“And you should see it also that his wife ain’t got no relations, Goldman,” he added, “otherwise he’ll want you to share the profits of the business with them.”

Goldman nodded.

“Oh, I got a good, smart feller picked out, and his wife’s relations will be all right, too,” he said, as he started to leave.  “But, anyhow, Mr. Perlmutter, I let you know next week.”

About ten days afterward, while Morris and Abe were in the throes of packing, prior to the removal of their business, the letter-carrier entered with a batch of mail, and Morris immediately took it into the show-room.

“Here, Abe,” he said, as he glanced at the first envelope, “this is for you.”

Then he proceeded to go through the remainder of the pile.

“Holy smokes!” he cried, as he opened the next envelope.

“What’s the matter?” Abe asked.  “Is it a failure?” He had read his own letter and held it between trembling fingers as he inquired.

“Look at this,” Morris said, handing him a card.

It was a fragment of cheap pasteboard and bore the following legend: 

PHILIP GOLDMAN SAM SLOTKIN

GOLDMAN & SLOTKIN
CLOAK AND SUIT CONTRACTORS
SPONGING AND EXAMINING

PIKE STREET NEW YORK

Abe read the card and handed it back in silence.

“Well, Abe,” Morris cried, “that’s a fine piece of business.  We not only got to take it the loft what Slotkin picks out for us, but we also got to give Slotkin our work also.”

Abe shrugged his shoulders in an indifferent manner.

“You always got to run things your way, Mawruss,” he said.  “If you let me do it my way, Mawruss, we wouldn’t of had no strike nor trouble nor nothing, and it would of been the same in the end.”

“What d’ye mean?” Morris exclaimed.

“Look at this here,” Abe replied, handing him the letter.  It was printed in script on heavily-coated paper and read as follows: 

MRS. SARAH MASHKOWITZ & MRS. BLOOMA
SHEIKMAN
SISTERS OF THE BRIDE
REQUEST THE HONOR OF YOUR CO. 
AT THE MARRIAGE OF THEIR SISTER
MISS MIRIAM SMOLINSKI
TO
SAM SLOTKIN
ON SUNDAY OCT 3 1907 at 7 P M SHARP
NEW RIGA HALL ALLEN STREET

BRIDE’S RESIDENCE
CARE OF ROTHMAN’S CORSET STORE
4025 MADISON AVE
N Y CITY
LADIES AND GENTS WARDROBE CHECK 50C

CHAPTER XII

“Yes, Mawruss,” Abe Potash said to his partner as they stood together and surveyed the wild disorder of their business premises, “one removal is worser as a fire.”

“Sure it is,” Morris Perlmutter agreed.  “A fire you can insure it, Abe, but a removal is a risk what you got to take yourself; and you’re bound to make it a loss.”

“Not if you got a little system, Mawruss,” Abe went on.  “The trouble with us is, Mawruss, we ain’t got no system.  In less than three weeks already we got to move into the loft on Nineteenth Street, Mawruss, and we ain’t even made up our minds about the fixtures yet.”