"Well, come along, then," Rudy cried, and the two brokers and their clients repaired to Feinholz's store. Abe and Morris entered not without trepidation, but Louis received them with unaffected amiability.
"Well, Mawruss," he said, "that's too bad you got a fire in your place."
"We can stand it," Morris replied. "We was insured."
Feinholz rejoined: "Yes, you was insured by your loft, but you wasn't insured by your freight elevator."
"But by the rules of the Fire Insurance Exchange," Blaustein interrupted, "when a policy reads——"
"What do we care about the Fire Insurance Exchange?" Feinholz broke in. "The Farmers and Ranchers' ain't members of the Fire Insurance Exchange. We got a license to do business from the Superintendent of Insurance, and we don't give a cent for the Fire Insurance Exchange. We insured it the loft, and the goods was burnt in the freight elevator."
Abe jumped to his feet.
"Do you mean," he cried, "that you ain't going to pay us nothing for our fire?"
"That's what I mean," Feinholz declared.
Morris turned to Abe.