第8章

“Lookatthatdog，“hecriedtoMcTeague，showinghimafinely-bredIrishsetter。“That’sthedogthatbelongedtotheduckontheavenue，thedogwecalledforthatday。

I’vebought’um。Theduckthoughthehadthedistemper，andjustthrew’umaway。Nothunwrongwith’umbutalittlecatarrh。Ain’theabird？Say，ain’theabird？Lookathisflag；it’sperfect；andseehowhecarrieshistailonalinewithhisback。Seehowstiffandwhitehiswhiskersare。Oh，bydamn！youcan’tfoolmeonadog。Thatdog’sawinner。“

AttheCliffHousethetwosatdowntotheirbeerinaquietcornerofthebilliard-room。Therewerebuttwoplayers。

Somewhereinanotherpartofthebuildingamammothmusic-

boxwasjanglingoutaquickstep。Fromoutsidecamethelong，rhythmicalrushofthesurfandthesonorousbarkingofthesealsuponthesealrocks。Thefourdogscurledthemselvesdownuponthesandedfloor。

“Here’show，“saidMarcus，halfemptyinghisglass。“Ah-h！“

headded，withalongbreath，“that’sgood；itis，forafact。“

ForthelasthouroftheirwalkMarcushaddonenearlyallthetalking。McTeaguemerelyansweringhimbyuncertainmovementsofthehead。Forthatmatter，thedentisthadbeensilentandpreoccupiedthroughoutthewholeafternoon。

AtlengthMarcusnoticedit。Ashesetdownhisglasswithabanghesuddenlyexclaimed：

“What’sthematterwithyouthesedays，Mac？Yougotabeanaboutsomethun，hey？Spitutout。“

“No，no，“repliedMcTeague，lookingaboutonthefloor，rollinghiseyes；“nothing，no，no。“

“Ah，rats！“returnedtheother。McTeaguekeptsilence。Thetwobilliardplayersdeparted。Thehugemusic-boxstruckintoafreshtune。

“Huh！“exclaimedMarcus，withashortlaugh，“guessyou’reinlove。“

McTeaguegasped，andshuffledhisenormousfeetunderthetable。

“Well，somethun’sbitunyou，anyhow，“pursuedMarcus。

“MaybeIcanhelpyou。We’repals，youknow。Bettertellmewhat’sup；guesswecanstraightenutout。Ah，goon；spitutout。“

Thesituationwasabominable。McTeaguecouldnotrisetoit。Marcuswashisbestfriend，hisonlyfriend。Theywere“pals“andMcTeaguewasveryfondofhim。Yettheywerebothinlove，presumably，withthesamegirl，andnowMarcuswouldtryandforcethesecretoutofhim；wouldrushblindlyattherockuponwhichthetwomustsplit，stirredbytheverybestofmotives，wishingonlytobeofservice。

Besidesthis，therewasnobodytowhomMcTeaguewouldhavebetterpreferredtotellhistroublesthantoMarcus，andyetaboutthistrouble，thegreatesttroubleofhislife，hemustkeepsilent；mustrefrainfromspeakingofittoMarcusaboveeverybody。

McTeaguebegandimlytofeelthatlifewastoomuchforhim。

Howhaditallcomeabout？Amonthagohewasperfectlycontent；hewascalmandpeaceful，takinghislittlepleasuresashefoundthem。Hislifehadshapeditself；

was，nodoubt，tocontinuealwaysalongthesesamelines。A

womanhadenteredhissmallworldandinstantlytherewasdiscord。Thedisturbingelementhadappeared。Whereverthewomanhadputherfootascoreofdistressingcomplicationshadsprungup，likethesuddengrowthofstrangeandpuzzlingflowers。

“Say，Mac，goon；let’shaveutstraight，“urgedMarcus，leaningtowardhim。“Hasanyduckbeendoingyoudirt？“hecried，hisfacecrimsonontheinstant。

“No，“saidMcTeague，helplessly。

“Comealong，oldman，“persistedMarcus；“let’shaveut。

Whatistherow？I’lldoallIcantohelpyou。“

ItwasmorethanMcTeaguecouldbear。Thesituationhadgotbeyondhim。Stupidlyhespoke，hishandsdeepinhispockets，hisheadrolledforward。

“It’s——it’sMissSieppe，“hesaid。

“Trina，mycousin？Howdoyoumean？“inquiredMarcussharply。

“I——I——Idon’know，“stammeredMcTeague，hopelesslyconfounded。

“Youmean，“criedMarcus，suddenlyenlightened，“thatyouare——thatyou，too。“

McTeaguestirredinhischair，lookingatthewallsoftheroom，avoidingtheother’sglance。Henoddedhishead，thensuddenlybrokeout：

“Ican’thelpit。Itain’tmyfault，isit？“

Marcuswasstruckdumb；hedroppedbackinhischairbreathless。SuddenlyMcTeaguefoundhistongue。

“Itellyou，Mark，Ican’thelpit。Idon’tknowhowithappened。ItcameonsoslowthatIwas，that——that——thatitwasdonebeforeIknewit，beforeIcouldhelpmyself。I

knowwe’repals，ustwo，andIknewhow——howyouandMissSieppewere。Iknownow，Iknewthen；butthatwouldn’thavemadeanydifference。BeforeIknewit——it——it——thereI

was。Ican’thelpit。Iwouldn’t’a’haduthappenforanything，ifIcould’a’stoppedit，butIdon’know，it’ssomethingthat’sjuststrongerthanyouare，that’sall。

Shecamethere——MissSieppecametotheparlorstherethreeorfourtimesaweek，andshewasthefirstgirlIhadeverknown，——andyoudon’know！Why，IwassoclosetoherI

touchedherfaceeveryminute，andhermouth，andsmeltherhairandherbreath——oh，youdon’tknowanythingaboutit。

Ican’tgiveyouanyidea。Idon’knowexactlymyself；I

onlyknowhowI’mfixed。I——I——it’sbeendone；it’stoolate，there’snogoingback。Why，Ican’tthinkofanythingelsenightandday。It’severything。It’s——it’s——oh，it’severything！I——I——why，Mark，it’severything——Ican’texplain。“Hemadeahelplessmovementwithbothhands。

NeverhadMcTeaguebeensoexcited；neverhadhemadesolongaspeech。Hisarmsmovedinfierce，uncertaingestures，hisfaceflushed，hisenormousjawsshuttogetherwithasharpclickateverypause。Itwaslikesomecolossalbrutetrappedinadelicate，invisiblemesh，raging，exasperated，powerlesstoextricatehimself。

MarcusSchoulersaidnothing。Therewasalongsilence。

Marcusgotupandwalkedtothewindowandstoodlookingout，butseeingnothing。“Well，whowouldhavethoughtofthis？“hemutteredunderhisbreath。Herewasafix。

MarcuscaredforTrina。Therewasnodoubtinhismindaboutthat。HelookedforwardeagerlytotheSundayafternoonexcursions。HelikedtobewithTrina。He，too，feltthecharmofthelittlegirl——thecharmofthesmall，paleforehead；thelittlechinthrustoutasifinconfidenceandinnocence；theheavy，odorouscrownofblackhair。Helikedherimmensely。Somedayhewouldspeak；hewouldaskhertomarryhim。Marcusputoffthismatterofmarriagetosomefutureperiod；itwouldbesometime——ayear，perhaps，ortwo。Thethingdidnottakedefiniteshapeinhismind。Marcus“keptcompany“withhiscousinTrina，butheknewplentyofothergirls。Forthematterofthat，helikedallgirlsprettywell。JustnowthesinglenessandstrengthofMcTeague’spassionstartledhim。

McTeaguewouldmarryTrinathatveryafternoonifshewouldhavehim；butwouldhe——Marcus？No，hewouldnot；ifitcametothat，no，hewouldnot。YetheknewhelikedTrina。

Hecouldsay——yes，hecouldsay——helovedher。Shewashis“girl。“TheSieppesacknowledgedhimasTrina’s“youngman。“Marcuscamebacktothetableandsatdownsidewaysuponit。

“Well，whatarewegoingtodoaboutit，Mac？“hesaid。

“Idon’know，“answeredMcTeague，ingreatdistress。“I

don’wantanythingto——tocomebetweenus，Mark。“

“Well，nothunwill，youbet！“vociferatedtheother。“No，sir；youbetnot，Mac。“

Marcuswasthinkinghard。HecouldseeveryclearlythatMcTeaguelovedTrinamorethanhedid；thatinsomestrangewaythishuge，brutalfellowwascapableofagreaterpassionthanhimself，whowastwiceasclever。SuddenlyMarcusjumpedimpetuouslytoaresolution。

“Well，say，Mac，“hecried，strikingthetablewithhisfist，“goahead。Iguessyou——youwantherprettybad。I’llpullout；yes，Iwill。I’llgiveheruptoyou，oldman。“

ThesenseofhisownmagnanimityallatonceovercameMarcus。Hesawhimselfasanotherman，verynoble，self-

sacrificing；hestoodapartandwatchedthissecondselfwithboundlessadmirationandwithinfinitepity。Hewassogood，somagnificent，soheroic，thathealmostsobbed。Marcusmadeasweepinggestureofresignation，throwingoutbothhisarms，crying：

“Mac，I’llgiveheruptoyou。Iwon’tstandbetweenyou。“

TherewereactuallytearsinMarcus’seyesashespoke。

Therewasnodoubthethoughthimselfsincere。AtthatmomenthealmostbelievedhelovedTrinaconscientiously，thathewassacrificinghimselfforthesakeofhisfriend。