himself entered the showroom. 

 "Well, boys," he said, "looks like we would get an early spring. Here it is only February already and I feel it that the winter is pretty near over. I could always tell by my throat what the weather is going to be. My cough lets up on me something wonderful, and with me that's always what you would call a sign of spring." 

 "Might it's a sign that Miss Meyerson's medicine done you good, maybe," Max commented. 

 "Well, certainly it ain't done me no harm," Aaron said. "I took six bottles already, and though it ain't the tastiest thing in the world, y'understand, it loosens up the chest something wonderful." 

 He slapped himself in the region of the diaphragm and sat down deliberately. 

 "However," he began, "I ain't come to talk to you about myself. I got something else to say." 

 He paused impressively, while Max and Sam exchanged mournful glances. 

 "I come to talk to you about Fillup," he continued. "There's a boy which he got it ability, y'understand. Five dollars a week is nothing for a boy like that." 

 "Ain't it?" Max retorted. "Where could you find it a boy which is only six weeks in his first job and gets more, Aaron?" 

 Aaron waved his hand deprecatingly. 

 "I don't got to go very far away from here, Max," he said, "to find a concern which would be willing to pay such a boy like Fillup ten dollars a week, and that's twicet as much as five." 

 "But, Aaron——" Max began, when Sam Zaretsky rose to his feet and raised his hand in the solemn gesture of a traffic policeman at a busy crossing. 

 "Listen here to me, Aaron," Sam declared. "Always up to now you been a good friend to us. You bought from us goods which certainly we try our best to make up A Number One, and the prices also we made right. In return you always paid us prompt to the day and you give us also a whole lot of advice, which we took it in the spirit in which it was given us. That's all right, too." 

 He stopped for breath and wet his dry lips before he proceeded. 

 "Also," he continued, "when you come to us and wanted us we should take on Fillup, Aaron, we didn't need him, y'understand, but all the same we took him because 

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