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Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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"Say," said Drouet, coming over to her after a few moments, with a new idea, and putting his hand upon her. "Don’t!" said Carrie, drawing away, but not removing her handkerchief from her eyes. "Never mind about this quarrel now. Let it go. You stay here until the month’s out, anyhow, and then you can tell better what you want to do. Eh?" Carrie made no answer. "You’d better do that," he said. "There’s no use your packing up now. You can’t go anywhere." Still he got nothing for his words. "If you’ll do that, we’ll call it off for the present and I’ll get out." Carrie lowered her handkerchief slightly and looked out of the window. "Will you do that?" he asked. Still no answer. "Will you?" he repeated. She only looked vaguely into the street. "Aw! come on," he said, "tell me. Will you?" "I don’t know," said Carrie softly, forced to answer. "Promise me you’ll do that," he said, "and we’ll quit talking about it. It’ll be the best thing for you." Carrie heard him, but she could not bring herself to answer reasonably. She felt that the man was gentle, and that his interest in her had not abated, and it made her suffer a pang of regret. She was in a most helpless plight. As for Drouet, his attitude had been that of the jealous lover. Now his feelings were a mixture of anger at deception, sorrow at losing Carrie, misery at being defeated. He wanted his rights in some way or other, and yet his rights included the retaining of Carrie, the making her feel her error. "Will you?" he urged. "Well, I’ll see," said Carrie. This left the matter as open as before, but it was something. It looked as if the quarrel would blow over, if they could only get some way of talking to one another. Carrie was ashamed, and Drouet aggrieved. He pretended to take up the task of packing some things in a valise. Now, as Carrie watched him out of the corner of her eye, certain sound thoughts came into her head. He had erred, true, but what had she done? He was kindly and good-natured for all his egotism. Throughout this argument he had said nothing very harsh. On the other hand there was Hurstwood-a greater deceiver than he. He had pretended all this affection, all this passion, and he was lying to her all the while. Oh, the perfidy of men! And she had loved him. There could be nothing more in that quarter. She would see Hurstwood no more. She would write him and let him know what she thought. Thereupon what would she do? Here were these rooms. Here was Drouet, pleading for her to remain. Evidently things could go on here somewhat as before, if all were arranged. It would be better than the street, without a place to lay her head. All this she thought of as Drouet rummaged the drawers for collars and laboured long and painstakingly at finding a shirt-stud. He was in no hurry to rush this matter. He felt an attraction to Carrie which would not down. He could not think that the thing would end by his walking out of the room. There must be some way round, some way to make her own up that he was right and she was wrong-to patch up a peace and shut out Hurstwood for ever. Mercy how he turned at the man’s shameless duplicity. "Do you think," he said, after a few moments’ silence, "that you’ll try and get on the stage?" He was wondering what she was intending. "I don’t know what I’ll do yet," said Carrie. "If you do, maybe I can help you. I’ve got a lot of friends in that line." She made no answer to this. "Don’t go and try to knock around now without any money. Let me help you," he said. "It’s no easy thing to go on your own hook here." |
