It was almost two o'clock before Miss Cohen handed Abe the statement of the firm's drawing account, and Abe thrust it into his breast pocket. "I'm going out for a bite, Miss Cohen," he said. "If anybody wants me, I am over at Hammersmith's and you could send Jake across for me." He sighed heavily as he raised his umbrella and plunged out into a heavy March downpour. It had been raining steadily for about a week to the complete discouragement of garment buyers, and Hammersmith's rear cafe sheltered a proportionately gloomy assemblage of cloak and suit manufacturers. Abe glanced around him when he entered and selected a table at which sat Sol Klinger, who was scowling at a portion of Salisbury steak. "Hallo, Sol," Abe cried. "What's the trouble. Ain't the oitermobile running again?" "Do me the favor, Abe," Sol replied, "and cut out them so called alleged jokes." He turned toward a waiter who was dusting off the tablecloth in front of Abe. "Max," he said, stabbing at the steak with a fork held at arm's length and leaning back in his chair as though to avoid contagion. "What d'ye call this here mess anyway?" The waiter examined the dish critically and nodded his head. "Sally's-bury steak, Mr. Klinger," he murmured. "Very nice to-day." "Is that so?" Sol Klinger rejoined. "Well, lookyhere Max, if I would got it a dawg which I wanted to get rid of bad, y'understand, I would feed him that mess. But me, I ain't ready to die just yet awhile, y'understand, even though business _is_ rotten, so you could take that thing back to the cook and bring me a slice of roast beef; and if you think I got all day to sit here, Max, and fool away my time----" "Right away, Mr. Klinger, right away," Max cried as he hurried off the offending dish, and once more Sol subsided into a melancholy silence. "Don't take it so hard, Sol," Abe said. "We got bad weather like this _schon_ lots of times yet, and none of us busted up. Ain't it?" "The weather is nix, Abe," Sol replied. "If it's wet to-day then it's fine to-morrow, and if a concern ain't buying goods now--all right. They'll buy 'em later on. Ain't it? _But_, Abe, the partner which you got it to-day, Abe, that's the same partner which you got it to-morrow, and that sucker Klein, Abe, he eats me up with expenses. What that feller does with his money, Abe, I don't know." "Maybe he buys oitermobiles, Sol," Abe suggested. "Supposing I did buy last spring an oitermobile, Abe," Sol retorted. "That is the least. I bet yer that feller Klein spends enough on taxicab rides for customers, and also one or two of 'em which she ain't customers, as he could buy a _dozen_ oitermobiles already. No, Abe, that ain't the point. The first year Klein and me goes as partners together, he overdraws me two hundred and fifty dollars. _Schon gut._ If the feller is a little extravagent, y'understand, he's got to make it up next year."