"But Mawruss Perlmutter was always a pretty good friend of mine, Abe," he said. "Why shouldn't he be willing to give it me if you are agreeable? Ain't it? And, anyhow, Abe, it can't do no harm to ask him." "Well, Hymie, he's over at the store now," Abe replied. "Go ahead and ask him." "I know it what he'd say if I ask him, Abe. He'd tell me I should see you; but you say I should see him, and then I'm up in the air. Ain't it?" Abe treated himself to a final rubdown with the napkin and scrambled to his feet. "All right, Hymie," he said. "If you want me I should ask him I'll ask him." "Remember, Abe," Hymie said as Abe turned away, "only till the first, so sure what I'm sitting here. I'll ring you up in a quarter of an hour." When Abe entered the firm's show-room five minutes later he found Morris consuming the last of some crullers and coffee brought in from a near-by bakery by Jake, the shipping clerk. "Well, Abe, maybe you think that's a joke you should keep me here a couple of hours already," Morris said. "Many a time I got to say that to you already, Mawruss," Abe rejoined. "But, anyhow, I didn't eat it so much, Mawruss. It was Hymie Kotzen what keeps me." "Hymie Kotzen!" Morris cried. "What for should he keep you, Abe? Blows you to some tchampanyer wine, maybe?" "Tchampanyer he ain't drinking it to-day, Mawruss, I bet yer," Abe replied. "He wants to lend it from us a thousand dollars." Morris laughed raucously. "What a chance!" he said. "Till the first of the month, Mawruss," Abe continued, "and I thought maybe we would let him have it." Morris ceased laughing and glared at Abe. "Tchampanyer you must have been drinking it, Abe," he commented. "Why shouldn't we let him have it, Mawruss?" Abe demanded. "Hymie's a good feller, Mawruss, and a smart business man, too." "Is he?" Morris yelled. "Well, he ain't smart enough to keep out of failures like Barney Fischman's and Cohen & Schondorf's, Abe, but he's too smart to lend it us a thousand dollars, supposing we was short for a couple of days. No, Abe, I heard it enough about Hymie Kotzen already. I wouldn't positively not lend him nothing, Abe, and that's flat." To end the discussion effectually he went to the cutting-room upstairs and remained there when Hymie rang up. "It ain't no use, Hymie," Abe said. "Mawruss wouldn't think of it. We're short ourselves. You've no idee what trouble we got it with some of our collections." "But, Abe," Hymie protested, "I got to have the money. I promised Feder I would give it him this afternoon." Abe remained silent. "I tell you what I'll do, Abe," Hymie insisted; "I'll come around and see you." "It won't be no use, Hymie," Abe said, but Central was his only auditor, for Hymie had hung up the receiver. Indeed, Abe had hardly returned to the show-room before Hymie entered the store door. "Where's Mawruss?" he asked. "Up in the cutting-room," Abe replied.