第21章

Trinawouldjumpwithastifledshriek。McTeaguewouldbellowwithlaughtertillhiseyeswatered。Thentheywouldrecommenceupontheinstant，Trinaprotestingwithanervoustremulousness：

“Now——now——now，Mac，DON’T；youSCAREmeso。“

Butthesedelicioustete-a-teteswithTrinawereoffsetbyacertaincoolnessthatMarcusSchoulerbegantoaffecttowardsthedentist。AtfirstMcTeaguewasunawareofit；butbythistimeevenhisslowwitsbegantoperceivethathisbestfriend——his“pal“——wasnotthesametohimasformerly。TheycontinuedtomeetatlunchnearlyeverydaybutFridayatthecarconductors’coffee-joint。ButMarcuswassulky；therecouldbenodoubtaboutthat。HeavoidedtalkingtoMcTeague，readthepapercontinually，answeringthedentist’stimideffortsatconversationingruffmonosyllables。Sometimes，even，heturnedsidewaystothetableandtalkedatgreatlengthtoHeisetheharness-maker，whosetablewasnexttotheirs。TheytooknomorelongwalkstogetherwhenMarcuswentouttoexercisethedogs。

NordidMarcuseveragainrecurtohisgenerosityinrenouncingTrina。

OneTuesday，asMcTeaguetookhisplaceatthetableinthecoffee-joint，hefoundMarcusalreadythere。

“Hello，Mark，“saidthedentist，“youherealready？“

“Hello，“returnedtheother，indifferently，helpinghimselftotomatocatsup。Therewasasilence。AfteralongwhileMarcussuddenlylookedup。

“Say，Mac，“heexclaimed，“whenyougoingtopaymethatmoneyyouoweme？“

McTeaguewasastonished。

“Huh？What？Idon’t——doIoweyouanymoney，Mark？“

“Well，youowemefourbits，“returnedMarcus，doggedly。“I

paidforyouandTrinathatdayatthepicnic，andyounevergaveitback。“

“Oh——oh！“answeredMcTeague，indistress。“That’sso，that’sso。I——yououghttohavetoldmebefore。Here’syourmoney，andI’mobligedtoyou。“

“Itain’tmuch，“observedMarcus，sullenly。“ButIneedallIcangetnow-a-days。“

“Areyou——areyoubroke？“inquiredMcTeague。

“AndIain’tsayinganythingaboutyoursleepingatthehospitalthatnight，either，“mutteredMarcus，ashepocketedthecoin。

“Well——well——doyoumean——shouldIhavepaidforthat？“

“Well，you’d’a’hadtosleepSOMEWHERES，wouldn’tyou？“flashedoutMarcus。“You’a’hadtopayhalfadollarforabedattheflat。“

“Allright，allright，“criedthedentist，hastily，feelinginhispockets。“Idon’twantyoushouldbeoutanythingonmyaccount，oldman。Here，willfourbitsdo？“

“Idon’tWANTyourdamnmoney，“shoutedMarcusinasuddenrage，throwingbackthecoin。“Iain’tnobeggar。“

McTeaguewasmiserable。Howhadheoffendedhispal？

“Well，Iwantyoushouldtakeit，Mark，“hesaid，pushingittowardshim。

“ItellyouIwon’ttouchyourmoney，“exclaimedtheotherthroughhisclenchedteeth，whitewithpassion。“I’vebeenplayedforasuckerlongenough。“

“What’sthematterwithyoulately，Mark？“remonstratedMcTeague。“You’vegotagrouchaboutsomething。IsthereanythingI’vedone？“

“Well，that’sallright，that’sallright，“returnedMarcusasherosefromthetable。“That’sallright。I’vebeenplayedforasuckerlongenough，that’sall。I’vebeenplayedforasuckerlongenough。“Hewentawaywithapartingmalevolentglance。

AtthecornerofPolkStreet，betweentheflatandthecarconductors’coffee-joint，wasFrenna’s。Itwasacornergrocery；advertisementsforcheapbutterandeggs，paintedingreenmarking-inkuponwrappingpaper，stoodaboutonthesidewalkoutside。Th