hman wouldn't positively sell any goods at retail even to his
work-people."

Mr. Feigenbaum examined the garment closely while Miss Levy postured in
front of him.

"And maybe you think the design and workmanship was better?" she went
on. "Why, Mr. Feigenbaum, my sister had to sew on every one of the
buttons, and the side seams came unripped the first week she wore it.
You could take this garment and stretch it as hard as you could with
both hands, and nothing would tear."

Milton nodded approvingly, and then Miss Levy peeled off the coat and
handed it to Feigenbaum.

"Look at it yourself," she said; "it's a first-class garment."

She nudged Milton.

"Dummy!" she hissed, "say something."

"Sammet Brothers sell the same garment for twelve-fifty," Milton
hazarded. Sammet Brothers were customers of the elder Zwiebel, and
Milton happened to remember the name.

Feigenbaum looked up and frowned.

"With me I ain't stuck on a feller what knocks a competitor's line," he
said. "Sell your goods on their merits, young feller, and your
customers would never kick. This garment looks pretty good to me
already, Mr. Zwiebel, so if you got an order blank I'll give it you the
particulars."

Miss Levy hastened to the office and returned with some order blanks
which she handed to Milton. Then she retreated behind a cloak-rack
while Milton wielded a lead pencil in a businesslike fashion. There she
listened to Feigenbaum's dictation and unseen by him, she carefully
wrote down his order.

At length Feigenbaum concluded and Miss Levy hastened from behind the
rack.

"Oh, Mr. Feigenbaum," she said in order to create a diversion, "wasn't
it you that wrote us about a tourist coat getting into your last
shipment by mistake?"

"Me?" Feigenbaum cried. "Why, I ain't said no such thing."

"I thought you were the one," she replied as she slipped her
transcription of Mr. Feigenbaum's order into Milton's hand. "It must
have been somebody else."

"I guess it must," Feigenbaum commented. "Let me see what you got
there, young feller."

Milton handed him Miss Levy's copy of the order and Feigenbaum read it
with knit brows.

"Everything's all right," he said as he returned the order to Milton.

He put on his hat preparatory to leaving.

"All I got to say is," he went on, "that if you was as good a salesman
like you was a writer, young feller, you'd be making more money for
yourself and for Mr. Rothman."

He closed the door behind him