Marcusandthedentistwalkedupthesilentstreetandreachedthelittledoghospital。Theyhadhardlyspokenontheway。McTeague’sbrainwasinawhirl；speechfailedhim。
　　Hewasbusythinkingofthegreatthingthathadhappenedthatnight，andwastryingtorealizewhatitseffectwouldbeuponhislife——hislifeandTrina’s。Assoonastheyhadfoundthemselvesinthestreet，Marcushadrelapsedatoncetoasullensilence，whichMcTeaguewastooabstractedtonotice。
　　Theyenteredthetinyofficeofthehospitalwithitsredcarpet，itsgasstove，anditscoloredprintsoffamousdogshangingagainstthewalls。Inonecornerstoodtheironbedwhichtheyweretooccupy。
　　“Yougoonan’gettobed，Mac，“observedMarcus。“I’lltakealookatthedogsbeforeIturnin。“
　　Hewentoutsideandpassedalongintotheyard，thatwasboundedonthreesidesbypenswherethedogswerekept。A
　　bullterrierdyingofgastritisrecognizedhimandbegantowhimperfeebly。
　　Marcuspaidnoattentiontothedogs。Forthefirsttimethateveninghewasaloneandcouldgiveventtohisthoughts。Hetookacoupleofturnsupanddowntheyard，thensuddenlyinalowvoiceexclaimed：
　　“Youfool，youfool，MarcusSchouler！Ifyou’dkeptTrinayou’dhavehadthatmoney。Youmighthavehadityourself。
　　You’vethrownawayyourchanceinlife——togiveupthegirl，yes——butthis，“hestampedhisfootwithrage——“tothrowfivethousanddollarsoutofthewindow——tostuffitintothepocketsofsomeoneelse，whenitmighthavebeenyours，whenyoumighthavehadTrinaANDthemoney——andallforwhat？Becausewewerepals。Oh，’pals’isallright——butfivethousanddollars——tohaveplayeditrightintohishands——GodDAMNtheluck！“
　　CHAPTER8
　　Thenexttwomonthsweredelightful。TrinaandMcTeaguesaweachotherregularly，threetimesaweek。ThedentistwentovertoBStreetSundayandWednesdayafternoonsasusual；
　　butonFridaysitwasTrinawhocametothecity。Shespentthemorningbetweennineandtwelveo’clockdowntown，forthemostpartinthecheapdepartmentstores，doingtheweeklyshoppingforherselfandthefamily。AtnoonshetookanuptowncarandmetMcTeagueatthecornerofPolkStreet。ThetwolunchedtogetheratasmalluptownhoteljustaroundthecorneronSutterStreet。Theyweregivenalittleroomtothemselves。Nothingcouldhavebeenmoredelicious。Theyhadbuttoclosetheslidingdoortoshutthemselvesofffromthewholeworld。
　　Trinawouldarrivebreathlessfromherraidsuponthebargaincounters，herpalecheeksflushed，herhairblownaboutherfaceandintothecornersofherlips，hermother’snetreticulestuffedtobursting。Onceintheirtinyprivateroom，shewoulddropintoherchairwithalittlegroan。
　　“Oh，MAC，Iamsotired；I’vejustbeenallOVER
　　town。Oh，it’sgoodtositdown。Justthink，Ihadtostandupinthecaralltheway，afterbeingonmyfeetthewholeblessedmorning。LookherewhatI’vebought。Justthingsandthings。Look，there’ssomedottedveilingIgotformyself；seenow，doyouthinkitlookspretty？“——shespreaditoverherface——“andIgotaboxofwritingpaper，andarollofcrepepapertomakealampshadeforthefrontparlor；and——whatdoyousuppose——IsawapairofNottinghamlacecurtainsforFORTY-NINECENTS；isn’tthatcheap？
　　andsomechenilleportieresfortwoandahalf。NowwhathaveYOUbeendoingsinceIlastsawyou？DidMr。Heisefinallygetupenoughcouragetohavehistoothpulledyet？“
　　Trinatookoffherhatandveilandrearrangedherhairbeforethelooking-glass。
　　“No，no——notyet。Iwentdowntothesignpainter’syesterdayafternoontoseeaboutthatbiggoldtoothforasign。Itcoststoomuch；Ican’tgetityetawhile。
　　There’stwokinds，oneGermangiltandtheotherFrenchgilt；buttheGermangiltisnogood。“
　　McTeaguesighed，andwaggedhishead。EvenTrinaandthefivethousanddollarscouldnotmakehimforgetthisoneunsatisfiedlonging。
　　Atothertimestheywouldtalkatlengthovertheirplans，whileTrinasippedherchocolateandMcTeaguedevouredhugechunksofbutterlessbread。TheyweretobemarriedattheendofMay，andthedentistalreadyhadhiseyeonacoupleofrooms，partofthesuiteofabankruptphotographer。
　　Theyweresituatedintheflat，justbackofhis“Parlors，“
　　andhebelievedthephotographerwouldsubletthemfurnished。
　　McTeagueandTrinahadnoapprehensionsastotheirfinances。Theycouldbesure，infact，ofatidylittleincome。Thedentist’spracticewasfairlygood，andtheycouldcountupontheinterestofTrina’sfivethousanddollars。ToMcTeague’smindthisinterestseemedwoefullysmall。Hehadhaduncertainideasaboutthatfivethousanddollars；hadimaginedthattheywouldspenditinsomelavishfashion；wouldbuyahouse，perhaps，orwouldfurnishtheirnewroomswithoverwhelmingluxury——luxurythatimpliedredvelvetcarpetsandcontinuedfeasting。Theold-
　　timeminer’sideaofwealtheasilygainedandquicklyspentpersistedinhismind。ButwhenTrinahadbeguntotalkofinvestmentsandinterestsandpercents，hewastroubledandnotalittledisappointed。Thelumpsumoffivethousanddollarswasonething，amiserablelittletwentyortwenty-fiveamonthwasquiteanother；andthensomeoneelsehadthemoney。
　　“Butdon’tyousee，Mac，“explainedTrina，“it’soursjustthesame。Wecouldgetitbackwheneverwewantedit；andthenit’sthereasonablewaytodo。Wemustn’tletitturnourheads，Mac，dear，likethatmanthatspentallhewoninbuyingmoretickets。Howfoolishwe’dfeelafterwe’dspentitall！Weoughttogoonjustthesameasbefore；asifwehadn’twon。Wemustbesensibleaboutit，mustn’twe？“
　　“Well，well，Iguessperhapsthat’sright，“thedentistwouldanswer，lookingslowlyaboutonthefloor。
　　JustwhatshouldultimatelybedonewiththemoneywasthesubjectofendlessdiscussionintheSieppefamily。Thesavingsbankwouldallowonlythreepercent。，butTrina’sparentsbelievedthatsomethingbettercouldbegot。
　　“There’sUncleOelbermann，“Trinahadsuggested，rememberingtherichrelativewhohadthewholesaletoystoreintheMission。
　　Mr。Sieppestruckhishandtohisforehead。“Ah，anidea，“
　　hecried。Intheendanagreementwasmade。ThemoneywasinvestedinMr。Oelbermann’sbusiness。HegaveTrinasixpercent。
　　Investedinthisfashion，Trina’swinningwouldbringintwenty-fivedollarsamonth。But，besidesthis，Trinahadherownlittletrade。ShemadeNoah’sarkanimalsforUncleOelbermann’sstore。Trina’sancestorsonbothsideswereGerman-Swiss，andsomelong-forgottenforefatherofthesixteenthcentury，someworsted-legginedwood-carveroftheTyrol，hadhandeddownthetalentofthenationalindustry，toreappearinthisstrangelydistortedguise。
　　ShemadeNoah’sarkanimals，whittlingthemoutofablockofsoftwoodwithasharpjack-knife，theonlyinstrumentsheused。TrinawasveryproudtoexplainherworktoMcTeagueashehadalreadyexplainedhisowntoher。
　　“Yousee，Itakeablockofstraight-grainedpineandcutouttheshape，roughlyatfirst，withthebigblade；thenI
　　gooveritasecondtimewiththelittleblade，morecarefully；thenIputintheearsandtailwithadropofglue，andpaintitwitha’non-poisonous’paint——Vandykebrownforthehorses，foxes，andcows；slategrayfortheelephantsandcamels；burntumberforthechickens，zebras，andsoon；then，last，adotofChinesewhitefortheeyes，andthereyouare，allfinished。Theysellforninecentsadozen。OnlyIcan’tmakethemanikins。“
　　“Themanikins？“
　　“Thelittlefigures，youknow——Noahandhiswife，andShem，andalltheothers。“
　　Itwastrue。Trinacouldnotwhittlethemfastenoughandcheapenoughtocompetewiththeturninglathe，thatcouldthrowoffwholetribesandpeoplesofmanikinswhileshewasfashioningonefamily。Everythingelse，however，shemade——
　　thearkitself，allwindowsandnodoor；theboxinwhichthewholewaspacked；evendowntopastingonthelabel，whichread，“MadeinFrance。“Sheearnedfromthreetofourdollarsaweek。
　　Theincomefromthesethreesources，McTeague’sprofession，theinterestofthefivethousanddollars，andTrina’swhittling，madearespectablelittlesumtakenaltogether。
　　Trinadeclaredtheycouldevenlaybysomething，addingtothefivethousanddollarslittlebylittle。
　　ItsoonbecameapparentthatTrinawouldbeanextraordinarilygoodhousekeeper。Economywasherstrongpoint。Agooddealofpeasantbloodstillranundilutedinherveins，andshehadalltheinstinctofahardyandpenuriousmountainrace——theinstinctwhichsaveswithoutanythought，withoutideaofconsequence——savingforthesakeofsaving，hoardingwithoutknowingwhy。EvenMcTeaguedidnotknowhowcloselyTrinaheldtohernew-foundwealth。
　　Buttheydidnotalwayspasstheirluncheonhourinthisdiscussionofincomesandeconomies。Asthedentistcametoknowhislittlewomanbettershegrewtobemoreandmoreofapuzzleandajoytohim。Shewouldsuddenlyinterruptagravediscourseupontherentsofroomsandthecostoflightandfuelwithabrusqueoutburstofaffectionthatsethimalla-tremblewithdelight。Allatonceshewouldsetdownherchocolate，and，leaningacrossthenarrowtable，wouldexclaim：
　　“Nevermindallthat！Oh，Mac，doyoutruly，reallyloveme——lovemeBIG？“
　　McTeaguewouldstammersomething，gasping，andwagginghishead，besidehimselfforthelackofwords。
　　“Oldbear，“Trinawouldanswer，graspinghimbybothhugeearsandswayinghisheadfromsidetoside。“Kissme，then。Tellme，Mac，didyouthinkanylessofmethatfirsttimeIletyoukissmethereinthestation？Oh，Mac，dear，whatafunnynoseyou’vegot，allfullofhairsinside；and，Mac，doyouknowyou’vegotabaldspot——“shedraggedhisheaddowntowardsher——“rightonthetopofyourhead。“
　　Thenshewouldseriouslykissthebaldspotinquestion，declaring：
　　“That’llmakethehairgrow。“
　　TrinatookaninfiniteenjoymentinplayingwithMcTeague’sgreatsquare-cuthead，rumplinghishairtillitstoodonend，puttingherfingersinhiseyes，orstretchinghisearsoutstraight，andwatchingtheeffectwithherheadononeside。Itwaslikealittlechildplayingwithsomegigantic，good-naturedSaintBernard。
　　Oneparticularamusementtheyneverweariedof。Thetwowouldleanacrossthetabletowardseachother，McTeaguefoldinghisarmsunderhisbreast。ThenTrina，restingonherelbows，wouldparthismustache-thegreatblondmustacheofaviking——withhertwohands，pushingitupfromhislips，causinghisfacetoassumetheappearanceofaGreekmask。Shewouldcurlitaroundeitherforefinger，drawingittoafineend。ThenallatonceMcTeaguewouldmakeafearfulsnortingnoisethroughhisnose。Invariably——thoughshewasexpectingthis，thoughitwaspartofthegame