Lightswereextinguished。Atoneo’clockthecablestopped，leavinganabruptsilenceintheair。Allatonceitseemedverystill。Theuglynoisesweretheoccasionalfootfallsofapolicemanandthepersistentcallingofducksandgeeseintheclosedmarket。Thestreetwasasleep。
　　Dayafterday，McTeaguesawthesamepanoramaunrollitself。
　　Thebaywindowofhis“DentalParlors“wasforhimapointofvantagefromwhichhewatchedtheworldgopast。
　　OnSundays，however，allwaschanged。Ashestoodinthebaywindow，afterfinishinghisbeer，wipinghislips，andlookingoutintothestreet，McTeaguewasconsciousofthedifference。Nearlyallthestoreswereclosed。Nowagonspassed。Afewpeoplehurriedupanddownthesidewalks，dressedincheapSundayfinery。Acablecarwentby；ontheoutsideseatswereapartyofreturningpicnickers。Themother，thefather，ayoungman，andayounggirl，andthreechildren。Thetwoolderpeopleheldemptylunchbasketsintheirlaps，whilethebandsofthechildren’shatswerestuckfullofoakleaves。Thegirlcarriedahugebunchofwiltingpoppiesandwildflowers。
　　AsthecarapproachedMcTeague’swindowtheyoungmangotupandswunghimselfofftheplatform，wavinggoodbytotheparty。SuddenlyMcTeaguerecognizedhim。
　　“There’sMarcusSchouler，“hemutteredbehindhismustache。
　　MarcusSchoulerwasthedentist’soneintimatefriend。Theacquaintancehadbegunatthecarconductors’coffee-joint，wherethetwooccupiedthesametableandmetateverymeal。
　　Thentheymadethediscoverythattheybothlivedinthesameflat，MarcusoccupyingaroomontheflooraboveMcTeague。OndifferentoccasionsMcTeaguehadtreatedMarcusforanulceratedtoothandhadrefusedtoacceptpayment。Soonitcametobeanunderstoodthingbetweenthem。Theywere“pals。“
　　McTeague，listening，heardMarcusgoup-stairstohisroomabove。Inafewminuteshisdooropenedagain。McTeagueknewthathehadcomeoutintothehallandwasleaningoverthebanisters。
　　“Oh，Mac！“hecalled。McTeaguecametohisdoor。
　　“Hullo！’sthatyou，Mark？“
　　“Sure，“answeredMarcus。“Comeonup。“
　　“Youcomeondown。“
　　“No，comeonup。“
　　“Oh，youcomeondown。“
　　“Oh，youlazyduck！“retortedMarcus，comingdownthestairs。
　　“BeenouttotheCliffHouseonapicnic，“heexplainedashesatdownonthebed-lounge，“withmyuncleandhispeople——theSieppes，youknow。Bydamn！itwashot，“hesuddenlyvociferated。“Justlookatthat！Justlookatthat！“hecried，draggingathislimpcollar。“That’sthethirdonesincemorning；itis——itis，forafact——andyougotyourstovegoing。“Hebegantotellaboutthepicnic，talkingveryloudandfast，gesturingfuriously，veryexcitedovertrivialdetails。Marcuscouldnottalkwithoutgettingexcited。
　　“Yououghtt’haveseen，y’oughtt’haveseen。Itellyou，itwasoutasight。Itwas；itwas，forafact。“
　　“Yes，yes，“answeredMcTeague，bewildered，tryingtofollow。
　　“Yes，that’sso。“
　　Inrecountingacertaindisputewithanawkwardbicyclist，inwhichitappearedhehadbecomeinvolved，Marcusquiveredwithrage。“’Saythatagain，’saysItoum。’Justsaythatoncemore，and’“——herearollingexplosionofoaths——
　　“’you’llgobacktothecityintheMorguewagon。Ain’tI
　　gotarighttocrossastreeteven，I’dliketoknow，withoutbeingrundown——what？’Isayit’soutrageous。I’daknifedhiminanotherminute。Itwasanoutrage。IsayitwasanOUTRAGE。“
　　“Sureitwas，“McTeaguehastenedtoreply。“Sure，sure。“
　　“Oh，andwehadanaccident，“shoutedtheother，suddenlyoffonanothertack。“Itwasawful。Trinawasintheswingthere——that’smycousinTrina，youknowwhoImean——andshefellout。Bydamn！Ithoughtshe’dkilledherself；struckherfaceonarockandknockedoutafronttooth。It’sawondershedidn’tkillherself。ItISawonder；itis，forafact。Ain’tit，now？Huh？Ain’tit？Y’oughtt’haveseen。“
　　McTeaguehadavagueideathatMarcusSchoulerwasstuckonhiscousinTrina。They“keptcompany“agooddeal；MarcustookdinnerwiththeSieppeseverySaturdayeveningattheirhomeatBStreetstation，acrossthebay，andSundayafternoonsheandthefamilyusuallymadelittleexcursionsintothesuburbs。McTeaguebegantowonderdimlyhowitwasthatonthisoccasionMarcushadnotgonehomewithhiscousin。Assometimeshappens，Marcusfurnishedtheexplanationupontheinstant。
　　“IpromisedaduckuphereontheavenueI’dcallforhisdogatfourthisafternoon。“
　　MarcuswasOldGrannis’sassistantinalittledoghospitalthatthelatterhadopenedinasortofalleyjustoffPolkStreet，somefourblocksaboveOldGrannislivedinoneofthebackroomsofMcTeague’sflat。HewasanEnglishmanandanexpertdogsurgeon，butMarcusSchoulerwasabunglerintheprofession。Hisfatherhadbeenaveterinarysurgeonwhohadkeptaliverystablenearby，onCaliforniaStreet，andMarcus’sknowledgeofthediseasesofdomesticanimalshadbeenpickedupinahaphazardway，muchafterthemannerofMcTeague’seducation。SomehowhemanagedtoimpressOldGrannis，agentle，simple-mindedoldman，withasenseofhisfitness，bewilderinghimwithatorrentofemptyphrasesthathedeliveredwithfiercegesturesandwithamannerofthegreatestconviction。
　　“You’dbettercomealongwithme，Mac，“observedMarcus。
　　“We’llgettheduck’sdog，andthenwe’lltakealittlewalk，huh？Yougotnothuntodo。Comealong。“
　　McTeaguewentoutwithhim，andthetwofriendsproceededuptotheavenuetothehousewherethedogwastobefound。
　　Itwasahugemansion-likeplace，setinanenormousgardenthatoccupiedawholethirdoftheblock；andwhileMarcustrampedupthefrontstepsandrangthedoorbellboldly，toshowhisindependence，McTeagueremainedbelowonthesidewalk，gazingstupidlyatthecurtainedwindows，themarblesteps，andthebronzegriffins，troubledandalittleconfusedbyallthismassiveluxury。
　　Aftertheyhadtakenthedogtothehospitalandhadlefthimtowhimperbehindthewirenetting，theyreturnedtoPolkStreetandhadaglassofbeerinthebackroomofJoeFrenna’scornergrocery。
　　Eversincetheyhadleftthehugemansionontheavenue，Marcushadbeenattackingthecapitalists，aclasswhichhepretendedtoexecrate。Itwasaposewhichheoftenassumed，certainofimpressingthedentist。Marcushadpickedupafewhalf-truthsofpoliticaleconomy——itwasimpossibletosaywhere——andassoonasthetwohadsettledthemselvestotheirbeerinFrenna’sbackroomhetookupthethemeofthelaborquestion。Hediscusseditatthetopofhisvoice，vociferating，shakinghisfists，excitinghimselfwithhisownnoise。Hewascontinuallymakinguseofthestockphrasesoftheprofessionalpolitician——phraseshehadcaughtatsomeoftheward“rallies“and“ratificationmeetings。“Theserolledoffhistonguewithincredibleemphasis，appearingateveryturnofhisconversation——“Outragedconstituencies，““causeoflabor，“
　　“wageearners，““opinionsbiasedbypersonalinterests，“
　　“eyesblindedbypartyprejudice。“McTeaguelistenedtohim，awestruck。
　　“There’swheretheevillies，“Marcuswouldcry。“Themassesmustlearnself-control；itstandstoreason。Lookatthefigures，lookatthefigures。Decreasethenumberofwageearnersandyouincreasewages，don’tyou？don’tyou？“
　　Absolutelystupid，andunderstandingneveraword，McTeaguewouldanswer：
　　“Yes，yes，that’sit——self-control——that’stheword。“
　　“It’sthecapitaliststhat’sruiningthecauseoflabor，“
　　shoutedMarcus，bangingthetablewithhisfisttillthebeerglassesdanced；“white-livereddrones，traitors，withtheirliverswhiteassnow，eatunthebreadofwidowsandorphuns；there’swheretheevillies。“
　　Stupefiedwithhisclamor，McTeagueanswered，wagginghishead：
　　“Yes，that’sit；Ithinkit’stheirlivers。“
　　SuddenlyMarcusfellcalmagain，forgettinghisposeallinaninstant。
　　“Say，Mac，ItoldmycousinTrinatocomeroundandseeyouaboutthattoothofher’s。She’llbeinto-morrow，I
　　guess。“
　　CHAPTER2
　　AfterhisbreakfastthefollowingMondaymorning，McTeaguelookedovertheappointmentshehadwrittendowninthebook-slatethathungagainstthescreen。Hiswritingwasimmense，veryclumsy，andveryround，withhuge，full-
　　belliedl’sandh’s。Hesawthathehadmadeanappointmentatoneo’clockforMissBaker，theretireddressmaker，alittleoldmaidwhohadatinyroomafewdoorsdownthehall。ItadjoinedthatofOldGrannis。
　　Quiteanaffairhadarisenfromthiscircumstance。MissBakerandOldGranniswerebothoversixty，andyetitwascurrenttalkamongstthelodgersoftheflatthatthetwowereinlovewitheachother。Singularlyenough，theywerenotevenacquaintances；neverawordhadpassedbetweenthem。Atintervalstheymetonthestairway；heonhiswaytohislittledoghospital，shereturningfromabitofmarketinginthestreet。Atsuchtimestheypassedeachotherwithavertedeyes，pretendingacertainpre-