“ThinkILLofyou？“criedOldGrannis，“thinkILLofyou？Why，youdon’tknow——youhavenoidea——alltheseyears——livingsoclosetoyou，I——I——“hepausedsuddenly。
Itseemedtohimasifthebeatingofhisheartwaschokinghim。
“Ithoughtyouwerebindingyourbooksto-night，“saidMissBaker，suddenly，“andyoulookedtired。IthoughtyoulookedtiredwhenIlastsawyou，andacupoftea，youknow，it——that——thatdoesyousomuchgoodwhenyou’retired。Butyouweren’tbindingbooks。“
“No，no，“returnedOldGrannis，drawingupachairandsittingdown。“No，I——thefactis，I’vesoldmyapparatus；
afirmofbooksellershasboughttherightsofit。“
“Andaren’tyougoingtobindbooksanymore？“exclaimedthelittledressmaker，ashadeofdisappointmentinhermanner。
“Ithoughtyoualwaysdidaboutfouro’clock。IusedtohearyouwhenIwasmakingtea。“
IthardlyseemedpossibletoMissBakerthatshewasactuallytalkingtoOldGrannis，thatthetwowerereallychattingtogether，facetoface，andwithoutthedreadfulembarrassmentthatusedtooverwhelmthembothwhentheymetonthestairs。Shehadoftendreamedofthis，buthadalwaysputitofftosomefar-distantday。Itwastocomegradually，littlebylittle，insteadof，asnow，abruptlyandwithnopreparation。Thatsheshouldpermitherselftheindiscretionofactuallyintrudingherselfintohisroomhadneversomuchasoccurredtoher。Yethereshewas，IN
HISROOM，andtheyweretalkingtogether，andlittlebylittleherembarrassmentwaswearingaway。
“Yes，yes，Ialwaysheardyouwhenyouweremakingtea，“
returnedtheoldEnglishman；“Iheardtheteathings。ThenIusedtodrawmychairandmywork-tableclosetothewallonmyside，andsitthereandworkwhileyoudrankyourteajustontheotherside；andIusedtofeelveryneartoyouthen。Iusedtopassthewholeeveningthatway。“
“And，yes——yes——Ididtoo，“sheanswered。“Iusedtomaketeajustatthattimeandsitthereforawholehour。“
“Anddidn’tyousitclosetothepartitiononyourside？
SometimesIwassureofit。IcouldevenfancythatIcouldhearyourdressbrushingagainstthewall-paperclosebesideme。Didn’tyousitclosetothepartition？“
“I——Idon’tknowwhereIsat。“
OldGrannisshylyputouthishandandtookhersasitlayuponherlap。
“Didn’tyousitclosetothepartitiononyourside？“heinsisted。
“No——Idon’tknow——perhaps——sometimes。Oh，yes，“sheexclaimed，withalittlegasp，“Oh，yes，Ioftendid。“
ThenOldGrannisputhisarmabouther，andkissedherfadedcheek，thatflushedtopinkupontheinstant。
Afterthattheyspokebutlittle。Thedaylapsedslowlyintotwilight，andthetwooldpeoplesatthereinthegrayevening，quietly，quietly，theirhandsineachother’shands，“keepingcompany，“butnowwithnothingtoseparatethem。Ithadcomeatlast。Afteralltheseyearstheyweretogether；theyunderstoodeachother。TheystoodatlengthinalittleElysiumoftheirowncreating。Theywalkedhandinhandinadeliciousgardenwhereitwasalwaysautumn。Farfromtheworldandtogethertheyentereduponthelongretardedromanceoftheircommonplaceanduneventfullives。
CHAPTER18
ThatsamenightMcTeaguewasawakenedbyashrillscream，andwoketofindTrina’sarmsaroundhisneck。Shewastremblingsothatthebed-springscreaked。
“Huh？“criedthedentist，sittingupinbed，raisinghisclinchedfists。“Huh？What？What？Whatisit？Whatisit？“
“Oh，Mac，“gaspedhiswife，“Ihadsuchanawfuldream。I
dreamedaboutMaria。Ithoughtshewaschasingme，andI
couldn’trun，andherthroatwas——Oh，shewasallcoveredwithblood。Oh-h，Iamsofrightened！“
Trinahadborneupverywellforthefirstdayorsoaftertheaffair，andhadgivenhertestimonytothecoronerwithfargreatercalmnessthanHeise。Itwasonlyaweeklaterthatthehorrorofthethingcameuponheragain。Shewassonervousthatshehardlydaredtobealoneinthedaytime，andalmosteverynightwokewithacryofterror，tremblingwiththerecollectionofsomedreadfulnightmare。Thedentistwasirritatedbeyondallexpressionbyhernervousness，andespeciallywasheexasperatedwhenhercrieswokehimsuddenlyinthemiddleofthenight。Hewouldsitupinbed，rollinghiseyeswildly，throwingouthishugefists——atwhat，hedidnotknow——exclaiming，“Whatwhat——“bewilderedandhopelesslyconfused。ThenwhenherealizedthatitwasonlyTrina，hisangerkindledabruptly。
“Oh，youandyourdreams！Yougotosleep，orI’llgiveyouadressingdown。“Sometimeshewouldhitheragreatthwackwithhisopenpalm，orcatchherhandandbitethetipsofherfingers。Trinawouldlieawakeforhoursafterward，cryingsoftlytoherself。Then，byandby，“Mac，“shewouldsaytimidly。
“Huh？“
“Mac，doyouloveme？“
“Huh？What？Gotosleep。“
“Don’tyoulovemeanymore，Mac？“
“Oh，gotosleep。Don’tbotherme。“
“Well，doyouLOVEme，Mac？“
“Iguessso。“
“Oh，Mac，I’veonlyyounow，andifyoudon’tloveme，whatisgoingtobecomeofme？“
“Shutup，an’letmegotosleep。“
“Well，justtellmethatyouloveme。“
Thedentistwouldturnabruptlyawayfromher，buryinghisbigblondheadinthepillow，andcoveringuphisearswiththeblankets。ThenTrinawouldsobherselftosleep。
Thedentisthadlongsincegivenuplookingforajob。
BetweenbreakfastandsuppertimeTrinasawbutlittleofhim。Oncethemorningmealover，McTeaguebestirredhimself，putonhiscap——hehadgivenupwearingevenahatsincehiswifehadmadehimsellhissilkhat——andwentout。
Hehadfallenintothehabitoftakinglongandsolitarywalksbeyondthesuburbsofthecity。SometimesitwastotheCliffHouse，occasionallytotheParkwherehewouldsitonthesun-warmedbenches，smokinghispipeandreadingraggedendsofoldnewspapers，butmoreoftenitwastothePresidioReservation。McTeaguewouldwalkouttotheendoftheUnionStreetcarline，enteringtheReservationattheterminus，thenhewouldworkdowntotheshoreofthebay，followtheshorelinetotheOldFortattheGoldenGate，and，turningthePointhere，comeoutsuddenlyuponthefullsweepofthePacific。Thenhewouldfollowthebeachdowntoacertainpointofrocksthatheknew。Herehewouldturninland，climbingthebluffstoarollinggrassydownsownwithblueirisandayellowflowerthathedidnotknowthenameof。Onthefarsideofthisdownwasabroad，well-keptroad。McTeaguewouldkeeptothisroaduntilhereachedthecityagainbythewayoftheSacramentoStreetcarline。Thedentistlovedthesewalks。Helikedtobealone。Helikedthesolitudeofthetremendous，tumblingocean；thefresh，windydowns；helikedtofeelthegustyTradesflogginghisface，andhewouldremainforhourswatchingtherollandplungeofthebreakerswiththesilent，unreasonedenjoymentofachild。Allatoncehedevelopedapassionforfishing。Hewouldsitalldaynearlymotionlessuponapointofrocks，hisfish-linebetweenhisfingers，happyifhecaughtthreeperchintwelvehours。Atnoonhewouldretiretoabitoflevelturfaroundanangleoftheshoreandcookhisfish，eatingthemwithoutsaltorknifeorfork。Hethrustapointedstickdownthemouthoftheperch，andturneditslowlyovertheblaze。Whenthegreasestoppeddripping，heknewthatitwasdone，andwoulddevouritslowlyandwithtremendousrelish，pickingthebonesclean，eatingeventhehead。HerememberedhowoftenheusedtodothissortofthingwhenhewasaboyinthemountainsofPlacerCounty，beforehebecameacar-boyatthemine。Thedentistenjoyedhimselfhugelyduringthesedays。Theinstinctsoftheold-timeminerwerereturning。InthestressofhismisfortuneMcTeaguewaslapsingbacktohisearlyestate。
Oneeveningashereachedhomeaftersuchatramp，hewassurprisedtofindTrinastandinginfrontofwhathadbeenZerkow’shouse，lookingatitthoughtfully，herfingeronherlips。
“Whatyoudoinghere’？“growledthedentistashecameup。
Therewasa“Rooms-to-let“signonthestreetdoorofthehouse。
“Nowwe’vefoundaplacetomoveto，“exclaimedTrina。
“What？“criedMcTeague。“There，inthatdirtyhouse，whereyoufoundMaria？“
“Ican’taffordthatroomintheflatanymore，nowthatyoucan’tgetanyworktodo。“
“Butthere’swhereZerkowkilledMaria——theveryhouse——an’youwakeupan’squealinthenightjustthinkingofit。“
“Iknow。Iknowitwillbebadatfirst，butI’llgetusedtoit，an’it’sjusthalfagainascheapaswherewearenow。Iwaslookingataroom；wecanhaveitdirtcheap。
It’sabackroomoverthekitchen。AGermanfamilyaregoingtotakethefrontpartofthehouseandsublettherest。I’mgoingtotakeit。It’llbemoneyinmypocket。“
“Butitwon’tbeanyinmine，“vociferatedthedentist，angrily。“I’llhavetoliveinthatdirtyratholejustso’syoucansavemoney。Iain’tanythebetteroffforit。“
“Findworktodo，andthenwe’lltalk，“declaredTrina。
“I’Mgoingtosaveupsomemoneyagainstarainyday；andifIcansavemorebylivinghereI’mgoingtodoit，evenifitisthehouseMariawaskilledin。Idon’tcare。“