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-
返回顶部