juncture the telephone bell rang in the rear of the store and
Abe answered it.

"Hello," he said; "yes, this is Potash & Perlmutter. Oh, hello, Leon,
what can we do for you?"

"I want to speak to Louis Grossman. Can you call him to the 'phone?"
Leon said.

"Louis ain't in," Abe said. "Do you want to leave a message for him?"

"Well," Leon hesitated, "the fact is--we had an appointment with him
for two o'clock over here, and he ain't showed up yet."

"Appointment with Louis!" Abe said. "Why, what should you have an
appointment with Louis for, Leon?"

"Well," Leon stammered, "I--now--got to see him--now--about them Arverne
Sacques."

"Oh!" Abe said. "I understand. Well, he went to lunch about twelve
o'clock, and he ain't come back yet. Is there anything what we can do
for you, Leon?"

But Sammet had hung up the receiver without waiting for further
conversation.

At four o'clock the telephone rang again, and once more Abe answered it.

"Hello," he said. "Yes, this is Potash & Perlmutter. Oh! hello, Leon!
What can we do for you _now_?"

"Abe," Leon said, "Louis ain't showed up yet. Has he showed up at your
place yet?"

"No, he ain't, Leon," Abe replied. "You seem mighty anxious to see him.
Why, what for should I try to prevent him speaking to you? He ain't
here, I tell you. All right, Leon; then I'm a liar."

He hung up the receiver with a bang, and an hour later when Morris and
he locked up the place, Louis' absence remained a complete mystery to
his employers.

On Monday morning Abe and Morris opened the store at seven-thirty, and
while Morris examined the mail, Abe took up the Daily Cloak and Suit
Record and scanned the business-trouble column. There were no failures
of personal or firm interest to Abe, so he passed on to the new-business
column. The first item caused him to gasp, and he almost swallowed the
butt of his cigar. It read:

A partnership has this day been formed between Isaac Herzog and
Louis Grossman, to carry on the business of the Bon Ton Credit
Outfitting Company, under the same firm name. It is understood
that Mr. Grossman will have charge of the designing and
manufacturing end of the concern.

He handed the paper over to Morris and lit a fresh cigar.

"Another sucker for Louis Grossman," he said, "and I bet yer Henry D.
Feldman drew up the copartnership papers."

CHAPTER III

When Mr. Siegmund Lowenstein, proprietor of the O'Gorman-Henderson