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第6章 绝路

　　Carrie puzzled a moment. She was wondering what Drouet had toldhim, what her attitude would be.

　　That night it was that she passed Hurstwood, waiting at theCasino, without observing him.

　　Carrie accepted this as basis for hope--it was a sort of salve toher conscience, a pleasant way out. Under the circumstances,things would be righted. Her actions would be justified.She really was not enamoured of Drouet. She was more clever thanhe. In a dim way, she was beginning to see where he lacked. Ifit had not been for this, if she had not been able to measure andjudge him in a way, she would have been worse off than she was.She would have adored him. She would have been utterly wretchedin her fear of not gaining his affection, of losing his interest,of being swept away and left without an anchorage. As it was,she wavered a little, slightly anxious, at first, to gain himcompletely, but later feeling at ease in waiting. She was notexactly sure what she thought of him--what she wanted to do.

　　"What's here?" asked Carrie, wondering at his choosing to visitthis town.

　　"I'll be there," said Hurstwood affectionately. "I can fix it sohe won't know you told me. You leave it to me."

　　Hurstwood laid down his fifteen cents and crept off with wearysteps to his allotted room. It was a dingy affair--wooden,dusty, hard. A small gas-jet furnished sufficient light for sorueful a corner.

　　She made no answer, because she could think of nothing to say.

　　"Let me go," said Carrie, who was folded close to him.

　　"I think," he said, as he spruced around their chambers the nextmorning, preparatory to going down town, "that I'll straightenout that little deal of mine this month and then we'll getmarried. I was talking with Mosher about that yesterday."