“But here is a young feller which he got lots of common sense and five thousand dollars cash,” Noblestone went on.  “Only one thing which he ain’t got.”

Abe nodded.

“I seen lots of them fellers in my time, Noblestone,” he said.  “Everything about ’em is all right excepting one thing and that’s always a killer.”

“Well, this one thing ain’t a killer at all,” Noblestone rejoined, “he knows the cloak and suit business from A to Z, and he’s a first-class A number one feller for the inside, Potash, but he ain’t no salesman.”

“So long as he’s good on the inside, Noblestone,” Abe said, “it don’t do no harm if he ain’t a salesman, because there’s lots of fellers in the cloak and suit business which calls themselves drummers, y’understand Every week regular they turn in an expense account as big as a doctor’s bill already, and not only they ain’t salesmen, Noblestone, but they don’t know enough about the inside work to get a job as assistant shipping clerk.”

“Well, Harry Federmann ain’t that kind, Potash,” Noblestone went on.  “He’s been a cutter and a designer and everything you could think of in the cloak and suit business.  Also the feller’s got good backing.  He’s married to old man Zudrowsky’s daughter and certainly them people would give him a whole lot of help.”

“What people do you mean?” Abe asked.

“Zudrowsky & Cohen,” Noblestone answered.  “Do you know ’em, Potash?”

Abe laughed raucously.

“Do I know ’em?” he said.  “A question!  Them people got a reputation among the trade which you wouldn’t believe at all.  Yes, Noblestone, if I would take it another partner, y’understand, I would as lief get a feller what’s got the backing of a couple of them cut-throats up in Sing Sing, so much do I think of Zudrowsky & Cohen.”

“All I got to say to that, Potash, is that you don’t know them people, otherwise you wouldn’t talk that way.”

“Maybe I don’t know ’em as good as some concerns know ’em, Noblestone, but that’s because I was pretty lucky.  Leon Sammet tells me he wouldn’t trust ’em with the wrapping paper on a C. O. D. shipment of two dollars.”

Noblestone rose to his feet and assumed an attitude of what he believed to be injured dignity.

“I hear enough from you, Potash,” he said, “and some day you will be sorry you talk that way about a concern like Zudrowsky & Cohen.  If you couldn’t say nothing good about ’em, you should shut up your mouth.”

“I could say one thing good about ’em, Noblestone,” Abe retorted, as the business broker opened the store door.  “They ain’t ashamed of a couple of good old-time names like Zudrowsky & Cohen.”

This was an allusion to the circumstance that Philip Noblestone had once been Pesach Edelstein, and the resounding bang with which the broker closed the door behind him, was gratifying evidence to Abe that his parting shot had found its target.