that some one else as Golnik should be
president, understand me, because a designer like Golnik is enough
stuck on himself without he should be president of a mutual aid
society. Treasurer is good enough for him."

Birsky received the suggestion with a satirical smile.

"You got a real head for business, Zapp, I must say," he said, "when
you are going to make a feller like Golnik treasurer."

"Well, then, we could make Golnik secretary, and Kanef, the shipping
clerk, treasurer," Zapp suggested. "The feller's got rich relations in
the herring business."

"I don't care a snap if the feller's relations own all the herring
business in the world, Zapp," Birsky continued. "This afternoon yet we
would go to work and get up this here mutual aid society, _mit_ Jacob
Golnik president and I. Kanef vice-president."

"And who would be treasurer then?" Zapp asked meekly; whereat Louis
Birsky slapped his chest.

"I would be treasurer," he announced; "and for a twenty dollar bill we
would get Henry D. Feldman he should fix up the by-laws, which you
could take it from me, Zapp, if there's any honour coming to Golnik
after me and Feldman gets through, understand me, the feller is easy
flattered, Zapp--and that's all I got to say."

* * * * *

It was not until after five o'clock that Birsky returned from Feldman's
office with the typewritten constitution and by-laws of a voluntary
association entitled the Mutual Aid Society Employees of Birsky & Zapp.
Moreover, under the advice of counsel, he had transferred from the
firm's balance in the Kosciusko Bank the sum of five hundred dollars to
a new account denominated L. Birsky, Treasurer; and the omission of the
conjunction "as" before the word "Treasurer" was all that prevented the
funds so deposited from becoming the property of the mutual aid
society. In short, everything was in readiness for the reception of
Jonas Eschenbach the following morning except the trifling detail of
notifying Jacob Golnik and the hundred operators that their mutual aid
society had come into being; and as soon as Birsky had removed his hat
and coat he hastened into the cutting room and beckoned to Golnik.

"Golnik," he said, "_kommen Sie mal h'rein_ for a minute." Golnik
looked up from a pile of cloth and waved his hand reassuringly.

"It's all right, Mr. Birsky," he said. "I thought the matter over
already; and you and your partner is right, Mr. Birsky. This he