“But take a salesman like Marks Pasinsky, for instance,” Abe said.  “There’s a feller what can sell goods.  Ain’t it?”

B. Gans looked up sharply.

“Did Marks Pasinsky send you here?” he asked.

“Well, he give you as a reference,” Abe replied.

“All right,” B. Gans continued.  “You tell Marks Pasinsky from me that I says he’s a good salesman and that why he left me was by mutual consent.”

“Sure,” Abe said, “but I wanted to ask you more about Pasinsky.  You see, Pasinsky wants to come to work by us as salesman, and I want to find out a few things about him first.”

“Well, I’m just telling you, ain’t I?” Gans replied.  “I said Marks Pasinsky was a good salesman and the reason why he left me was by mutual consent; and you tell Pasinsky that that’s what I said it, and if you’ll excuse me I got business to attend to.”

He turned away and fairly ran toward the rear of the loft, while Abe, now thoroughly mystified, returned to his place of business.

“Well, Abe,” Morris cried as his partner entered.  “What for a reference did you get it from B. Gans?”

“The reference is all right, Mawruss,” Abe replied.  “B.  Gans says that Pasinsky is a good salesman and that the reason he left was by mutual consent.”

“Mutual consent?” Morris exclaimed.  “What kind of reasons is that for firing a feller?”

“Gans didn’t fire him, Mawruss,” Abe said.  “He left by mutual consent.”

“I know, Abe,” Morris rejoined, “but when a feller quits by mutual consent you know as well as I do, Abe, what that means.  It means that if I should say to Jake, the shipping clerk, ’Jake, you are a rotten shipping clerk and I don’t want you no more, and if you don’t get right out of here I will kick you out,’ and then Jake says to me, ’In that case you could take your dirty job and give it to some poor sucker what wants it more as I do,’ then Jake quits by mutual consent.  Ain’t it?”

Abe stared indignantly at his partner.

“I’m surprised to hear you you should talk that way, Mawruss, about a decent, respectable young feller what works so hard like Jake does,” he said.  “That only goes to show what a judge you are.  If you couldn’t tell it a good shipping clerk when you see one, how should you know anything about salesmen?  B. Gans says that Pasinsky is a good salesman, Mawruss, and you can do what you like about it; I’m going to hire him, Mawruss, when he comes back here.”

“Go ahead, Abe,” Morris retorted.  “Only, if things shouldn’t turn out O. K. you shouldn’t blame me.  That’s all.”

“I wouldn’t blame you, Mawruss,” Abe said.  “All I would blame you is if you wouldn’t have our sample line in good shape by next week, because I want Pasinsky to leave here by Monday sure.”

“Don’t you worry about them samples, Abe,” Morris cried.

“Them samples is good enough to sell themselves; and the way I figure it out, they got to sell themselves, Abe, because I don’t believe Pasinsky could sell nothing to nobody.”