It was easy to find Bockstein and Eppner, and there could be no
mistaking the prosperity of the firm. The indifference of the clerks to
my presence, and the evident contempt with which an order for a hundred
shares of something was being taken from an apologetic old gentleman
were enough to assure me of that.
Bockstein and Eppner were together, evidently consulting over the
business to be done. Bockstein was tall and gray-haired, with a stubby
gray beard. Eppner was short and a little stooped, with a blue-black
mustache, snapping blue-black eyes, and strong blue-black dots over his
face where his beard struggled vainly against the devastating razor.
Both were strongly marked with the shrewd, money-getting visage. I set
forth my business.
"You wand to gif a larch order?" said Bockstein, looking over my
memoranda. "Do you haf references?"
"Yes," echoed Eppner. "References are customary, you know." He spoke in
a high-keyed voice that had irritating suggestions in it.
"Is there any reference better than cash?" I asked.
The partners looked at each other. "None," they replied.
"How much will secure you on the order?"
They named a heavy margin, and the sum total took my heart into my
mouth. How large a balance I could draw against I had not the faintest
idea. Possibly this was a trap to throw me into jail as a common
swindler attempting to pass worthless checks. But there was no time to
hesitate. I drew a check for the amount, signed Henry Wilton's name,
and tossed it over to Bockstein.
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