continued. "There's a boy
which he got it ability, y'understand. Five dollars a week is nothing
for a boy like that."

"Ain't it?" Max retorted. "Where could you find it a boy which is only
six weeks in his first job and gets more, Aaron?"

Aaron waved his hand deprecatingly.

"I don't got to go very far away from here, Max," he said, "to find a
concern which would be willing to pay such a boy like Fillup ten
dollars a week, and that's twicet as much as five."

"But, Aaron----" Max began, when Sam Zaretsky rose to his feet and
raised his hand in the solemn gesture of a traffic policeman at a busy
crossing.

"Listen here to me, Aaron," Sam declared. "Always up to now you been a
good friend to us. You bought from us goods which certainly we try our
best to make up A Number One, and the prices also we made right. In
return you always paid us prompt to the day and you give us also a
whole lot of advice, which we took it in the spirit in which it was
given us. That's all right, too."

He stopped for breath and wet his dry lips before he proceeded.

"Also," he continued, "when you come to us and wanted us we should take
on Fillup, Aaron, we didn't need him, y'understand, but all the same we
took him because always you was a good customer of ours, and certainly,
Aaron, I got to say that the boy is a good boy and he is worth to us if
not five dollars a week, anyhow four dollars a week."

There was an ominous silence in the showroom as Sam gave himself
another rest before continuing his ultimatum.

"But," he went on, "when you come to us and tell us that Greenberg &
Sen offers the boy ten dollars a week and that we should raise him
also, Aaron, all I got to say is--we wouldn't do it. Greenberg & Sen
want your trade, Aaron; they don't want the boy. But if they got to pay
the boy ten dollars a week, Aaron, then they would do so, and if it was
necessary to pay him fifteen, they would do that, too. Then, Aaron,
when you would buy goods off of them all they do is to add Fillup's
wages to the price of the goods, y'understand, and practically he would
work for them for nothing, because the wages comes out of your pocket,
Aaron, and not theirs."

"I never said nothing at all about Greenberg & Sen," Aaron blurted out.

"No one else would make such a proposition, Aaron," Sam said, "because
no one else wants business so bad as that. Ourselves we could offer the
boy ten dollars, too, and although we couldn't raise prices on yo