“Yougooutofhere。“
“Hey？What？“
“Yougooutofhere。“
Theotherretreatedtowardthedoor。
“Youcan’tmakesmallofme。Gooutofhere。“
McTeaguecameforwardastep，hisgreatredfistclenching。
Theyoungmanfled。Buthalfwaydownthestairshepausedlongenoughtocallback：
“Youdon’twanttotradeanythingforadiploma，doyou？“
McTeagueandhiswifeexchangedlooks。
“Howdidheknow？“exclaimedTrina，sharply。TheyhadinventedandspreadthefictionthatMcTeaguewasmerelyretiringfrombusiness，withoutassigninganyreason。Butevidentlyeveryoneknewtherealcause。Thehumiliationwascompletenow。OldMissBakerconfirmedtheirsuspicionsonthispointthenextday。ThelittleretireddressmakercamedownandweptwithTrinaoverhermisfortune，anddidwhatshecouldtoencourageher。ButshetooknewthatMcTeaguehadbeenforbiddenbytheauthoritiesfrompractising。Marcushadevidentlyleftthemnoloopholeofescape。
“It’sjustlikecuttingoffyourhusband’shands，mydear，“
saidMissBaker。“Andyoutwoweresohappy。WhenIfirstsawyoutogetherIsaid，’Whatapair！’“
OldGrannisalsocalledduringthisperiodofthebreakingupoftheMcTeaguehousehold。
“Dreadful，dreadful，“murmuredtheoldEnglishman，hishandgoingtremulouslytohischin。“Itseemsunjust；itdoes。
ButMr。Schoulercouldnothavesetthemontodoit。I
can’tquitebelieveitofhim。“
“OfMarcus！“criedTrina。“Hoh！Why，hethrewhisknifeatMaconetime，andanothertimehebithim，actuallybithimwithhisteeth，whiletheywerewrestlingjustforfun。
MarcuswoulddoanythingtoinjureMac。“
“Dear，dear，“returnedOldGrannis，genuinelypained。“I
hadalwaysbelievedSchoulertobesuchagoodfellow。“
“That’sbecauseyou’resogoodyourself，Mr。Grannis，“
respondedTrina。
“Itellyouwhat，Doc，“declaredHeisetheharness-maker，shakinghisfingerimpressivelyatthedentist，“youmustfightit；youmustappealtothecourts；you’vebeenpractisingtoolongtobedebarrednow。Thestatuteoflimitations，youknow。“
“No，no，“Trinahadexclaimed，whenthedentisthadrepeatedthisadvicetoher。“No，no，don’tgonearthelawcourts。
Iknowthem。Thelawyerstakeallyourmoney，andyouloseyourcase。We’rebadoffasitis，withoutlawingaboutit。“
Thenatlastcamethesale。McTeagueandTrina，whomMissBakerhadinvitedtoherroomforthatday，sattheresidebyside，holdingeachother’shands，listeningnervouslytotheturmoilthatrosetothemfromthedirectionoftheirsuite。Fromnineo’clocktilldarkthecrowdscameandwent。AllPolkStreetseemedtohaveinvadedthesuite，luredonbytheredflagthatwavedfromthefrontwindows。
Itwasafete，averitableholiday，forthewholeneighborhood。Peoplewithnothoughtofbuyingpresentedthemselves。Youngwomen——thecandy-storegirlsandflorist’sapprentices——cametoseethefun，walkingarminarmfromroomtoroom，makingjokesabouttheprettylithographsandmimickingthepictureofthetwolittlegirlssayingtheirprayers。
“Lookhere，“theywouldcry，“lookherewhatsheusedforcurtains——NOTTINGHAMlace，actually！WhoeverthinksofbuyingNottinghamlacenow-a-days？Say，don’tthatJAR
you？“
“Andamelodeon，“anotheronewouldexclaim，liftingthesheet。“Amelodeon，whenyoucanrentapianoforadollaraweek；andsay，Ireallybelievetheyusedtoeatinthekitchen。“
“Dollarn-half，dollarn-half，dollarn-half，givemetwo，“
intonedtheauctioneerfromthesecond-handstore。Bynoonthecrowdbecameajam。Wagonsbackeduptothecurboutsideanddepartedheavilyladen。Inalldirectionspeoplecouldbeseengoingawayfromthehouse，carryingsmallarticlesoffurniture——aclock，awaterpitcher，atowelrack。EverynowandthenoldMissBaker，whohadgonebelowtoseehowthingswereprogressing，returnedwithreportsoftheforay。
“Mrs。Heiseboughtthechenilleportieres。MisterRyermadeabidforyourbed，butamaninagraycoatbidoverhim。
Itwasknockeddownforthreedollarsandahalf。TheGermanshoe-makeronthenextblockboughtthestonepugdog。Isawourpostmangoingawaywithalotofthepictures。Zerkowhascome，onmyword！therags-bottles-
sacksman；he’sbuyinglots；heboughtallDoctorMcTeague’sgoldtapeandsomeoftheinstruments。Maria’stheretoo。
Thatdentistonthecornertookthedentalengine，andwantedtogetthesign，thebiggoldtooth，“andsoonandsoon。Cruelestofall，however，atleasttoTrina，waswhenMissBakerherselfbegantobuy，unabletoresistabargain。Thelasttimeshecameupshecarriedabundleofthegaytidiesthatusedtohangoverthechairbacks。
“Heofferedthem，threeforanickel，“sheexplainedtoTrina，“andIthoughtI’dspendjustaquarter。Youdon’tmind，now，doyou，Mrs。McTeague？“
“Why，no，ofcoursenot，MissBaker，“answeredTrina，bravely。
“They’lllookveryprettyonsomeofmychairs，“wentonthelittleolddressmaker，innocently。“See。“Shespreadoneofthemonachairbackforinspection。Trina’schinquivered。
“Oh，VERYpretty，“sheanswered。
Atlengththatdreadfuldaywasover。Thecrowddispersed。
Eventheauctioneerwentatlast，andasheclosedthedoorwithabang，thereverberationthatwentthroughthesuitegaveevidenceofitsemptiness。
“Come，“saidTrinatothedentist，“let’sgodownandlook——
takealastlook。“
TheywentoutofMissBaker’sroomanddescendedtothefloorbelow。Onthestairs，however，theyweremetbyOldGrannis。Inhishandshecarriedalittlepackage。Wasitpossiblethathetoohadtakenadvantageoftheirmisfortunestojoinintheraiduponthesuite？
“Iwentin，“hebegan，timidly，“for——forafewmoments。
This“——heindicatedthelittlepackagehecarried——“thiswasputup。Itwasofnovaluebuttoyou。I——Iventuredtobiditin。Ithoughtperhaps“——hishandwenttohischin，“thatyouwouldn’tmind；that——infact，Iboughtitforyou——asapresent。Willyoutakeit？“HehandedthepackagetoTrinaandhurriedon。Trinatoreoffthewrappings。
ItwastheframedphotographofMcTeagueandhiswifeintheirweddingfinery，theonethathadbeentakenimmediatelyafterthemarriage。ItrepresentedTrinasittingveryerectinareparmchair，holdingherweddingbouquetstraightbeforeher，McTeaguestandingatherside，hisleftfootforward，onehanduponhershoulder，andtheotherthrustintothebreastofhis“PrinceAlbert“coat，intheattitudeofastatueofaSecretaryofState。
“Oh，itWASgoodofhim，itWASgoodofhim，“criedTrina，hereyesfillingagain。“Ihadforgottentoputitaway。Ofcourseitwasnotforsale。“
Theywentondownthestairs，andarrivingatthedoorofthesitting-room，openeditandlookedin。Itwaslateintheafternoon，andtherewasjustlightenoughforthedentistandhiswifetoseetheresultsofthatdayofsale。
Nothingwasleft，noteventhecarpet。Itwasapillage，adevastation，thebarrennessofafieldafterthepassageofaswarmoflocusts。Theroomhadbeenpickedandstrippedtillonlythebarewallsandfloorremained。Herewheretheyhadbeenmarried，wheretheweddingsupperhadtakenplace，whereTrinahadbadefarewelltoherfatherandmother，herewhereshehadspentthosefirstfewhardmonthsofhermarriedlife，whereafterwardshehadgrowntobehappyandcontented，whereshehadpassedthelonghoursoftheafternoonatherworkofwhittling，andwheresheandherhusbandhadspentsomanyeveningslookingoutofthewindowbeforethelampwaslit——hereinwhathadbeenherhome，nothingwasleftbutechoesandtheemptinessofcompletedesolation。Onlyonethingremained。Onthewallbetweenthewindows，initsovalglassframe，preservedbysomeunknownandfearfulprocess，amelancholyrelicofavanishedhappiness，unsold，neglected，andforgotten，athingthatnobodywanted，hungTrina’sweddingbouquet。
CHAPTER15
Thenthegrindbegan。ItwouldhavebeeneasierfortheMcTeaguestohavefacedtheirmisfortuneshadtheybefallenthemimmediatelyaftertheirmarriage，whentheirloveforeachotherwasfreshandfine，andwhentheycouldhavefoundacertainhappinessinhelpingeachotherandsharingeachother’sprivations。Trina，nodoubt，lovedherhusbandmorethanever，inthesensethatshefeltshebelongedtohim。ButMcTeague’saffectionforhiswifewasdwindlingalittleeveryday——HADbeendwindlingforalongtime，infact。Hehadbecomeusedtoherbynow。Shewaspartoftheorderofthethingswithwhichhefoundhimselfsurrounded。Hesawnothingextraordinaryabouther；itwasnolongerapleasureforhimtokissherandtakeherinhisarms；shewasmerelyhiswife。Hedidnotdislikeher；hedidnotloveher。Shewashiswife，thatwasall。ButhesadlymissedandregrettedallthoselittleanimalcomfortswhichintheoldprosperouslifeTrinahadmanagedtofindforhim。HemissedthecabbagesoupsandsteamingchocolatethatTrinahadtaughthimtolike；hemissedhisgoodtobaccothatTrinahadeducatedhimtoprefer；hemissedtheSundayafternoonwalksthatshehadcausedhimtosubstituteinplaceofhisnapintheoperatingchair；andhemissedthebottledbeerthatshehadinducedhimtodrinkinplaceofthesteambeerfromFrenna’s。Intheendhegrewmoroseandsulky，andsometimesneglectedtoanswerhiswifewhenshespoketohim。Besidesthis，Trina’savaricewasaperpetualannoyancetohim。Oftentimeswhenaconsiderablealleviationofthisunhappinesscouldhavebeenobtainedattheexpenseofanickeloradime，Trinarefusedthemoneywithapettishnessthatwasexasperating。
“No，no，“shewouldexclaim。“ToridetotheparkSundayafternoon，thatmeanstencents，andIcan’taffordit。“
“Let’swalkthere，then。“
“I’vegottowork。“
“Butyou’veworkedmorningandafternooneverydaythisweek。“
“Idon’tcare，I’vegottowork。“
TherehadbeenatimewhenTrinahadhatedtheideaofMcTeaguedrinkingsteambeerascommonandvulgar。
“Say，let’shaveabottleofbeerto-night。Wehaven’thadadropofbeerinthreeweeks。“
“Wecan’taffordit。It’sfifteencentsabottle。“
“ButIhaven’thadaswallowofbeerinthreeweeks。“