ed, "I don't want your diamonds. If I had it the
money myself, Hymie, believe me, you are welcome to it like you was my
own brother."

"I know all about that, Abe," Hymie replied, "but you ain't Mawruss, and
if you got such a regard for me what you claim you have, Abe, go
upstairs and ask Mawruss Perlmutter will he do it me the favor and let
me have that thousand dollars with the stones as security."

Without further parley Abe turned and left the show-room.

"Mawruss," he called from the foot of the stairs, "come down here once.
I want to show you something."

In the meantime Hymie pulled down the shades and turned on the electric
lights. Then he took a swatch of black velveteen from his pocket and
arranged it over the sample-table with the two gems in its folds.

"Hymie Kotzen is inside the show-room," Abe explained when Morris
appeared in answer to his summons.

"Well, what have I got to do with Hymie Kotzen?" Morris demanded.

"Come inside and speak to him, Mawruss," Abe rejoined. "He won't eat
you."

"Maybe you think I'm scared to turn him down, Abe?" Morris concluded as
he led the way to the show-room. "Well, I'll show you different."

"Hallo, Mawruss," Hymie cried. "What's the good word?"

Morris grunted an inarticulate greeting.

"What you got all the shades down for, Abe?" he asked.

"Don't touch 'em," Hymie said. "Just you have a look at this
sample-table first."

Hymie seized Morris by the arm and turned him around until he faced the
velveteen.

"Ain't them peaches, Mawruss?" he asked.

Morris stared at the diamonds, almost hypnotized by their brilliancy.

"Them stones belong to you, Mawruss," Hymie went on, "if I don't pay you
inside of two weeks the thousand dollars what you're going to lend me."

"We ain't going to lend you no thousand dollars, Hymie," Morris said at
last, "because we ain't got it to lend. We need it in our own business,
Hymie, and, besides, you got the wrong idee. We ain't no pawnbrokers,
Hymie; we are in the cloak and suit business."

"Hymie knows it all about that, Mawruss," Abe broke in, "and he shows he
ain't no crook, neither. If he's willing to trust you with them
diamonds, Mawruss, we should be willing to trust him with a thousand
dollars. Ain't it?"

"He could trust me with the diamonds, Abe, because I ain't got no use
for diamonds," Morris replied. "If anyone gives me diamonds that I
should take care of it into the safe they go. I ain't a person what
stick