goes up to Bridgetown."

"What become of the widows, Abe?" Morris asked.

"I don't know is Elkan's widow living now _oder_ not," Abe said, "but
Mosha told me Hillel's widow wants to get married again, and Alex comes
to him and says he should give the old lady anyhow a thousand dollars.
Mosha wants to know what for, and Alex tells him he owes from Hillel's
estate yet a couple thousand dollars."

"And did he?" Morris inquired.

"Suppose he did?" Abe replied. "He is entitled to it after what he puts
up with during them three years they lived together. Well, Mosha and
Alex gets right away fighting about it, and I guess Alex would of sued
Mosha in the courts yet, only the old lady goes to work and dies on 'em
all of a sudden."

"But why is Aaron and Alex such enemies, Abe?" Morris asked.

"Well, it's like this, Mawruss: Aaron and Alex is good friends until
Uncle Mosha cut Alex out of his will. You see Aaron and Alex is the only
two relations which Mosha got at all. So naturally when Aaron thinks he
is coming in for the whole thing he begins to get sore at Alex, and the
more Aaron thinks that the old man really ought to leave half to Alex,
the more he gets sore at Alex."

"The whole business is dead wrong, Abe," Morris commented. "In the
first place, the old man ain't got no right to leave his money only to
Aaron; and in the second place, Aaron ain't got no right to feel sore at
Alex. And furthermore Alex ought to go round and see his uncle oncet in
a while when he is in New York, in the third place."

"Well, why don't you tell him so this afternoon, Mawruss?" Abe said.
"Alex is staying up at the Prince Clarence since last night already, and
he said he would be sure down here this afternoon."

"I will do so," Morris replied firmly.

"Go ahead," Abe added, "only one thing I got to tell you, Mawruss. There
is some customers which would stand anything, Mawruss. You could ship
'em two garments short in every order; you could send 'em goods which
ain't no more like the sample than bread is like _motsos_; you could
overcharge 'em in your statements; you could even draw on 'em one day
after their account is due, and still they would buy goods of you; but
so soon as you start to butt into their family affairs, Mawruss, that's
the finish, Mawruss. They would leave you like a shot."

"Alex Kronberg wouldn't take it so particular," Morris retorted. "He
knows I am only doing it for his own good."

"Oh, if you are only doing