第41章

“DrinkSTEAMbeer，then。You’vegotanickel。Igaveyouaquarterdaybeforeyesterday。“

“ButIdon’tlikesteambeernow。“

Itwassowitheverything。Unfortunately，TrinahadcultivatedtastesinMcTeaguewhichnowcouldnotbegratified。Hehadcometobeveryproudofhissilkhatand“PrinceAlbert“coat，andlikedtowearthemonSundays。

Trinahadmadehimsellboth。Hepreferred“Yalemixture“

inhispipe；Trinahadmadehimcomedownto“Mastiff，“afive-centtobaccowithwhichhewasoncecontented，butnowabhorred。Helikedtowearcleancuffs；TrinaallowedhimafreshpaironSundaysonly。AtfirstthesedeprivationsangeredMcTeague。Then，allofasudden，heslippedbackintotheoldhabits(thathadbeenhisbeforeheknewTrina)

withaneasethatwassurprising。Sundayshedinedatthecarconductors’coffee-jointoncemore，andspenttheafternoonlyingfulllengthuponthebed，crop-full，stupid，warm，smokinghishugepipe，drinkinghissteambeer，andplayinghissixmournfultunesuponhisconcertina，dozingofftosleeptowardsfouro’clock。

Thesaleoftheirfurniturehad，afterpayingtherentandoutstandingbills，nettedaboutahundredandthirtydollars。Trinabelievedthattheauctioneerfromthesecond-

handstorehadswindledandcheatedthemandhadmadeagreatoutcrytonoeffect。Butshehadarrangedtheaffairwiththeauctioneerherself，andoffsetherdisappointmentinthematterofthesalebydeceivingherhusbandastotherealamountofthereturns。ItwaseasytolietoMcTeague，whotookeverythingforgranted；andsincetheoccasionofhertrickerywiththemoneythatwastohavebeensenttohermother，Trinahadfoundfalsehoodeasierthanever。

“Seventydollarsisalltheauctioneergaveme，“shetoldherhusband；“andafterpayingthebalancedueontherent，andthegrocer’sbill，there’sonlyfiftyleft。“

“Onlyfifty？“murmuredMcTeague，wagginghishead，“onlyfifty？Thinkofthat。“

“Onlyfifty，“declaredTrina。Afterwardsshesaidtoherselfwithacertainadmirationforhercleverness：

“Couldn’tsavesixtydollarsmucheasierthanthat，“andshehadaddedthehundredandthirtytothelittlehoardinthechamois-skinbagandbrassmatch-boxinthebottomofhertrunk。

InthesefirstmonthsoftheirmisfortunestheroutineoftheMcTeagueswasasfollows：Theyroseatsevenandbreakfastedintheirroom，Trinacookingtheverymeagremealonanoilstove。ImmediatelyafterbreakfastTrinasatdowntoherworkofwhittlingtheNoah’sarkanimals，andMcTeaguetookhimselfofftowalkdowntown。Hehadbythegreatestgoodlucksecuredapositionwithamanufacturerofsurgicalinstruments，wherehismanualdexterityinthemakingofexcavators，pluggers，andotherdentalcontrivancesstoodhiminfairlygoodstead。Helunchedatasailor’sboarding-housenearthewaterfront，andintheafternoonworkedtillsix。Hewashomeatsix-thirty，andheandTrinahadsuppertogetherinthe“ladies’diningparlor，“anadjunctofthecarconductors’coffee-

joint。Trina，meanwhile，hadworkedatherwhittlingalldaylong，withbuthalfanhour’sintervalforlunch，whichsheherselfpreparedupontheoilstove。Intheeveningtheywerebothsotiredthattheywereinnomoodforconversation，andwenttobedearly，wornout，harried，nervous，andcross。

Trinawasnotquitesoscrupulouslytidynowasintheolddays。AtonetimewhilewhittlingtheNoah’sarkanimalsshehadworngloves。Sheneverworethemnow。Shestilltookprideinneatlycombingandcoilingherwonderfulblackhair，butasthedayspassedshefounditmoreandmorecomfortabletow