be for writing popular music, understand
me, many a decent, respectable composer would got to starve!"

He turned his chair round and abandoned the card game the better to air
his views on popular music.

"Furthermore," he said, "I know a young feller by the name Milton Jassy
which last year he makes two thousand dollars already from syncopating
_Had gadyo_ and calling it the "Wildcat Rag," and this year he is
writing the music for a new show and I bet yer the least he makes out of
it is five thousand dollars."

"Yow! Five thousand dollars!" Merech exclaimed. "Such people you hear
about, but you _oser_ see 'em."

"Don't you?" said the _Tarrok_ player, drawing a cardcase from his
breast pocket. "Well, you see one now."

He laid face upward on the table a card which read:

+============================================+
| |
| "THE SONGS YOU ALL SING" |
| |
| |
| MILTON JASSY |
| SIDDONS THEATRE BUILDING |
| ROOM 1400 |
| |
| "STUFF WITH A PUNCH" |
| |
| LAZY DAISY EDDIE |
| WILDCAT RAG ALL ABOARD FOR SLEEPYTOWN |
|