Then the grind began.

It would have been easier for the McTeagues to have faced their misfortunes had they befallen them immediately after their marriage, when their love for each other was fresh and fine, and when they could have found a certain happiness in helping each other and sharing each other's privations.

Trina, no doubt, loved her husband more than ever, in the sense that she felt she belonged to him.

But McTeague's affection for his wife was dwindling a little every day--HAD been dwindling for a long time, in fact.

He had become used to her by now.