嘉莉妹妹(Sister Carrie) 第十八章.docVIP

嘉莉妹妹(Sister Carrie) 第十八章 By the evening of the 16th the subtle hand of Hurstwood had made itself apparent. He had given the word among his friends -- and they were many and influential -- that here was something which they ought to attend, and, as a consequence, the sale of tickets by Mr. Quincel, acting for the lodge, had been large. Small four-line notes had appeared in all of the daily newspapers. These he had arranged for by the aid of one of his newspaper friends on the Times, Mr. Harry McGarren, the managing editor. Say, Harry, Hurstwood said to him one evening, as the latter stood at the bar drinking before wending his belated way homeward, you can help the boys out, I guess. What is it? said McGarren, pleased to be consulted by the opulent manager. The Custer Lodge is getting up a little entertainment for their own good, and they’d like a little newspaper notice. You know what I mean -- a squib or two saying that it’s going to take place. Certainly, said McGarren, I can fix that for you, George. At the same time Hurstwood kept himself wholly in the background. The members of Custer Lodge could scarcely understand why their little affair was taking so well. Mr. Harry Quincel was looked upon as quite a star for this sort of work. By the time the 16th had arrived Hurstwood’s friends had rallied like Romans to a senator’s call. A well-dressed, good-natured, flatteringly-inclined audience was assured from the moment he thought of assisting Carrie. That little student had mastered her part to her own satisfaction, much as she trembled for her fate when she should once face the gathered throng, behind the glare of the footlights. She tried to console herself with the thought that a score of other persons, men and women, were equally tremulous concerning the outcome of their efforts, but she could not disassociate the general danger from her own individual liability. She feared that she would forget her lines, that she might be unable to master the feeli