“Oh, I’d like to get a part in a play,” said Carrie.

“Well,” said the man, “it’ll cost you something to do that.”

“How much?” said Carrie, who, ridiculous as it may seem, had not thought of this before.

“Well, that’s for you to say,” he answered shrewdly.

Carrie looked at him curiously. She hardly knew how to continue the inquiry.

“Could you get me a part if I paid?”

“If we didn’t you’d get your money back.”

“Oh,” she said.

The agent saw he was dealing with an inexperienced soul, and continued accordingly.

“You’d want to deposit fifty dollars, anyway. No agent would trouble about you for less than that.”