tout made an impatient gesture
by way of bringing the conversation back to its original theme.

"That ain't here or there," he declared. "The point is I am fetching you
a customer for your Linden Boulevard house, Glaubmann, and I want this
here matter of the commission settled right away."

Ortelsburg rose to his feet as a shuffling on the stairs announced the
descent of his guests.

"Commissions we would talk about afterward," he said. "First let us sell
the house."

* * * * *

In Benno Ortelsburg's ripe experience there were as many methods of
selling suburban residences as there were residences for sale; and, like
the born salesman he was, he realized that each transaction possessed
its individual obstacles, to be overcome by no hard-and-fast rules of
salesmanship. Thus he quickly divined that whoever sought to sell Elkan
a residence in Burgess Park must first convince Yetta, and he proceeded
immediately to apportion the chips for a five-handed game of auction
pinocle, leaving Yetta to be entertained by his wife. Mrs. Ortelsburg's
powers of persuasion in the matter of suburban property were second only
to her husband's, and the game had not proceeded very far when Benno
looked into the adjoining room and observed with satisfaction that Yetta
was listening open-mouthed to Mrs. Ortelsburg's fascinating narrative of
life in Burgess Park.

"Forty hens we got it," she declared; "and this month alone they are
laying on us every day a dozen eggs--some days ten, or nine at the
least. Then, of course, if we want a little fricassee once in a while we
could do that also."

"How do you do when you are getting all of a sudden company?" Yetta
asked. "I didn't see no delicatessen store round here."

"You didn't?" Mrs. Ortelsburg exclaimed. "Why, right behind the depot is
Mrs. J. Kaplan's a delicatessen store, which I am only saying to her
yesterday, 'Mrs. Kaplan,' I says, 'how do you got all the time such
fresh, nice smoke-tongue here?' And she says, 'It's the country air,'
she says, 'which any one could see; not alone smoke-tongue keeps fresh,
_aber_ my daughter also, when she comes down here,' she says, 'she is
pale like anything--and look at her now!' And it's a fact, Mrs.
Lubliner, the daughter did look sick, and to-day yet she's got a
complexion fresh like a tomato already. That's what Burgess Park done
for her!"

"But don't you got difficulty keeping a girl, Mrs. Ortelsburg?" Yetta
inquired.