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
Abe watched Morris disappear into the showroom and then he ran to the
telephone and slammed the receiver on to the hook with force
sufficient almost to wreck the instrument. At intervals of a few seconds
the telephone rang for more than half an hour. Fifteen minutes after it
had ceased the elevator door opened and Max Koblin entered.
"Cut-throat!" Koblin exclaimed. "I rung up my son and he wouldn't come
back. You are turning him against me--you and them two other crooks. You
think you would get my money out of me. Very well. I'll show you. I
ain't through with you yet. I'll put you fellers where you belong."
"Don't make me no threats, Koblin," Abe said calmly, "because, in the
first place, you couldn't scare me any, and, in the second place, if you
think I am trying to keep your boy away from you, you are
mistaken--that's all. I already wasted a whole morning on him and, just
to show you I ain't such a crook as you think I am, I would go right
down there now; and if I got to do it I would drag that young loafer out
of there by the hair of his head."
Twenty minutes later Abe burst into Katzberg & Schapp's business
premises and asked in loud tones for Sidney Koblin. Before the
astonished Shapolnik could reply, Max Koblin, who had followed Abe on
the next car, arrived all breathless and panted a similar demand.
"He ain't in now," Shapolnik replied; "he is just going to his lunch."
"What d'ye mean by talking to me on the 'phone the way you did this
morning?" Max shouted. "You ain't got no business to keep my boy from
me."
"I ain't keeping your boy from you," Shapolnik answered; "and I would
speak to you whichever what way I would want to. Who are you anyway?"
"_Koosh!_ Shapolnik," Abe interrupted. "You are talking too fresh. Mr.
Koblin is right. You should fire that young feller right away, because I
am telling you right here and now I wouldn't guarantee nothing for him
after this."
"What do I care what you would guarantee or what you wouldn't
guarantee?" Shapolnik replied. "The young feller already sold for us
this morning for five hundred dollars a bill of goods, and he could stay
with us _oder_ not, just as he wants. Furthermore, Mr. Potash, I don't
give a snap of my fingers for your _guarantirt_; this is my shop and if
you don't want to stay here you don't got to."
He seized a pressing-iron in token that the interview was ended and Abe
and Max started for the stairs without another word. As they reached the
sidewalk Abe paused. Across the street a dairy lunchroom displayed its
white-enamel sign and through the plate-glass window he thought he
discerned a familiar figure. He ran to the opposite sidewalk and entered
the restaurant, closely followed by Max, just as Sidney Koblin was
eating the last crumbs of a portion of zwieback and coffee.
"Hello, Sidney!" Abe said. "What's the matter with you? Why don't you go
back to your father?"
Sidney rose to his feet and looked first at Abe and then at the Raincoat
King.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account