Part 42 (1/2)

Rudnik wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

”All I could say is,” he replied, ”if your _Tzimmus_ ain't no worser as your coffee, Miss Duckman, n.o.body could kick that you ain't a good cook.”

Miss Duckman's faded cheeks grew pink and she smiled happily.

”I guess you are trying to make me a compliment,” she said.

”In my whole life I never made for a woman a compliment,” Rudnik declared. ”I never even so much as met one I could make a compliment to yet except you, and _mit_ you it ain't no compliment, after all. It's the truth.”

He lay back on his pillow and gazed at the ceiling for fully a quarter of an hour, while Miss Duckman sewed away industriously.

”After all,” he said at last, ”why not? Older men as me done it.”

”Did you say something?” Miss Duckman asked.

Rudnik cleared his throat noisily.

”I says,” he replied, ”you should please be so good and don't bother yourself about that--now--underwear factory job till I am getting out of here.”

”A Home is a Home,” B. Lesengeld said as he and Belz sat in the office nearly a week later; ”but if Schindelberger wouldn't show up here with Rudnik to-day yet, Belz, we would foreclose sure.”

”Would we?” Belz retorted. ”Well, I got something to say about that, too, Lesengeld, and I'm going to give the Bella Hirshkind people a couple days longer. To-day is Blooma Duckman's day out again, and me and Mrs. Belz we sit home last night and we couldn't do a thing on account Mrs. Belz is dreading it so. Think what it would be if that woman is thrown back on our hands.”

”If she is so terrible as all that why do you let her come at all?”

Lesengeld asked, and Belz heaved a great sigh.

”I'll tell you, Lesengeld,” he said, ”she's really got a very good heart, y'understand; _aber_ is it Mrs. Belz's fault she ain't such a A Number One cook? Every time that Blooma Duckman comes round she rubs it in yet, and she snoops under beds to see is it clean _oder_ not, and she gets the girl so worked up, understand me, that we are hiring a new one every week. At the same time the woman means well, Lesengeld, but you know how that is: some people means so well you couldn't stand 'em at all.”

Lesengeld nodded.

”Sure, I know,” he said. ”I seen it last week a case where a feller all the time means well and is trying to do good. He is taking pity on a tramp, understand me, and the tramp _ganvers_ his silver spoons and everything, and I says to Mrs. Lesengeld: 'Mommer,' I says, 'it only goes to show,' I says, 'if you feel you are beginning to take pity on a feller,' I says, 'you shouldn't got no mercy on him at all,' I says.

'Otherwise he will go to work and do you every time,' I says. So that's why I am telling you, Belz, I guess the best thing we could do is we should right away foreclose Rudnik's house on him. Then if Schindelberger is such a charitable sucker as all that, let him buy in the house for the Bella Hirshkind Home and be done with it. All we want is our money back and we would be satisfied. What is the use we consider Rudnik's feelings. Ain't it?”

”Do you think I am holding off on Rudnik's account?” Belz exclaimed indignantly. ”I never even got an idee to take pity on the feller at all. An old snoozer like him which he's got only one house to his name, understand me, he don't deserve no better. So go ahead and ring up Schindelberger and tell him that's what we would do.”

Lesengeld turned to the desk, but even as he took the telephone receiver from the hook Schindelberger himself came in.

”_Endlich!_” Belz exclaimed. ”We was expecting you a whole week yet.

Are you ready to fix up about Rudnik's mortgage?”

Schindelberger sat down and carefully placed his hat on Belz's desk.

”The mortgage I didn't come to see you about exactly,” he said. ”I got something else to tell you.”

”Something else I ain't interested in at all,” Belz rejoined. ”We was just going to telephone and ask you why don't Rudnik fix it up about the mortgage?”

”I am coming to that presently,” Schindelberger said. ”What I want to say now is, Mr. Belz, that I am very sorry I got to come here and tell you an information about your wife's cousin, Miss Blooma Duckman.”