be back till to-morrow."

"But all I want is your word, Mr. Lesengeld," Schindelberger protested,
"because might if I would go back and tell Rudnik you wouldn't extend
the mortgage he would go right away to the river and jump in maybe."

"Yow, he would jump in!" Lesengeld cried. "Only the other day I seen on
a moving pictures a fillum which they called it Life is Sweet, where an
old man eighty years old jumps into the river on account his grandson
died in an elegant furnished apartment already; and when a young feller
rescues him he gives him for ten thousand dollars a check, which I
wouldn't believe it at all if I didn't seen the check with my own eyes
yet. I was terrible broke up about the grandson, Mr. Schindelberger,
_aber_ when I seen the check I didn't got no more sympathy for the old
man at all. Fifty dollars would of been plenty, especially when the
young feller turns out to be the son of the old man's boy which he
ain't heard from in years."

"Sure, I know," Schindelberger agreed, "_aber_ such things only happen
in moving pictures, Mr. Lesengeld, and if Rudnik would jump in the
river, understand me, the least that happens him is he would get
drownded and the Bella Hirshkind Home would go _Mechulla_ sure."

"Well, I'll tell you," Lesengeld said; "you could say to Rudnik that I
says I would extend the mortgage supposing my partner is agreeable, on
consideration he would leave the house to the Bella Hirshkind Home, and
Rudnik is to pay three hundred and fifty dollars to my lawyer for
drawing the extension agreement."

"_Aber_, Mr. Lesengeld----" Schindelberger began. He was about to
protest against the size of the bonus demanded under the guise of
counsel fee when he was interrupted by a resounding, "_Koosh!_" from
Lesengeld.

"That is my last word and the very best I could do," Lesengeld
concluded, "except I would get my lawyer to fix up the will and
_schenk_ it to you free for nothing."

* * * * *

"I don't know what comes over you lately, Belz," Lesengeld complained
the following morning. "Every day you come down looking like a bear
_mit_ a spoiled tail."

"I got a right to look that way," Belz replied. "If you would got such
a wife's relation like I got it, Lesengeld, there'd be no sitting in
the same office with you at all. When it isn't one thing it's another.
Yesterday my wife's mother's a sister's cousin gets a day off and comes
round and gets dinner with