第9章

Thetwostoodupandfacedeachother，grippinghands。Itwasagreatmoment；evenMcTeaguefeltthedramaofit。

Whatafinethingwasthisfriendshipbetweenmen！thedentisttreatshisfriendforanulceratedtoothandrefusespayment；thefriendreciprocatesbygivinguphisgirl。

Thiswasnobility。Theirmutualaffectionandesteemsuddenlyincreasedenormously。ItwasDamonandPythias；itwasDavidandJonathan；nothingcouldeverestrangethem。

Nowitwasforlifeordeath。

“I’mmuchobliged，“murmuredMcTeague。Hecouldthinkofnothingbettertosay。“I’mmuchobliged，“herepeated；

“muchobliged，Mark。“

“That’sallright，that’sallright，“returnedMarcusSchouler，bravely，anditoccurredtohimtoadd，“You’llbehappytogether。Tellherforme——tellher——tellher——“

Marcuscouldnotgoon。Hewrungthedentist’shandsilently。

IthadnotappearedtoeitherofthemthatTrinamightrefuseMcTeague。McTeague’sspiritsroseatonce。InMarcus’swithdrawalhefanciedhesawanendtoallhisdifficulties。Everythingwouldcomeright，afterall。Thestrained，exaltedstateofMarcus’snervesendedbyputtinghimintofinehumoraswell。Hisgriefsuddenlychangedtoanexcessofgaiety。Theafternoonwasasuccess。Theyslappedeachotheronthebackwithgreatblowsoftheopenpalms，andtheydrankeachother’shealthinathirdroundofbeer。

TenminutesafterhisrenunciationofTrinaSieppe，MarcusastoundedMcTeaguewithatremendousfeat。

“Lookahere，Mac。Iknowsomethunyoucan’tdo。I’llbetyoutwobitsI’llstumpyou。“Theyeachputaquarteronthetable。“Nowwatchme，“criedMarcus。Hecaughtupabilliardballfromtherack，poiseditamomentinfrontofhisface，thenwithasudden，horrifyingdistensionofhisjawscrammeditintohismouth，andshuthislipsoverit。

ForaninstantMcTeaguewasstupefied，hiseyesbulging。

Thenanenormouslaughshookhim。Heroaredandshouted，swayinginhischair，slappinghisknee。WhatajosherwasthisMarcus！Sure，younevercouldtellwhathewoulddonext。Marcusslippedtheballout，wipeditonthetablecloth，andpassedittoMcTeague。

“Nowlet’sseeyoudoit。“

McTeaguefellsuddenlygrave。Thematterwasserious。Hepartedhisthickmustachesandopenedhisenormousjawslikeananaconda。Theballdisappearedinsidehismouth。Marcusapplaudedvociferously，shouting，“Goodwork！“McTeaguereachedforthemoneyandputitinhisvestpocket，noddinghisheadwithaknowingair。

Thensuddenlyhisfacegrewpurple，hisjawsmovedconvulsively，hepawedathischeekswithbothhands。Thebilliardballhadslippedintohismoutheasilyenough；now，however，hecouldnotgetitoutagain。

Itwasterrible。Thedentistrosetohisfeet，stumblingaboutamongthedogs，hisfaceworking，hiseyesstarting。

Tryashewould，hecouldnotstretchhisjawswideenoughtosliptheballout。Marcuslosthiswits，swearingatthetopofhisvoice。McTeaguesweatedwithterror；

inarticulatesoundscamefromhiscrammedmouth；hewavedhisarmswildly；allthefourdogscaughttheexcitementandbegantobark。Awaiterrushedin，thetwobilliardplayersreturned，alittlecrowdformed。Therewasaveritablescene。

AllatoncetheballslippedoutofMcTeague’sjawsaseasilyasithadgonein。Whatarelief！Hedroppedintoachair，wipinghisforehead，gaspingforbreath。

OnthestrengthoftheoccasionMarcusSchoulerinvitedtheentiregrouptodrinkwithhim。

Bythetimetheaffairwasoverandthegroupdisperseditwasafterfive。MarcusandMcTeaguedecidedtheywouldridehomeonthecars。Buttheysoonfoundthisimpossible。

Thedogswouldnotfollow。OnlyAlexander，Marcus’snewsetter，kepthisplaceattherearofthecar。Theotherthreelosttheirsensesimmediately，runningwildlyaboutthestreetswiththeirheadsintheair，orsuddenlystartingoffatafuriousgallopdirectlyawayfromthecar。

Marcuswhistledandshoutedandlatheredwithrageinvain。

Thetwofriendswereobligedtowalk。WhentheyfinallyreachedPolkStreet，Marcusshutupthethreedogsinthehospital。Alexanderhebroughtbacktotheflatwithhim。

Therewasaminutebackyardintherear，whereMarcushadmadeakennelforAlexanderoutofanoldwaterbarrel。

BeforehethoughtofhisownsupperMarcusputAlexandertobedandfedhimacoupleofdogbiscuits。McTeaguehadfollowedhimtotheyardtokeephimcompany。Alexandersettledtohissupperatonce，chewingvigorouslyatthebiscuit，hisheadononeside。

“Whatyougoingtodoaboutthis——aboutthat——about——aboutmycousinnow，Mac？“inquiredMarcus。

McTeagueshookhisheadhelplessly。Itwasdarkbynowandcold。Thelittlebackyardwasgrimyandfullofodors。

McTeaguewastiredwiththeirlongwalk。AllhisuneasinessabouthisaffairwithTrinahadreturned。No，surelyshewasnotforhim。Marcusorsomeothermanwouldwinherintheend。Whatcouldsheeverseetodesireinhim——inhim，aclumsygiant，withhandslikewoodenmallets？Shehadtoldhimoncethatshewouldnotmarryhim。Wasthatnotfinal？

“Idon’knowwhattodo，Mark，“hesaid。

“Well，youmustmakeuptohernow，“answeredMarcus。“Goandcallonher。“

McTeaguestarted。Hehadnotthoughtofcallingonher。

Theideafrightenedhimalittle。

“Ofcourse，“persistedMarcus，“that’sthepropercaper。

Whatdidyouexpect？Didyouthinkyouwasnevergoingtoseeheragain？“

“Idon’know，Idon’know，“respondedthedentist，lookingstupidlyatthedog。

“Youknowwheretheylive，“continuedMarcusSchouler。

“OveratBStreetstation，acrossthebay。I’lltakeyouovertherewheneveryouwanttogo。Itellyouwhat，we’llgooverthereWashington’sBirthday。That’sthisnextWednesday；sure，they’llbegladtoseeyou。“ItwasgoodofMarcus。AllatonceMcTeaguerosetoanappreciationofwhathisfriendwasdoingforhim。Hestammered：

“Say，Mark——you’re——you’reallright，anyhow。“

“Why，pshaw！“saidMarcus。“That’sallright，oldman。I’dliketoseeyoutwofixed，that’sall。We’llgooverWednesday，sure。“

Theyturnedbacktothehouse。Alexanderleftoffeatingandwatchedthemgoaway，firstwithoneeye，thenwiththeother。Buthewastooself-respectingtowhimper。However，bythetimethetwofriendshadreachedthesecondlandingonthebackstairsaterriblecommotionwasunderwayinthelittleyard。Theyrushedtoanopenwindowattheendofthehallandlookeddown。

Athinboardfenceseparatedtheflat’sbackyardfromthatusedbythebranchpost-office。Inthelatterplacelivedacolliedog。HeandAlexanderhadsmelteachotherout，blowingthroughthecracksofthefenceateachother。

Suddenlythequarrelhadexplodedoneithersideofthefence。Thedogsragedateachother，snarlingandbarking，franticwithhate。Theirteethgleamed。Theytoreatthefencewiththeirfrontpaws。Theyfilledthewholenightwiththeirclamor。

“Bydamn！“criedMarcus，“theydon’tloveeachother。Justlisten；wouldn’tthatmakeafightifthetwogottogether？

Havetotryitsomeday。“

CHAPTER5

Wednesdaymorning，Washington’sBirthday，McTeagueroseveryearlyandshavedhimself。Besidesthesixmournfulconcertinaairs，thedentistknewonesong。Wheneverheshaved，hesungthissong；neveratanyothertime。Hisvoicewasabellowingroar，enoughtomakethewindowsashesrattle。Justnowhewokeupallthelodgersinhishallwithit。Itwasalamentablewail：

“Noonetolove，nonetocaress，Leftallaloneinthisworld’swilderness。“

Ashepausedtostrophisrazor，Marcuscameintohisroom，half-dressed，astartlingphantominredflannels。

Marcusoftenranbackandforthbetweenhisroomandthedentist’s“Parlors“inallsortsofundress。OldMissBakerhadseenhimthusseveraltimesthroughherhalf-opendoor，asshesatinherroomlisteningandwaiting。Theolddressmakerwasshockedoutofallexpression。Shewasoutraged，offended，pursingherlips，puttingupherhead。

Shetalkedofcomplainingtothelandlady。“AndMr。Grannisrightnextdoor，too。Youcanunderstandhowtryingitisforbothofus。“Shewouldcomeoutinthehallafteroneoftheseapparitions，herlittlefalsecurlsshaking，talkingloudandshrilltoanyoneinreachofhervoice。

“Well，“Marcuswouldshout，“shutyourdoor，then，ifyoudon’twanttosee。Lookout，now，hereIcomeagain。Notevenaporousplasteronmethistime。“

OnthisWednesdaymorningMarcuscalledMcTeagueoutintothehall，totheheadofthestairsthatleddowntothestreetdoor。

“ComeandlistentoMaria，Mac，“saidhe。

Mariasatonthenexttotheloweststep，herchinproppedbyhertwofists。Thered-headedPolishJew，theragmanZerkow，stoodinthedoorway。Hewastalkingeagerly。