Theydrankandfeastedinimpromptufashion。MarcusSchoulerassumedtheofficeofmasterofceremonies；hewasinalatherofexcitement，rushingabouthereandthere，openingbeerbottles，servingthetamales，slappingMcTeagueupontheback，laughingandjokingcontinually。HemadeMcTeaguesitattheheadofthetable，withTrinaathisrightandtheagentathisleft；he——whenhesatdownatall——occupiedthefoot，MariaMacapaathisleft，whilenexttoherwasMrs。Sieppe，oppositeMissBaker。Owgoostehadbeenputtobeduponthebed-lounge。
“Where’sOldGrannis？“suddenlyexclaimedMarcus。Sureenough，wherehadtheoldEnglishmangone？Hehadbeenthereatfirst。
“Icalledhimdownwitheverybodyelse，“criedMariaMacapa，“assoonasIsawinthepaperthatMissSieppehadwon。WeallcamedowntoMr。Schouler’sroomandwaitedforyoutocomehome。Ithinkhemusthavegonebacktohisroom。
I’llbetyou’llfindhimsewinguphisbooks。“
“No，no，“observedMissBaker，“notatthishour。“
Evidentlythetimidoldgentlemanhadtakenadvantageoftheconfusiontoslipunobtrusivelyaway。
“I’llgobringhimdown，“shoutedMarcus；“he’sgottojoinus。“
MissBakerwasingreatagitation。
“I——Ihardlythinkyou’dbetter，“shemurmured；“he——he——I
don’tthinkhedrinksbeer。“
“Hetakeshisamusementinsewin’upbooks，“criedMaria。
Marcusbroughthimdown，nevertheless，havingfoundhimjustpreparingforbed。
“I——Imustapologize，“stammeredOldGrannis，ashestoodinthedoorway。“Ihadnotquiteexpected——I——find——
findmyselfalittleunprepared。“Hewaswithoutcollarandcravat，owingtoMarcusSchouler’sprecipitatehaste。HewasannoyedbeyondwordsthatMissBakersawhimthus。
Couldanythingbemoreembarrassing？
OldGranniswasintroducedtoMrs。SieppeandtoTrinaasMarcus’semployer。Theyshookhandssolemnly。
“Idon’tbelievethathean’MissBakerhaveeverbeenintroduced，“criedMariaMacapa，shrilly，“an’they’vebeenlivin’sidebysideforyears。“
Thetwooldpeoplewerespeechless，avoidingeachother’sgaze。Ithadcomeatlast；theyweretoknoweachother，totalktogether，totoucheachother’shands。
MarcusbroughtOldGrannisaroundthetabletolittleMissBaker，dragginghimbythecoatsleeve，exclaiming：“Well，I
thoughtyoutwopeoplekneweachotherlongago。MissBaker，thisisMr。Grannis；Mr。Grannis，thisisMissBaker。“Neitherspoke。Liketwolittlechildrentheyfacedeachother，awkward，constrained，tongue-tiedwithembarrassment。ThenMissBakerputoutherhandshyly。OldGrannistoucheditforaninstantandletitfall。
“Nowyouknoweachother，“criedMarcus，“andit’sabouttime。“Forthefirsttimetheireyesmet；OldGrannistrembledalittle，puttinghishanduncertainlytohischin。
MissBakerflushedeversoslightly，butMariaMacapapassedsuddenlybetweenthem，carryingahalfemptybeerbottle。
Thetwooldpeoplefellbackfromoneanother，MissBakerresumingherseat。
“Here’saplaceforyouoverhere，Mr。Grannis，“criedMarcus，makingroomforhimathisside。OldGrannisslippedintothechair，withdrawingatoncefromthecompany’snotice。Hestaredfixedlyathisplateanddidnotspeakagain。OldMissBakerbegantotalkvolublyacrossthetabletoMrs。Sieppeabouthot-houseflowersandmedicatedflannels。
ItwasinthemidstofthislittleimpromptusupperthattheengagementofTrinaandthedentistwasannounced。InapauseinthechatterofconversationMrs。Sieppeleanedforwardand，speakingtotheagent，said：
“Vell，youknowalsomydaughterTrinagetmarriedbrettysoon。Sheandderdentist，DoktorMcTeague，eh，yes？“
Therewasageneralexclamation。
“Ithoughtsoallalong，“criedMissBaker，excitedly。“ThefirsttimeIsawthemtogetherIsaid，’Whatapair！’“
“Delightful！“exclaimedtheagent，“tobemarriedandwinasnuglittlefortuneatthesametime。“
“So——So，“murmuredOldGrannis，noddingathisplate。
“Goodlucktoyou，“criedMaria。
“He’sluckyenoughalready，“growledMarcusunderhisbreath，relapsingforamomentintooneofthosestrangemoodsofsullennesswhichhadmarkedhimthroughouttheevening。
Trinaflushedcrimson，drawingshylynearerhermother。
McTeaguegrinnedfromeartoear，lookingaroundfromonetoanother，exclaiming“Huh！Huh！“
Buttheagentrosetohisfeet，anewlyfilledbeerglassinhishand。Hewasamanoftheworld，thisagent。Heknewlife。Hewassuaveandeasy。Adiamondwasonhislittlefinger。
“Ladiesandgentlemen，“hebegan。Therewasaninstantsilence。“Thisisindeedahappyoccasion。I——Iamgladtobehereto-night；tobeawitnesstosuchgoodfortune；topartakeinthese——inthiscelebration。Why，IfeelalmostasgladasifIhadheldfourthreeoughtstwelvemyself；asifthefivethousandweremineinsteadofbelongingtoourcharminghostess。ThegoodwishesofmyhumbleselfgoouttoMissSieppeinthismomentofhergoodfortune，andI
think——infact，IamsureIcanspeakforthegreatinstitution，thegreatcompanyIrepresent。ThecompanycongratulatesMissSieppe。We——they——ah——Theywishhereveryhappinesshernewfortunecanprocureher。Ithasbeenmyduty，my——ah——cheerfuldutytocalluponthewinnersoflargeprizesandtoofferthefelicitationofthecompany。
Ihave，inmyexperience，calleduponmanysuch；butneverhaveIseenfortunesohappilybestowedasinthiscase。
Thecompanyhavedoweredtheprospectivebride。IamsureIbutechothesentimentsofthisassemblywhenIwishalljoyandhappinesstothishappypair，happyinthepossessionofasnuglittlefortune，andhappy——happyin——“
hefinishedwithasuddeninspiration——“inthepossessionofeachother；Idrinktothehealth，wealth，andhappinessofthefuturebrideandgroom。Letusdrinkstandingup。“
Theydrankwithenthusiasm。Marcuswascarriedawaywiththeexcitementofthemoment。
“Outasight，outasight，“hevociferated，clappinghishands。“Verywellsaid。Tothehealthofthebride。
McTeague，McTeague，speech，speech！“
Inaninstantthewholetablewasclamoringforthedentisttospeak。McTeaguewasterrified；hegrippedthetablewithbothhands，lookingwildlyabouthim。
“Speech，speech！“shoutedMarcus，runningaroundthetableandendeavoringtodragMcTeagueup。
“No——no——no，“mutteredtheother。“Nospeech。“Thecompanyrattleduponthetablewiththeirbeerglasses，insistinguponaspeech。McTeaguesettledobstinatelyintohischair，veryredintheface，shakinghisheadenergetically。
“Ah，goon！“heexclaimed；“nospeech。“
“Ah，getupandsaysomethun，anyhow，“persistedMarcus；
“yououghttodoit。It’sthepropercaper。“
McTeagueheavedhimselfup；therewasaburstofapplause；
helookedslowlyabouthim，thensuddenlysatdownagain，shakinghisheadhopelessly。
“Oh，goon，Mac，“criedTrina。
“Getup，saysomethun，anyhow，criedMarcus，tuggingathisarm；“youGOTto。“
OncemoreMcTeaguerosetohisfeet。
“Huh！“heexclaimed，lookingsteadilyatthetable。Thenhebegan：
“Idon’knowwhattosay——I——I——Iain’tnevermadeaspeechbefore；I——Iain’tnevermadeaspeechbefore。ButI’mgladTrina’swontheprize——“
“Yes，I’llbetyouare，“mutteredMarcus。
“I——I——I’mgladTrina’swon，andI——Iwantto——Iwantto——Iwantto——wanttosaythat——you’re——all——welcome，an’
drinkhearty，an’I’mmuchobligedtotheagent。TrinaandIaregoin’tobemarried，an’I’mgladeverybody’shereto-
night，an’you’re——all——welcome，an’drinkhearty，an’I
hopeyou’llcomeagain，an’you’realwayswelcome——an’——I——
an’——an’——That’s——about——all——I——gottasay。“Hesatdown，wipinghisforehead，amidsttremendousapplause。
Soonafterthatthecompanypushedbackfromthetableandrelaxedintocouplesandgroups。Themen，withtheexceptionofOldGrannis，begantosmoke，thesmelloftheirtobaccominglingwiththeodorsofether，creosote，andstalebedding，whichpervadedthe“Parlors。“Soonthewindowshadtobeloweredfromthetop。Mrs。SieppeandoldMissBakersattogetherinthebaywindowexchangingconfidences。MissBakerhadturnedbacktheoverskirtofherdress；aplateofcakewasinherlap；fromtimetotimeshesippedherwinewiththedelicacyofawhitecat。Thetwowomenweremuchinterestedineachother。MissBakertoldMrs。SieppeallaboutOldGrannis，notforgettingthefictionofthetitleandtheunjuststepfather。
“He’squiteapersonagereally，“saidMissBaker。
Mrs。Sieppeledtheconversationaroundtoherchildren。
“Ach，Trinaissudgeagootegirl，“shesaid；“alwaysgay，yes，undsingfrommorgentonight。UndOwgooste，heissohsmartalso，yes，eh？Hehasdergeniusformachines，alwaysmakingsomethunmitwheelsundsbrings。“
“Ah，if——if——Ihadchildren，“murmuredthelittleoldmaidatriflewistfully，“onewouldhavebeenasailor；hewouldhavebegunasamidshipmanonmybrother’sship；intimehewouldhavebeenanofficer。Theotherwouldhavebeenalandscapegardener。“
“Oh，Mac！“exclaimedTrina，lookingupintothedentist’sface，“thinkofallthismoneycomingtousjustatthisverymoment。Isn’titwonderful？Don’titkindofscareyou？“
“Wonderful，wonderful！“mutteredMcTeague，shakinghishead。
“Let’sbuyalotoftickets，“headded，struckwithanidea。
“Now，that’showyoucanalwaystellagoodcigar，“