e sales had never occurred to him, however,
and it came as a distinct shock that he had so long neglected this
phase of salesmanship.

"Why, I never thought that any concern in the cloak and suit business
was doing such things." Finkman continued; and his tones voiced his
chagrin at the discovery of Adelstern's philanthropic innovation. "I
knew that drygoods stores like yours, Mr. Eschenbach, they got a lot of
enlightened idees, but I never knew nobody which is doing such things
in the cloak and suit trade."

At this juncture Louis Birsky abandoned his plans for a Saint Honore
tart, with Vienna coffee and cream. Instead he conceived a bold stroke
of salesmanship, and he turned immediately to Finkman.

"What are you talking nonsense, Mr. Finkman?" he said. "We ourselves
got in our place already an employees' mutual aid society, which our
designer, Jacob Golnik, is president of it--and all the operators
belong yet."

It cannot truthfully be said that Finkman received this information
with any degree of enthusiasm; and perhaps, to a person of less rugged
sensibilities than Louis Birsky, Finkman's manner might have seemed a
trifle chilly as he searched his mind for a sufficiently discouraging
rejoinder.

"Of course, Birsky," he growled at last, "when I says I didn't know any
concerns in the cloak and suit business which is got a mutual aid
society, understand me, I ain't counting small concerns."

"Sure, I know," Birsky replied cheerfully; "but I am telling you,
Finkman, that we got such a mutual aid society, which, if you are
calling a hundred operators a small concern, Finkman, you got awful big
idees, Finkman, and that's all I got to say."

Eschenbach smiled amiably by way of smoothing things over.

"Have your hundred operators formed a mutual aid society, Mr. ----"

"My name is Mr. Birsky," Louis said, rising from his chair; and,
without further encouragement, he seated himself at Eschenbach's table,
"of Birsky & Zapp; and we not only got a hundred operators, Mr.
Eschenbach, but our cutting-room staff and our office staff also joins
the society."

"You don't tell me," Eschenbach commented. "And how do you find it
works?"

"W-e-e-ll, I tell yer," Birsky commenced, "of course we ourselves got
to donate already five hundred dollars to start the thing, Mr.
Eschenbach."

While he made this startling declaration he gazed steadily at Finkman,
who was moving his head in a slow and skeptic nodding, as one who say