“‘Misder Berkints,’ says he, ‘dere ain’t nubuddy vich dakes more pleasure in der pall-blaying as I do. If you vant ten tollar or dwenty tollar vor der club, vy, dake id! dake id! I gif it midout some vords, but I ain’t going to stand such monkey-doodle peesnesses.’ “‘What’s the matter now, Sol?’ “‘Vot ees der madder? I tell you vat ees der madder. Dot feller Burke, he goom by der store, unt he valk off mid a case. A case! Mein Gott! A whole case of zusbenders, und gollar-puttons, unt so fort! I find him in Gurley’s blace, puddin’ it oop vor der drinks. I don’t vant to sboil der pall-blaying, bud dot feller ort to bin in chail.’ “I went with him, and we hunted brother Burke up. I read him the riot act, but he was brassy. “‘Why, he give me the case!’ says he. “‘Gif you der case!’ yells old Solomon, ‘I! Vich ees me? Dis shentleman right here?’ tapping himself on the chest. ‘I gif you dot case? Gott! Mein frendt! You talk like a sausage!” “There was no use of my trying to keep my face straight. Talking like a sausage hit me on the funny-bone, and I had to holler. “But as soon as I could get my face shut, I went for Burke bald-headed. I told him I’d knock fourteen different styles of doctrine in him if he didn’t behave better. “There’s where that big stiff Falk and I came together for the first time. “‘What have you got to do with it?’ says he. ‘No harm done if he cleaned the d----d Jew out entirely.’ Well, now mostly I hate a Jew as well as the next man, but old Sol was a free spender. He’d put up for anything that was going, and, Jew or no Jew, it made me hot to hear Falk talk like that. More especially as his tone wasn’t any too pleasant. “‘Who the devil are you talking to,’ says I, ‘me, or the hired man? I want you to understand I’m running this thing, pardner!’ “‘Little chance anybody has to forget it,’ he says with a big jarring laugh. Don’t you know that dirty, sneering laugh he had? “Well, I was some warm. First off, I thought I would walk away and not make any trouble; then I thought to myself, ‘Here, I fought Jack Dempsey sixteen rounds the last time I appeared in the ring, and I reckon I’m not going to let any big swaggering stiff of a Dutchman get away with any such a crack as that!’ Those fellers didn’t know about my being a profesh. I changed my name when I quit, after Dempsey licked me, and I never was much of a hand to talk.