"Tell him to come in," he said; and a moment later Ringentaub was wringing Elkan's hand and babbling his gratitude for his brother-in-law's deliverance from bankruptcy.
"God will bless you for it, Mr. Lubliner," he said; "and I am ashamed of myself when I think of it. I am a dawg, Mr. Lubliner--and that's all there is to it."
Here he drew a greasy wallet from his breast-pocket and extracted three ten-dollar bills.
"Take 'em, Mr. Lubliner," he said, "and forgive me."
"That's the change from your fifty dollars," Ringentaub replied; "because, so help me, Mr. Lubliner, there is first-class material in them chairs and the feller that makes 'em for me is a highgrade cabinetmaker. Then you got to reckon it stands me in a couple of dollars also to get 'em fixed up antique, y'understand; so, if you get them chairs for twenty dollars you are buying a bargain, Mr. Lubliner."
"Why, what d'ye mean?" Elkan cried. "Ain't them chairs gen-wine Jacobean chairs?"
"Not by a whole lot they ain't," Ringentaub declared fervently.
"But Mr. Paul thinks they are!" Elkan exclaimed.
"Sure, I know," Ringentaub answered; "and that shows what a lot a collector knows about such things. Paul is a credit man for the Hamsuckett Mills, Mr. Lubliner; but he collects old furniture on the side."
For a moment Elkan gazed open-mouthed at the antiquarian and a great light began to break in on him.
"So-o-o!" he cried. "That's what you mean by a collector!"
"And furthermore, Mr. Lubliner, when collectors knows more about antiques as dealers does, Mr. Lubliner," he said with his hand on the doorknob, "I'll go into the woollen piece-goods business too--which you could take it from me, Mr. Lubliner, it wouldn't be soon, by a hundred years even."
When Elkan emerged from the One-Hundred-and-Sixteenth Street station of the subway that evening a familiar voice hailed him from the rear.
"_Nu_, Elkan!" cried B. Gans, for it was none other than he. "You made out fine at the meeting this morning--ain't it?"
"Who told you?" Elkan asked as he linked arms with the highgrade manufacturer.
"Never mind who told me," B. Gans said jokingly; "but all I could say is you made a tremendous hit with Jacob Paul, Elkan--and if that ain't no compliment, understand me, I don't know what is. Why, there ain't a better judge of men _oder_ antique furniture in this here city than Paul, Elkan. He's an A-Number-One credit man, too, and I bet yer he gets a big salary from them Hamsuckett Mills people, which the least his income could be--considering what he picks up selling antiques--is fifteen thousand a year."