“Lookatthatdog，“hecriedtoMcTeague，showinghimafinely-bredIrishsetter。“That’sthedogthatbelongedtotheduckontheavenue，thedogwecalledforthatday。
I’vebought’um。Theduckthoughthehadthedistemper，andjustthrew’umaway。Nothunwrongwith’umbutalittlecatarrh。Ain’theabird？Say，ain’theabird？Lookathisflag；it’sperfect；andseehowhecarrieshistailonalinewithhisback。Seehowstiffandwhitehiswhiskersare。Oh，bydamn！youcan’tfoolmeonadog。Thatdog’sawinner。“
AttheCliffHousethetwosatdowntotheirbeerinaquietcornerofthebilliard-room。Therewerebuttwoplayers。
Somewhereinanotherpartofthebuildingamammothmusic-
boxwasjanglingoutaquickstep。Fromoutsidecamethelong，rhythmicalrushofthesurfandthesonorousbarkingofthesealsuponthesealrocks。Thefourdogscurledthemselvesdownuponthesandedfloor。
“Here’show，“saidMarcus，halfemptyinghisglass。“Ah-h！“
headded，withalongbreath，“that’sgood；itis，forafact。“
ForthelasthouroftheirwalkMarcushaddonenearlyallthetalking。McTeaguemerelyansweringhimbyuncertainmovementsofthehead。Forthatmatter，thedentisthadbeensilentandpreoccupiedthroughoutthewholeafternoon。
AtlengthMarcusnoticedit。Ashesetdownhisglasswithabanghesuddenlyexclaimed：
“What’sthematterwithyouthesedays，Mac？Yougotabeanaboutsomethun，hey？Spitutout。“
“No，no，“repliedMcTeague，lookingaboutonthefloor，rollinghiseyes；“nothing，no，no。“
“Ah，rats！“returnedtheother。McTeaguekeptsilence。Thetwobilliardplayersdeparted。Thehugemusic-boxstruckintoafreshtune。
“Huh！“exclaimedMarcus，withashortlaugh，“guessyou’reinlove。“
McTeaguegasped，andshuffledhisenormousfeetunderthetable。
“Well，somethun’sbitunyou，anyhow，“pursuedMarcus。
“MaybeIcanhelpyou。We’repals，youknow。Bettertellmewhat’sup；guesswecanstraightenutout。Ah，goon；spitutout。“
Thesituationwasabominable。McTeaguecouldnotrisetoit。Marcuswashisbestfriend，hisonlyfriend。Theywere“pals“andMcTeaguewasveryfondofhim。Yettheywerebothinlove，presumably，withthesamegirl，andnowMarcuswouldtryandforcethesecretoutofhim；wouldrushblindlyattherockuponwhichthetwomustsplit，stirredbytheverybestofmotives，wishingonlytobeofservice。
Besidesthis，therewasnobodytowhomMcTeaguewouldhavebetterpreferredtotellhistroublesthantoMarcus，andyetaboutthistrouble，thegreatesttroubleofhislife，hemustkeepsilent；mustrefrainfromspeakingofittoMarcusaboveeverybody。
McTeaguebegandimlytofeelthatlifewastoomuchforhim。
Howhaditallcomeabout？Amonthagohewasperfectlycontent；hewascalmandpeaceful，takinghislittlepleasuresashefoundthem。Hislifehadshapeditself；
was，nodoubt，tocontinuealwaysalongthesesamelines。A
womanhadenteredhissmallworldandinstantlytherewasdiscord。Thedisturbingelementhadappeared。Whereverthewomanhadputherfootascoreofdistressingcomplicationshadsprungup，likethesuddengrowthofstrangeandpuzzlingflowers。
“Say，Mac，goon；let’shaveutstraight，“urgedMarcus，leaningtowardhim。“Hasanyduckbeendoingyoudirt？“hecried，hisfacecrimsonontheinstant。
“No，“saidMcTeague，helplessly。
“Comealong，oldman，“persistedMarcus；“let’shaveut。
Whatistherow？I’lldoallIcantohelpyou。“
ItwasmorethanMcTeaguecouldbear。Thesituationhadgotbeyondhim。Stupidlyhespoke，hishandsdeepinhispockets，hisheadrolledforward。
“It’s——it’sMissSieppe，“hesaid。
“Trina，mycousin？Howdoyoumean？“inquiredMarcussharply。
“I——I——Idon’know，“stammeredMcTeague，hopelesslyconfounded。
“Youmean，“criedMarcus，suddenlyenlightened，“thatyouare——thatyou，too。“
McTeaguestirredinhischair，lookingatthewallsoftheroom，avoidingtheother’sglance。Henoddedhishead，thensuddenlybrokeout：
“Ican’thelpit。Itain’tmyfault，isit？“
Marcuswasstruckdumb；hedroppedbackinhischairbreathless。SuddenlyMcTeaguefoundhistongue。
“Itellyou，Mark，Ican’thelpit。Idon’tknowhowithappened。ItcameonsoslowthatIwas，that——that——thatitwasdonebeforeIknewit，beforeIcouldhelpmyself。I
knowwe’repals，ustwo，andIknewhow——howyouandMissSieppewere。Iknownow，Iknewthen；butthatwouldn’thavemadeanydifference。BeforeIknewit——it——it——thereI
was。Ican’thelpit。Iwouldn’t’a’haduthappenforanything，ifIcould’a’stoppedit，butIdon’know，it’ssomethingthat’sjuststrongerthanyouare，that’sall。
Shecamethere——MissSieppecametotheparlorstherethreeorfourtimesaweek，andshewasthefirstgirlIhadeverknown，——andyoudon’know！Why，IwassoclosetoherI
touchedherfaceeveryminute，andhermouth，andsmeltherhairandherbreath——oh，youdon’tknowanythingaboutit。
Ican’tgiveyouanyidea。Idon’knowexactlymyself；I
onlyknowhowI’mfixed。I——I——it’sbeendone；it’stoolate，there’snogoingback。Why，Ican’tthinkofanythingelsenightandday。It’severything。It’s——it’s——oh，it’severything！I——I——why，Mark，it’severything——Ican’texplain。“Hemadeahelplessmovementwithbothhands。
NeverhadMcTeaguebeensoexcited；neverhadhemadesolongaspeech。Hisarmsmovedinfierce，uncertaingestures，hisfaceflushed，hisenormousjawsshuttogetherwithasharpclickateverypause。Itwaslikesomecolossalbrutetrappedinadelicate，invisiblemesh，raging，exasperated，powerlesstoextricatehimself。
MarcusSchoulersaidnothing。Therewasalongsilence。
Marcusgotupandwalkedtothewindowandstoodlookingout，butseeingnothing。“Well，whowouldhavethoughtofthis？“hemutteredunderhisbreath。Herewasafix。
MarcuscaredforTrina。Therewasnodoubtinhismindaboutthat。HelookedforwardeagerlytotheSundayafternoonexcursions。HelikedtobewithTrina。He，too，feltthecharmofthelittlegirl——thecharmofthesmall，paleforehead；thelittlechinthrustoutasifinconfidenceandinnocence；theheavy，odorouscrownofblackhair。Helikedherimmensely。Somedayhewouldspeak；hewouldaskhertomarryhim。Marcusputoffthismatterofmarriagetosomefutureperiod；itwouldbesometime——ayear，perhaps，ortwo。Thethingdidnottakedefiniteshapeinhismind。Marcus“keptcompany“withhiscousinTrina，butheknewplentyofothergirls。Forthematterofthat，helikedallgirlsprettywell。JustnowthesinglenessandstrengthofMcTeague’spassionstartledhim。
McTeaguewouldmarryTrinathatveryafternoonifshewouldhavehim；butwouldhe——Marcus？No，hewouldnot；ifitcametothat，no，hewouldnot。YetheknewhelikedTrina。
Hecouldsay——yes，hecouldsay——helovedher。Shewashis“girl。“TheSieppesacknowledgedhimasTrina’s“youngman。“Marcuscamebacktothetableandsatdownsidewaysuponit。
“Well，whatarewegoingtodoaboutit，Mac？“hesaid。
“Idon’know，“answeredMcTeague，ingreatdistress。“I
don’wantanythingto——tocomebetweenus，Mark。“
“Well，nothunwill，youbet！“vociferatedtheother。“No，sir；youbetnot，Mac。“
Marcuswasthinkinghard。HecouldseeveryclearlythatMcTeaguelovedTrinamorethanhedid；thatinsomestrangewaythishuge，brutalfellowwascapableofagreaterpassionthanhimself，whowastwiceasclever。SuddenlyMarcusjumpedimpetuouslytoaresolution。
“Well，say，Mac，“hecried，strikingthetablewithhisfist，“goahead。Iguessyou——youwantherprettybad。I’llpullout；yes，Iwill。I’llgiveheruptoyou，oldman。“
ThesenseofhisownmagnanimityallatonceovercameMarcus。Hesawhimselfasanotherman，verynoble，self-
sacrificing；hestoodapartandwatchedthissecondselfwithboundlessadmirationandwithinfinitepity。Hewassogood，somagnificent，soheroic，thathealmostsobbed。Marcusmadeasweepinggestureofresignation，throwingoutbothhisarms，crying：
“Mac，I’llgiveheruptoyou。Iwon’tstandbetweenyou。“
TherewereactuallytearsinMarcus’seyesashespoke。
Therewasnodoubthethoughthimselfsincere。AtthatmomenthealmostbelievedhelovedTrinaconscientiously，thathewassacrificinghimselfforthesakeofhisfriend。