Abe and Mawruss: Being Further Adventures of Potash and PerlmutterGlass, Montague
General
Abe and Mawruss: Being Further Adventures of Potash and Perlmutter
Glass, Montague
Clothing trade -- New York (State) -- New York -- Fiction; Jews -- New York (State) -- New York -- Fiction
"Morris," he said, "I did you a big injury. I didn't think you felt that
way about it; so when that expert called on me last night I didn't show
him Abe's fiddle at all--I showed him the other one, the
three-thousand-dollar fiddle."
Morris's grin became a trifle broader.
"That don't worry me none, Felix," he declared. "I am glad you should
keep the fiddle if it should be worth ten thousand dollars even. A gift
is a gift, Felix."
"That's very generous of you, Morris, I must say," Felix replied, "and I
would keep the violin. I would even do more, Morris. I was going to give
Klinger & Klein an order for some of their three-piece broadcloths, but
I changed my mind. I will give it to you instead; and if you would be in
this afternoon, Morris, I will go downtown and pick 'em out."
Once more Morris wrung his customer's hand. Before proceeding downtown,
he sought the nearest dairy restaurant and made tremendous inroads upon
its stock of eggs and coffee. It was almost ten o'clock before he
reached his place of business, and as he stepped out of the elevator he
was greeted by a roar of voices approximating the effect of a
well-managed mob scene in a capital-and-labour drama.
Old man Hubai stood in the middle of the showroom; and with clenched
fists waving in the air he appealed to heaven to witness that he was a
poor man and spoke nothing but the Hungarian tongue. Hence he was at the
mercy of such ruffians as Pilz and Wcelak, whose right name he averred
to be Kohn. Following this he swore by his mother that he had paid a
thousand kronen for the violin, and _da capo_ from the exposition of his
poverty. Simultaneously Professor Ladislaw Wcelak dwelt on the economic
aspect of the matter. In stentorian tones he declared Abe's purchase of
the violin to be another example of capital sitting upon the neck of
labour, and he prophesied the rapid approach of the Social Revolution,
with sundry references to bloodsuckers, cut-throats and Philistines.
Emil Pilz, Aaron, and Abe Potash himself added to the general din in a
three-cornered discussion of the legal points involved. Emil contended
that Aaron could replevin the violin upon the ground of Abe's
misrepresentation at the time of the purchase, and Abe denied it in
Yiddish and English, with emphatic profanity in both languages.
Into this melee Morris hurled himself with a resounding "_Koosh!_"
"Are you all crazy, _oder_ what?" he demanded.
"Well," Abe cried, "where is it?"
Instantly there was a dead silence and all eyes rested on Morris.
"Where's what?" Morris asked.
"The Amati!" Emil Pilz cried; and Morris laughed aloud.
"_Geh weg!_" he said. "You are an expert!"
Pilz shook his head in a bullying fashion.
"Never mind if I am an expert _oder_ not," he said. "Where is that Amati
which I seen it myself at Geigermann's house only last night?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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