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。