" The street door
closed. The Jew was gone.
"Huh!" snorted Marcus, swelling with arrogance. "Huh! Think I'm afraid
of his knife? I ain't afraid of ANYBODY," he shouted pointedly, for
McTeague and his wife, roused by the clamor, were peering over the
banisters from the landing above. "Not of anybody," repeated Marcus.
Maria came out into the hall.
"Is he gone? Is he sure gone?"
"What was the trouble?" inquired Marcus, suddenly.
"I woke up about an hour ago," Maria explained, "and Zerkow wasn't in
bed; maybe he hadn't come to bed at all. He was down on his knees by the
sink, and he'd pried up some boards off the floor and was digging there.
He had his dark-lantern. He was digging with that knife, I guess, and
all the time he kept mumbling to himself, 'More'n a hundred pieces, an'
every one of 'em gold; more'n a hundred pieces, an' every one of 'em
gold.' Then, all of a sudden, he caught sight of me. I was sitting up in
bed, and he jumped up and came at me with his knife, an' he says, 'Where
is it? Where is it? I know you got it hid somewhere. Where is it? Tell
me or I'll knife you.' I kind of fooled him and kept him off till I got
my wrapper on, an' then I run out.
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