kes when he wasn't noticing," Elkan
declared; "and if this don't fix 'em nothing will!"

* * * * *

"Say, lookyhere, Lubliner," Leon Sammet cried after Elkan had broached
the reason for his visit late that afternoon, "don't give me that tale
of woe again. Every time we are asking Dishkes for money he pulls this
here sick-wife story on us, understand me; and it don't go down with me
no more."

"What d'ye mean don't go down with you?" Elkan demanded. "Do you claim
his wife ain't sick?"

"I don't claim nothing," Sammet retorted. "I ain't no doctor, Lubliner.
I am in the cloak-and-suit business, and I got to pay my creditors with
United States money, Lubliner, if my wife would be dying yet."

"Which you ain't got no wife," Elkan added savagely.

"_Gott sei Dank!_" Sammet rejoined. "_Aber_ if I did got one,
y'understand, I would got _Verstand_ enough to pick out a healthy woman,
which Dishkes does everything the same. He picks out a store there on an
avenue when it is a dead neighbourhood, understand me--and he wants us
we should suffer for it."

"The neighbourhood wouldn't be dead after three months," Elkan
said. "Round the corner on both sides of the street is building
thirty-three-foot, seven-story elevator apartments yet; and when they
are occupied, Dishkes would do a rushing business."

"That's all right," Sammet answered. "I ain't speculating in real-estate
futures, Lubliner; so you might just so well go ahead and attend to your
business, Lubliner, because me I am going to do the same."

"But lookyhere, Sammet," Elkan still pleaded. "I seen pretty near every
one of Dishkes' creditors and they all agree the feller should have a
three months' extension."

"Let 'em agree," Sammet shouted. "They are their own bosses and so am I,
Lubliner; so if they want to give him an extension of their account I
ain't got nothing to say. All I want is eight hundred dollars he owes
me; and the rest of them suckers could agree till they are black in the
face."

"_Aber_, anyhow, Sammet," Elkan said, "come to the meeting to-morrow
morning and we would see what we could do."

"See what we could do!" Sammet bellowed. "You will see what I could do,
Lubliner; and I will come to the meeting to-morrow and I'll do it too.
So, if you don't mind, Lubliner, I could still do a little work before
we close up here."

For a brief interval Elkan dug his nails into the palms of his hands,
and his eyes unconsciously so