“Well, Mawruss, it’s only for one week,” Abe protested.

“I know,” said Morris, “but why should he get the benefit of it?”

“Did you have much of a time getting him to take it?” Abe asked.

“It was like this,” Morris explained.  “I told him what you said about a lump sum in place of profits and asked him to name his price, and the first thing he says was twenty-seven-fifty.”

“And you let him have it for that?” Abe cried.  “You’re a business man, Mawruss, I must say.  I bet yer he would have took twenty-five.”

He tore up the check for forty dollars and drew a new one for twenty-seven-fifty.

“Here, Mawruss,” he said, “take it up to him like a good feller.”

It was precisely noon when Morris delivered the check to Louis Grossman, and it was one o’clock when Louis went out to lunch.

Three o’clock struck before Abe first noted his absence.

“Ain’t that feller come back from his dinner yet, Mawruss?” he asked.

“No,” Morris replied.  “I wonder what can be keeping him.  He generally takes half an hour for his dinner.”

At this 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: