“Butyou’vesignedaPAPER，“criedTrina，exasperated。
　　“You’vegottopaythatfirstmonth’srent，anyhow——toforfeitit。Oh，youaresostupid！There’sthirty-
　　fivedollarsjustthrownaway。ISHAN’Tgointothathouse；wewon’tmoveaFOOToutofhere。I’vechangedmymindaboutit，andthere’swaterinthebasementbesides。“
　　“Well，Iguesswecanstandthirty-fivedollars，“mumbledthedentist，“ifwe’vegotto。“
　　“Thirty-fivedollarsjustthrownoutofthewindow，“criedTrina，herteethclicking，everyinstinctofherparsimonyaroused。“Oh，youthethick-wittedestmanthatIeverknew。
　　Doyouthinkwe’remillionaires？Oh，tothinkoflosingthirty-fivedollarslikethat。“Tearswereinhereyes，tearsofgriefaswellasofanger。NeverhadMcTeagueseenhislittlewomansoaroused。Suddenlysherosetoherfeetandslammedthechopping-bowldownuponthetable。“Well，Iwon’tpayanickelofit，“sheexclaimed。
　　“Huh？What，what？“stammeredthedentist，takenallabackbyheroutburst。
　　“Isaythatyouwillfindthatmoney，thatthirty-fivedollars，yourself。“
　　“Why——why——“
　　“It’syourstupiditygotusintothisfix，andyou’llbetheonethat’llsufferbyit。“
　　“Ican’tdoit，IWON’Tdoit。We’ll——we’llshareandsharealike。Why，yousaid——youtoldmeyou’dtakethehouseifthewaterwasfree。“
　　“INEVERdid。INEVERdid。Howcanyoustandthereandsaysuchathing？“
　　“Youdidtellmethat，“vociferatedMcTeague，beginningtogetangryinhisturn。
　　“Mac，Ididn’t，andyouknowit。Andwhat’smore，Iwon’tpayanickel。Mr。Heisepayshisbillnextweek，it’sforty-threedollars，andyoucanjustpaythethirty-fiveoutofthat。“
　　“Why，yougotawholehundreddollarssavedupinyourmatch-safe，“shoutedthedentist，throwingoutanarmwithanawkwardgesture。“YoupayhalfandI’llpayhalf，that’sonlyfair。“
　　“No，no，NO，“exclaimedTrina。“It’snotahundreddollars。Youwon’ttouchit；youwon’ttouchmymoney，I
　　tellyou。“
　　“Ah，howdoesithappentobeyours，I’dliketoknow？“
　　“It’smine！It’smine！It’smine！“criedTrina，herfacescarlet，herteethclickinglikethesnapofaclosingpurse。
　　“Itain’tanymoreyoursthanitismine。“
　　“Everypennyofitismine。“
　　“Ah，whatafinefixyou’dgetmeinto，“growledthedentist。“I’vesignedthepaperwiththeowner；that’sbusiness，youknow，that’sbusiness，youknow；andnowyougobackonme。Supposewe’dtakenthehouse，we’d’a’sharedtherent，wouldn’twe，justaswedohere？“
　　Trinashruggedhershoulderswithagreataffectationofindifferenceandbeganchoppingtheonionsagain。
　　“Yousettleitwiththeowner，“shesaid。“It’syouraffair；you’vegotthemoney。“Shepretendedtoassumeacertaincalmnessasthoughthematterwassomethingthatnolongeraffectedher。HermannerexasperatedMcTeagueallthemore。
　　“No，Iwon’t；no，Iwon’t；Iwon’teither，“heshouted。
　　“I’llpaymyhalfandhecancometoyoufortheotherhalf。“Trinaputahandoverhereartoshutouthisclamor。
　　“Ah，don’ttryandbesmart，“criedMcTeague。“Come，now，yesorno，willyoupayyourhalf？“
　　“YouheardwhatIsaid。“
　　“Willyoupayit？“
　　“No。“
　　“Miser！“shoutedMcTeague。“Miser！you’reworsethanoldZerkow。Allright，allright，keepyourmoney。I’llpaythewholethirty-five。I’dratherloseitthanbesuchamiserasyou。“
　　“Haven’tyougotanythingtodo，“returnedTrina，“insteadofstayinghereandabusingme？“
　　“Well，then，forthelasttime，willyouhelpmeout？“
　　Trinacuttheheadsofafreshbunchofonionsandgavenoanswer。
　　“Huh？willyou？“
　　“I’dliketohavemykitchentomyself，please，“shesaidinamincingway，irritatingtoalastdegree。Thedentiststampedoutoftheroom，bangingthedoorbehindhim。
　　Fornearlyaweekthebreachbetweenthemremainedunhealed。
　　Trinaonlyspoketothedentistinmonosyllables，whilehe，exasperatedathercalmnessandfrigidreserve，sulkedinhis“DentalParlors，“mutteringterriblethingsbeneathhismustache，orfindingsolaceinhisconcertina，playinghissixlugubriousairsoverandoveragain，orswearingfrightfuloathsathiscanary。WhenHeisepaidhisbill，McTeague，inafury，senttheamounttotheownerofthelittlehouse。
　　Therewasnoformalreconciliationbetweenthedentistandhislittlewoman。Theirrelationsreadjustedthemselvesinevitably。Bytheendoftheweektheywereasamicableasever，butitwaslongbeforetheyspokeofthelittlehouseagain。NordidtheyeverrevisititofaSundayafternoon。
　　AmonthorsolatertheRyerstoldthemthattheownerhimselfhadmovedin。TheMcTeaguesneveroccupiedthatlittlehouse。
　　ButTrinasufferedareactionafterthequarrel。Shebegantobesorryshehadrefusedtohelpherhusband，sorryshehadbroughtmatterstosuchanissue。OneafternoonasshewasatworkontheNoah’sarkanimals，shesurprisedherselfcryingovertheaffair。Shelovedher“oldbear“toomuchtodohimaninjustice，andperhaps，afterall，shehadbeeninthewrong。Thenitoccurredtoherhowprettyitwouldbetocomeupbehindhimunexpectedly，andslipthemoney，thirty-fivedollars，intohishand，andpullhishugeheaddowntoherandkisshisbaldspotassheusedtodointhedaysbeforetheyweremarried。
　　Thenshehesitated，pausinginherwork，herknifedroppingintoherlap，ahalf-whittledfigurebetweenherfingers。
　　Ifnotthirty-fivedollars，thenatleastfifteenorsixteen，hershareofit。Butafeelingofreluctance，asuddenrevoltagainstthisintendedgenerosity，aroseinher。
　　“No，no，“shesaidtoherself。“I’llgivehimtendollars。
　　I’lltellhimit’sallIcanafford。ItISallIcanafford。“
　　Shehastenedtofinishthefigureoftheanimalshewasthenatworkupon，puttingintheearsandtailwithadropofglue，andtossingitintothebasketatherside。Thensheroseandwentintothebedroomandopenedhertrunk，takingthekeyfromunderacornerofthecarpetwhereshekeptithid。
　　Attheverybottomofhertrunk，underherbridaldress，shekepthersavings。Itwasallinchange——halfdollarsanddollarsforthemostpart，withhereandthereagoldpiece。
　　Longsincethelittlebrassmatch-boxhadoverflowed。Trinakeptthesurplusinachamois-skinsackshehadmadefromanoldchestprotector。Justnow，yieldingtoanimpulsewhichoftenseizedher，shedrewoutthematch-boxandthechamoissack，andemptyingthecontentsonthebed，countedthemcarefully。Itcametoonehundredandsixty-fivedollars，alltold。Shecounteditandrecounteditandmadelittlepilesofit，andrubbedthegoldpiecesbetweenthefoldsofherapronuntiltheyshone。
　　“Ah，yes，tendollarsisallIcanaffordtogiveMac，“saidTrina，“andeventhen，thinkofit，tendollars——itwillbefourorfivemonthsbeforeIcansavethatagain。But，dearoldMac，Iknowitwouldmakehimfeelglad，andperhaps，“
　　sheadded，suddenlytakenwithanidea，“perhapsMacwillrefusetotakeit。“
　　Shetookaten-dollarpiecefromtheheapandputtherestaway。Thenshepaused：
　　“No，notthegoldpiece，“shesaidtoherself。“It’stoopretty。Hecanhavethesilver。“Shemadethechangeandcountedouttensilverdollarsintoherpalm。Butwhatadifferenceitmadeintheappearanceandweightofthelittlechamoisbag！Thebagwasshrunkenandwithered，longwrinklesappearedrunningdownwardfromthedraw-string。Itwasalamentablesight。Trinalookedlonginglyatthetenbroadpiecesinherhand。Thensuddenlyallherintuitivedesireofsaving，herinstinctofhoarding，herloveofmoneyforthemoney’ssake，rosestrongwithinher。
　　“No，no，no，“shesaid。“Ican’tdoit。Itmaybemean，butIcan’thelpit。It’sstrongerthanI。“Shereturnedthemoneytothebagandlockeditandthebrassmatch-boxinhertrunk，turningthekeywithalongbreathofsatisfaction。
　　Shewasalittletroubled，however，asshewentbackintothesitting-roomandtookupherwork。
　　“Ididn’tusetobesostingy，“shetoldherself。“SinceI
　　woninthelotteryI’vebecomearegularlittlemiser。It’sgrowingonme，butnevermind，it’sagoodfault，and，anyhow，Ican’thelpit。“
　　CHAPTER11
　　OnthatparticularmorningtheMcTeagueshadrisenahalfhourearlierthanusualandtakenahurriedbreakfastinthekitchenonthedealtablewithitsoilclothcover。Trinawashouse-cleaningthatweekandhadapresentimentofahardday’sworkaheadofher，whileMcTeaguerememberedaseveno’clockappointmentwithalittleGermanshoemaker。
　　Atabouteighto’clock，whenthedentisthadbeeninhisofficeforoveranhour，Trinadescendeduponthebedroom，atowelaboutherheadandtheroller-sweeperinherhand。
　　Shecoveredthebureauandsewingmachinewithsheets，andunhookedthechenilleportieresbetweenthebedroomandthesitting-room。AsshewastyingtheNottinghamlacecurtainsatthewindowintogreatknots，shesawoldMissBakerontheoppositesidewalkinthestreetbelow，andraisingthesashcalleddowntoher。
　　“Oh，it’syou，Mrs。McTeague，“criedtheretireddressmaker，facingabout，herheadintheair。Thenalongconversationwasbegun，Trina，herarmsfoldedunderherbreast，herelbowsrestingonthewindowledge，willingtobeidleforamoment；oldMissBaker，hermarket-basketonherarm，herhandswrappedintheendsofherworstedshawlagainstthecoldoftheearlymorning。Theyexchangedphrases，callingtoeachotherfromwindowtocurb，theirbreathcomingfromtheirlipsinfaintpuffsofvapor，theirvoicesshrill，andraisedtodominatetheclamorofthewakingstreet。Thenewsboyshadmadetheirappearanceonthestreet，togetherwiththedaylaborers。Thecablecarshadbeguntofillup；allalongthestreetcouldbeseentheshopkeeperstakingdowntheirshutters；somewerestillbreakfasting。Nowandthenawaiterfromoneofthecheaprestaurantscrossedfromonesidewalktoanother，balancingononepalmatraycoveredwithanapkin。
　　“Aren’tyououtprettyearlythismorning，MissBaker？“
　　calledTrina。
　　“No，no，“answeredtheother。“I’malwaysupathalf-pastsix，butIdon’talwaysgetoutsosoon。Iwantedtogetaniceheadofcabbageandsomelentilsforasoup，andifyoudon’tgotomarketearly，therestaurantsgetallthebest。“
　　“Andyou’vebeentomarketalready，MissBaker？“
　　“Oh，my，yes；andIgotafish——asole——see。“Shedrewthesoleinquestionfromherbasket。
　　“Oh，thelovelysole！“exclaimedTrina。
　　“IgotthisoneatSpadella’s；healwayshasgoodfishonFriday。Howisthedoctor，Mrs。McTeague？“
　　“Ah，Macisalwayswell，thankyou，MissBaker。“
　　“Youknow，Mrs。Ryertoldme，“criedthelittledressmaker，movingforwardastepoutofthewayofa“glass-put-in“
　　man，“thatDoctorMcTeaguepulledatoothofthatCatholicpriest，Father——oh，Iforgethisname——anyhow，hepulledhistoothwithhisfingers。Wasthattrue，Mrs。McTeague？“
　　“Oh，ofcourse。Macdoesthatalmostallthetimenow，’speciallywithfrontteeth。He’sgotaregularreputationforit。Hesaysit’sbroughthimmorepatientsthaneventhesignIgavehim，“sheadded，pointingtothebiggoldenmolarprojectingfromtheofficewindow。