第48章

“Kissmegood-by，Mac，“shesaid，puttingherarmsaroundhisneck。“YouDOlovemealittleyet，don’tyou，Mac？We’llbehappyagainsomeday。Thisishardtimesnow，butwe’llpullout。You’llfindsomethingtodoprettysoon。“

“Iguessso，“growledMcTeague，allowinghertokisshim。

Thecanarywasstirringnimblyinitscage，andjustnowbrokeoutintoashrilltrilling，itslittlethroatbulgingandquivering。Thedentiststaredatit。“Say，“heremarkedslowly，“IthinkI’lltakethatbirdofminealong。“

“Sellit？“inquiredTrina。

“Yes，yes，sellit。“

“Well，youAREcomingtoyoursensesatlast，“answeredTrina，approvingly。“Butdon’tyouletthebird-storemancheatyou。That’sagoodsongster；andwiththecage，yououghttomakehimgiveyoufivedollars。Youstickoutforthatatfirst，anyhow。“

McTeagueunhookedthecageandcarefullywrappeditinanoldnewspaper，remarking，“Hemightgetcold。Well，solong，“herepeated，“solong。“

“Good-by，Mac。“

Whenhewasgone，Trinatookthesixtycentsshehadstolenfromhimoutofherpocketandrecountedit。“It’ssixtycents，allright，“shesaidproudly。“ButIDObelievethatdimeistoosmooth。“Shelookedatitcritically。Theclockonthepower-houseoftheSutterStreetcablestruckeight。“Eighto’clockalready，“sheexclaimed。“Imustgettowork。“Sheclearedthebreakfastthingsfromthetable，anddrawingupherchairandherworkboxbeganpaintingthesetsofNoah’sarkanimalsshehadwhittledthedaybefore。

Sheworkedsteadilyallthemorning。Atnoonshelunched，warmingoverthecoffeeleftfrombreakfast，andfryingacoupleofsausages。Byoneshewasbendingoverhertableagain。Herfingers——someofthemlaceratedbyMcTeague’steeth——flew，andthelittlepileofcheaptoysinthebasketatherelbowgrewsteadily。

“WhereDOallthetoysgoto？“shemurmured。“ThethousandsandthousandsoftheseNoah’sarksthatIhavemade——horsesandchickensandelephants——andalwaysthereneverseemstobeenough。It’sagoodthingformethatchildrenbreaktheirthings，andthattheyallhavetohavebirthdaysandChristmases。“ShedippedherbrushintoapotofVandykebrownandpaintedoneofthewhittledtoyhorsesintwostrokes。Thenatouchofivoryblackwithasmallflatbrushcreatedthetailandmane，anddotsofChinesewhitemadetheeyes。Theturpentineinthepaintdrieditalmostimmediately，andshetossedthecompletedlittlehorseintothebasket。

Atsixo’clockthedentisthadnotreturned。Trinawaiteduntilseven，andthenputherworkaway，andatehersupperalone。

“Iwonderwhat’skeepingMac，“sheexclaimedastheclockfromthepower-houseonSutterStreetstruckhalf-pastseven。“IKNOWhe’sdrinkingsomewhere，“shecried，apprehensively。“Hehadthemoneyfromhissignwithhim。“

Ateighto’clockshethrewashawloverherheadandwentovertotheharnessshop。IfanybodywouldknowwhereMcTeaguewasitwouldbeHeise。Buttheharness-makerhadseennothingofhimsincethedaybefore。

“Hewasinhereyesterdayafternoon，andwehadadrinkortwoatFrenna’s。Maybehe’sbeeninthereto-day。“

“Oh，won’tyougoinandsee？“saidTrina。“Macalwayscamehometohissupper——heneverlikestomisshismeals——an