ven, Mawruss. My advice to you is,
Mawruss, that you should get a hustle on you and sell that house for
the best price you could. For so sure as I sit here, after this option
expires, and Rashkin is again offering his house at forty-five thousand,
you would be positively stuck."

"I bet yer I would be stuck, Abe," Morris agreed. "But I ain't going to
let no grass grow on me, Abe. I will put in an ad. in every paper in New
York this afternoon, and I'll keep it up till I sell the house."

"Maybe that wouldn't be necessary, Mawruss," Abe said, with a twinkle in
his eye.

"What d'ye mean?" Morris asked.

Whereupon, Abe unfolded at great length his adventures of the day,
beginning with his meeting B. Rashkin at the Real-Estate Exchange, and
concluding with Mr. Marks' penciled memorandum of Morris' address.

"And now, Mawruss," Abe concluded, "you seen the position what I took
it, and when that feller Marks calls at your house to-night you should
be careful and not make no cracks. Remember, Mawruss, you got to tell
him that as a partner I am a crank and a regular highbinder. Also,
Mawruss, you got to tell him that if I wasn't held by a copartnership
agreement I would do you for your shirt, y'understand?"

Morris nodded.

"I know you should, Abe," he said.

"What!" Abe roared.

"I mean I know I should," Morris explained; "I know I should tell this
here Marks what you say."

Abe grew calm immediately, but he left further tactics to Morris'
discretion; and when Mr. Marks called at the latter's house that evening
Morris showed that he possessed that discretion to a degree hardly
equaled by his partner.

"Yes, Mr. Marks," he said, after he had seated his visitor in the
easiest chair in the front parlor and had supplied him with a good
cigar, "it is true that I got it a house and that the house is on the
market for sale."

He paused and nodded sadly.

"But I also got it a partner, Mr. Marks, and no doubt you heard already
what a cutthroat that feller is. I assure you, Mr. Marks, that feller
goes to work and gets an option on the house next door which you know is
identical the same like my house is. Yes, Mr. Marks, he gets an option
on that house for forty-seven thousand five hundred dollars from the
feller what owns it, when he knows I am already negotiating to sell my
house for forty-seven seven-fifty."

This willful misstatement of the amount of the option produced the
desired result.

"Did you seen it the op