r killed in the street last
night and must got to go to a hospital! For years I am working for you
already, day in, day out, without I am missing a single forenoon
even--and you are treating me like this!"

It was now Seiden's turn to gasp.

"What d'ye mean?" he cried, searching in his coat pocket. "Ain't you
wrote me this here letter?"

He produced the missive received by him that morning and handed it to
Sternsilver, who, unnoticed by the excited Seiden, returned it without
even glancing at its contents.

"I never seen it before," he declared. "Why should I write printing?
Don't you suppose I can write writing, Mr. Seiden?"

"Who did send it, then?" Seiden asked.

"It looks to me"--said Sternsilver, who grew calmer as Seiden became
more agitated--"it looks to me like that sucker Fatkin writes it."

"What!" Seiden yelled. "And me I am paying him cash three hundred
dollars he should marry that girl! Even a certified check he wouldn't
accept."

Although this information was not new to Sternsilver, to hear it thus
at first hand seemed to infuriate him.

"What!" he howled. "You are giving that greenhorn three hundred dollars
yet to marry such a beautiful girl like my Bessie!"

He buried his face in his hands and rocked to and fro in his chair.

"Never mind, Sternsilver," Seiden said comfortingly; "you shouldn't
take on so--she ain't so beautiful; and, as for that feller Fatkin----"

"You are talking about me, Mr. Seiden?" said a voice in the doorway.

Sternsilver looked up and once again Wedding Outfit Combination No. 6
conquered; for assuredly, had Fatkin been arrayed in his working
clothes, he would have suffered a personal assault at the hands of his
late foreman.

"Mr. Seiden," Fatkin continued, "never mind; I could stand it somebody
calls me names, but Mr. Latz wants to know what is become of you for
the last quarter of an hour. Mr. Latz tells me during November alone he
buys from us eight hundred dollars goods."

"Us!" Seiden cried, employing three inflections to the monosyllable.

Before Seiden could protest further, however, Sternsilver had recovered
from the partial hypnosis of Combination No. 6, and he gave tongue like
a foxhound:

"_Oe-ee tzuris!_" he wailed.

"_Koosh!_" Fatkin cried, closing the door. "What do you want here?"

"You know what I want," Sternsilver sobbed. "You are stealing from me
three hundred dollars."

Fatkin turned to Seiden and gazed at him reproachfully.

"Mr. Sei