The couple moves into a one-room unit in the flat, at Trina's insistence. She will not spend her five thousand dollars to keep them in their current home, or even to fix up the smaller unit. She is content not only to hoard the money, but she also sells most of their belongings, intent on saving the money from the sale and adding it to her savings. McTeague refuses to part with his steel engraving, his stone pug dog, his canary, its cage and his concertina.
One day, the "Other Dentist" comes to the McTeague home and makes an offer on the gold tooth sign. When the McTeagues refuse, the man reveals that everyone in the neighbourhood is aware of the truth of the McTeagues situation. Trina is humiliated. After the sale of their.....