It was precisely noon when Morris delivered the check to Louis Grossman, and it was one o'clock when Louis went out to lunch.
Three o'clock struck before Abe first noted his absence.
"Ain't that feller come back from his dinner yet, Mawruss?" he asked.
"No," Morris replied. "I wonder what can be keeping him. He generally takes half an hour for his dinner."
At this juncture the telephone bell rang in the rear of the store and Abe answered it.
"Hello," he said; "yes, this is Potash & Perlmutter. Oh, hello, Leon, what can we do for you?"
"I want to speak to Louis Grossman. Can you call him to the 'phone?" Leon said.
"Louis ain't in," Abe said. "Do you want to leave a message for him?"
"Well," Leon hesitated, "the fact is—we had an
appointment with him for two o'clock over here, and he ain't showed up yet."