Sister Carrie

ge, scarcely beast, in that it is no longer wholly guided by instinct; scarcely human, in that it is not yet wholly guided by reason. On the tige

gn himself with the forces. In this intermediate stage he wavers-neither drawn in harmony with nature by his instincts nor yet wisely putting himself into harmony by his own free-will. He is even as a wisp in the wind, moved by every breath of passion, acting now by his will and now by his instincts, erring with one, only to retrieve by the other, falling by one, only to rise by the other-a creature of incalculable variability. We have

eason, desire and understanding, were at war for the mastery. She foll

wonder and anxiety, which was not exactly touched by yearning, s

" said

as gone to live

he note. The only indication of his thoughts came in the form of a little clicking so

he's gone to?" said Min

ynicism lighting his eye. "N

her head in a

"she doesn't know

while, sticking his hands out

gher than this. She figured th

at last, "poor

urred at 5 A. M., that little soldier of fortune was s

t would do. That worthy had his future fixed for him beyond a peradventure. He could not help what he was going to do. He could not see clearly enough to wish to do differently. He was drawn by his innate desire to act the old pursuing part. He would need to delight himself

and she saw him in her chamber. He

blue about? Come on out to breakfast. Yo

h the hue of shifting th

get something

hat's the use worrying right now? Get yourse

t," she remarked

you? Stick 'em out. George, the

ie o

t of it at the waist and eyeing it from a few paces with real pl

put on

he gloves?"

taking them out of

me on,"

our of misgiving

a nice skirt and shirt waist. With his money she purchased the little necessaries of toilet, until at last she looked quite another maiden. The mirror convinced her of a few things which she had

room. It was blowing up cold, and out of her window Carrie could see the western sky, still pink with the fading light, but steely blue at the top where it met the darkness. A long, thin cloud of pink hung in midair, shap

nd wrung her

matter?" s

w," she said, he

slipped his arm over her

aid gently, "yo

to slip on

t boa about your

h up were the lighted windows of the tall office buildings. The chill wind whipped in and out in gusty breaths. Homeward bound, the six o'clock throng bumped and jostled. Light overc

ng out from a group of poorly dressed girls. Their clothes were fade

looked, not quite sure, and then turned her head and looked. Carrie felt as if some great tide had rolled between them. The

be thinkin

f it caught her eye. She had vain imaginings about place and power, about far-off lands and magnifi

dies and gentlemen were moving in a social crush, skirts rustling, lace-co

s saying, his voice lifted in a so

fine?" s

looked up, her even teeth glistening through her smiling lips, her eyes alight. As they were moving out he whispered down

d we'll have a coac

, her head was so ful

of bed to say prayers that are only a custom and not a devotion. The victim of habit, when he has neglected the thing which it was his custom to do, feels a little scratching in the brain, a little irritating something which comes of being out of the rut, and imagines it to be the prick of conscience, the still, small voice that

off with considerable warmth. Under the influence of the varied occurrences, the fine, invisible passion which was emanating from Drou

t at last, "we had

t feel the vibration of force which followed, which, indeed, was his gaze. He had a way of touching

, Drouet still pouring forth his volume of small information. He had Carrie's arm in his, and held it closely as he explained. Once in a while, after some witticism, he would look down, and his eyes would meet he

vague scene floated in on the drowsy mind. She fancied she and Carrie were somewhere beside an old coal-mine. She could see the tall runway and the heap of earth and coal cast out. There was a deep pit,

t in," sa

," said

e on," sa

and now, in spite of all protest, s

ck;" but Carrie was far down now and t

ved he

on some board or ground or something that reached far out, and at the end of this was Carrie. They

as reaching farther out. She seemed to rece

ange waters were blurring everything. She came away suffering as though she had

ping in, blurring strange scenes, one with the other. The last one made her cry out, for Carrie w

wake up," said Hanson, disturbed

matter?" said

nd turn over. You're t

olled into Fitzgerald and Moy

Hurstwood, looking ou

and looked in upon th

ut on the road ag

oon," sai

h of you this tri

been busy,"

e few minutes o

uck by a sudden idea, "I want

?" inquire

of course," said

ring about his lips. He studied the face of Drouet in his wise way, a

a nice gam

little bottle of S

id Drouet. "I'l