rough Mrs.
Lesengeld's arm and took her right down to the middle table, like she
would be a queen already."

"Sure," Scheikowitz agreed, "what does a real merchant like Scharley
care if she would wear a _sheitel oder_ not, so long as she is a lady
already."

Elkan's grin spread until it threatened to engulf his ears.

"She didn't wear no _sheitel_," he said.

"What!" Scheikowitz cried. "I didn't think a religious woman like Mrs.
Lesengeld would take off her _sheitel_ at _her_ time of life."

"What d'ye mean _her_ time of life?" Elkan cried indignantly. "Friday
afternoon yet before Yetta went home from her place there at Bognor
Park, Mrs. Lesengeld says to her that a widder don't got to wear no
_sheitel_ if she don't want to, which if you think, Mr. Scheikowitz,
that fifty-three is a time of life, understand me, I think differencely,
especially when I seen her with her hair all fixed up on Saturday
night."

"Who fixed it?" Marcus Polatkin asked, and Elkan grinned again.

"Who d'ye suppose?" he replied. "Why, her and Yetta spent pretty near an
hour up in our room before they got through, and I tell yer with the way
they turned up the hem and fixed the sleeves of one of Yetta's black
dresses, it fitted her like it would be made for her."

"And did she look good in it?" Scheikowitz inquired.

"Did she look good in it!" Elkan exclaimed. "Well, you can just bet your
life, Mr. Polatkin, that there Hortense Feldman wasn't one, two, six
with her. In fact, Mr. Polatkin, you would take your oath already that
there wasn't two years between 'em. I had a good chance to compare 'em
on account when we went down to the Hanging Gardens, understand me, Miss
Feldman sits at the next table already."

Polatkin smiled broadly.

"She must have had a big _Schreck_," he commented. "Why, B. Gans told me
last Saturday that Henry D. Feldman thinks that he's going to fix the
whole thing up between her and Scharley."

"I guess he ain't got that idee no longer," Elkan declared, "because
everybody in Egremont knows Scharley was down visiting Mrs. Lesengeld
over Sunday, and takes her and her daughter Fannie and Fannie's husband
out oitermobiling."

"You don't tell me?" Scheikowitz exclaimed.

"Furthermore, on Monday," Elkan continued, "he goes down there to dinner
with me and Yetta, and Mrs. Lesengeld cooks some _Tebeches_ which fairly
melts in your mouth already."

He smacked his lips over the recollection.

"Yesterday, as you know