100 THE KING OF SCHNORRERS.
Yankele's face was made glorious summer. Only two of the quartette knew the secret of his radiance.
" There, Rabbi," he cried exultantly. " Good Sabbath ! "
" Good Sabbath ! " added Manasseh.
"Good Sabbath," dazedly murmured the Rabbi.
"Good Sabbath," added his wife.
"Congratulate me!" cried Yankele when they got out- side.
"On what? " asked Manasseh.
"On being your future son-in-law, of course."
"Oh, on that? Certainly, I congratulate you most heartily." The two Schnorrers shook hands. " I thought you were asking for compliments on your manoeuvring."
" Vy, doesn't it deserve dem?"
" No," said Manasseh magisterially.
"No?" queried Yankele, his heart sinking again. "Vy not?"
"Why did you kill so many people?"
" Somebody must die dat I may live."
" You said that before," said Manasseh severely. " A good Schnorrer would not have slaughtered so many for his dinner. It is a waste of good material. And then you told lies ! "
"How do you know they are not dead?" pleaded Yan- ked.
The King shook his head reprovingly. " A first-class Schnorrer never lies," he laid it down.
"I might have made truth go as far as a lie — if you hadn't come to dinner yourself."
" What is that you say ? Why, I came to encourage you by showing you how easy your task was."
" On de contrary, you made it much harder for me. Dere vas no dinner left."
