way I figure it," Abe continued, "reckoning on what we lost by
Hyman Maimin, if he settles for thirty cents, and what we make out of
Mr. Bramson's first order, we come out even to the dollar!"

"So?" Morris murmured.

"All excepting that wedding present, Mawruss," Abe. "By the way,
Mawruss, ain't that wedding present come back yet?"

"Why, sure," said Morris. "It come back yesterday, when you were out."

"Why ain't you showed it to me? Ain't I got no right to see it,
Mawruss?"

"Of course you got a right to see it," Morris assented, "but I thought
I'd get it right up town to Minnie and have it exchanged."

"And did she exchange it?" Abe asked.

"Well, it's like this," Morris explained. "Minnie liked it so well that
she decided on keeping it, so I'll give the firm my personal check for
twenty-five dollars."

Abe puffed hard on his cigar.

"You're a purty generous feller, Mawruss," he commented, "to give Minnie
a present like that--for nothing at all, ain't it?"

"Oh, no, I ain't Abe," Morris replied. "I ain't giving it to her for
nothing at all. I'm taking it out of her housekeeping money, Abe--five
dollars a month!"

CHAPTER NINE

FIRING MISS COHEN

"There's no use talking, Abe," Morris Perlmutter declared to his
partner, Abe Potash, as they sat in the sample-room of their spacious
cloak-and-suit establishment. "We got a system of bookkeeping that would
disgrace a peanut-stand. Here's a statement from the Hamsuckett Mills,
and it shows a debit balance of eleven hundred and fifty dollars what we
owe them. Miss Cohen's figures is eleven hundred and forty-two."

"That's in our favour already," Abe replied. "The Hamsuckett people must
be wrong, Mawruss."

"No, they ain't, Abe," Morris said. "It's Miss Cohen's mistake."

"Mistake?" Abe exclaimed. "When it's in our favour, Mawruss, it ain't no
mistake!"

"It's a mistake, anyhow, no matter in whose favour it is," said Morris.
"Miss Cohen's footing was wrong. She gets carelesser every day."

"I'm surprised to hear you that you should talk that way, Mawruss," Abe
rejoined. "Miss Cohen's been with us for five years, and we ain't lost
nothing by her, neither. You know as well as I do, Mawruss, her uncle,
Max Cohen, is a good customer of ours. Only last week he bought of us a
big bill of goods, Mawruss."

"Just the same, Abe," Morris went on, "if we get a bright young man in
there, instead of Miss Cohen, it would be a big improvement. We ought to
g