sk.cujo-第7节

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ated　Saturday…morning　TV；　plus　such　weekly　syndicated　programs　as　Star　Blazers；　U。S。　of　Archie；　Hogan's　Heroes；　and　Gilligan's　Island。　Sharp　Cereals　surged　even　more　powerfully　than　the　rest　of　the　Sharp　line；　and　the　Cereal　Professor　became　an　American　institution。　His　tag　line；　'Nope；　nothing　wrong　here；'　became　one　of　those　national　catch　phrases；　meaning　roughly　the　same　thing　as　'Stay　cool'　and　'No　sweat'。
When　Vic　and　Roger　decided　to　go　their　own　way；　they　had　observed　strict　protocol　and　had　not　gone　to　any　of　their　previous　clients　until　their　connections　with　the　Ellison　Agency　were　formally　…　and　amicably　…　severed。　Their　first　six　months　in　Portland　had　been　a　scary；　pressure…cooker　time　for　all　of　them。　Vic　and　Donna's　boy；　Tad；　was　only　a　year　old。　Donna；　who　missed　New　York　badly；　was　by　turns　sullen；　petulant；　and　just　plain　scared。　Roger　had　an　old　ulcer　…　a　battle　scar　from　his　years　in　the　Big　Apple　advertising　wars　…and　when　he　and　Althea　lost　the　baby　the　ulcer　had　flared　up　again；　turning　him　into　a　closet　Gelusil　chugger。　Althea　bounced　back　as　well　as　possible　under　the　circumstances；　Vic　thought；　it　was　Donna　who　pointed　out　to　him　that　placid　Althea's　single　weak　drink　before　dinner　had　turned　into　two　before　and　three　after。　The　two　couples　had　vacationed　in　Maine；　separately　and　together；　but　neither　Vic　nor　Roger　had　realized　how　many　doors　are　initially　closed　to　folks　who　have　moved　in；　as　Mainers　say；　from　'outta　state'。
They　would　indeed　have　gone　under；　as　Roger　pointed　out；　if　Sharp　hadn't　decided　to　stay　with　them。　And　at　the　pany's　Cleveland　headquarters；　positions　had　done　an　ironic　flip…flop。　Now　it　was　the　old　man　who　wanted　to　stick　with　Vic　and　Roger　and　it　was　the　kid　（by　this　time　forty　years　old）　who　wanted　to　jettison　them；　arguing　with　some　logic　that　it　would　be　madness　to　hand　their　account　over　to　a　two…bit　ad　agency　six　hundred　miles　north　of　the　New　York　pulsebeat。　The　fact　that　Ad　Worx　was　affiliated　with　a　New　York　market…analysis　firm　cut　zero　ice　with　the　kid；　as　it　had　cut　zero　ice　with　the　other　firms　for　which　they　had　put　together　campaigns　in　the　past　few　years。
'If　loyalty　was　toilet　paper；'　Roger　had　said　bitterly；　'we'd　be　hard…pressed　to　wipe　our　asses；　old　buddy。'
But　Sharp　had　e　along；　providing　the　margin　they　had　so　desperately　needed。　'We　made　do　with　an　ad　agency　here　in　town　for　forty　years；'　old　man　Sharp　said；　'and　if　those　two　boys　want　to　move　out　of　that　Christless　city；　they're　just　showing　good　old　mon　sense。'
That　was　that。　The　old　man　had　spoken。　The　kid　shut　up。　And　for　the　last　two　and　a　half　years；　the　Cookie　Sharpshooter　had　gone　on　shooting；　George　and　Gracie　had　gone　on　eating　Sharp　Cakes　in　their　cold…water　flat；　and　the　Sharp　Cereal　Professor　had　gone　on　telling　kids　that　there　was　nothing　wrong　here。　Actual　spot　production　was　handled　by　a　small　independent　studior。　in　Boston；　the　New　York　market…analysis　firm　went　on　doing　its　thing　petently；　and　three　or　four　times　a　year　either　Vic　or　Roger　flew　to　Cleveland　to　confer　with　Carroll　Sharp　and　his　kid　…　said　kid　now　going　decidedly　gray　around　the　temples。　All　the　rest　of　the　client…agency　intercourse　was　handled　by　the　U。S。　Post　Office　and　Ma　Bell。　The　process　was　perhaps　strange；　certainly　cumbersome；　but　it　seemed　to　work　fine。
Then　along　came　Red　Razberry　Zingers。
Vic　and　Roger　had　known　about　Zingers　for　some　time；　of　course；　although　it　had　only　gone　on　the　general　market　some　two　months　ago；　in　April　of　1980。　Most　of　the　Sharp　cereals　were　lightly　sweetened　or　not　sweetened　at　all。　All…Grain　Blend；　Sharp's　entry　in　the　'natural'　cereal　arena；　had　been　quite　successful。　Red　Razberry　Zingers；　however；　was　aimed　at　a　segment　of　the　market　with　a　sweeter　tooth：　at　those　prepared…cereal　caters　who　bought　such　cereals　as　Count　Chocula；　Frankenberry；　Lucky　Charms；　and　similar　pre…sweetened　breakfast　foods　which　were　somewhere　in　the　twilight　zone　between　cereal　and　candy。
In　the　late　summer　and　early　fall　of　1979；　Zingers　had　been　successfully　test…marketed　in　Boise；　Idaho；　Scranton；　Pennsylvania；　and　in　Roger's　adopted　Maine　hometown　of　Bridgton。　Roger　had　told　Vic　with　a　shudder　that　he　wouldn't　let　the　twins　near　it　with　a　ten…foot　pole　（although　he　had　been　pleased　when　Althea　told　him　the　kids　had　clamored　for　it　when　they　saw　it　shelved　at　Gigeure's　Market）。　'It's　got　more　sugar　than　whole　grain　in　it；　and　it　looks　like　the　side　of　a　firebarn。'
Vic　had　nodded　and　replied　innocently　enough；　with　no　sense　of　prophecy；　'The　first　time　I　looked　in　one　of　those　boxes；　I　thought　it　was　full　of　blood。'
'So　what　do　you　think？'　Roger　repeated。　He　had　made　it　halfway　through　his　sandwich　as　Vic　reviewed　the　dismal　train　of　events　in　his　mind。　He　was　being　more　and　more　sure　that　in　Cleveland　old　man　Sharp　and　his　aging　kid　were　looking　again　to　shoot　the　messenger　for　the　message。
'Guess　we　better　try。'
Roger　clapped　him　on　the　shoulder。　'My　man；'　he　said。　'Now　eat　up。'
But　Vic　wasn't　hungry。
The　two　of　them　had　been　invited　to　Cleveland　to　attend　an　'emergency　meeting'　that　was　to　be　held　three　weeks　after　the　Fourth　of　July　…　a　good　many　of　the　Sharp　regional　sales　managers　and　executives　were　vacationing；　and　it　would　take　at　least　that　long　to　get　them　all　together。　One　of　the　items　on　the　agenda　had　to　do　directly　with　Ad　Worx：　'an　assessment　of　the　association　to　this　point；'　the　letter　had　said。　Which　meant；　Vic　assumed；　that　the　kid　was　using　the　Zingers　debacle　to　dump　them　at　last。
About　three　weeks　after　Red　Razberry　Zingers　went
national；　enthusiastically　…　if　gravely　…　pitched　by　the　Sharp　Cereal　Professor　（'Nope；　nothing　wrong　here'）；　the　first　mother　had　taken　her　little　one　to　the　hospital；　nearly　hysterical　and　sure　the　child　was　bleeding　internally。　The　little　girl；　victim　of　nothing　more　serious　than　a　low…grade　virus；　had　thrown　up　what　her　mother　had　first　believed　to　be　a　huge　amount　of　blood。
Nope；　nothing　wrong　here。
That　had　been　in　Iowa　City；　Iowa。　The　following　day　there　had　been　seven　more　cases。　The　day　after；　twenty…four。　In　all　cases　the　parents　of　children　afflicted　with　vomiting　or　diarrhea；　had　rushed　the　kids　to　the　hospital；　believing　them　to　be　suffering　internal　bleeding。　After　that；　the　cases　had　skyrocketed　…　first　into　the　hundreds；　then　into　the　thousands。　In　none　of　these　cases　had　the　vomiting　and/or　diarrhea　been　caused　by　the　cereal；　but　that　was　generally　overlooked　in　the　growing　furor。
Nope；　not　a　single　thing　wrong　here。
The　cases　had　spread　west　to　east。　The　problem　was　the　food　dye　that　gave　Zingers　its　zingy　red　color。　The　dye　itself　was　harmless；　but　that　was　also　mostly　overlooked。　Something　had　gone　wrong；　and　instead　of　assimilating　the　red　dye；　the　human　body　simply　passed　it　along。　The　goofed…up　dye　had　only　gotten　into　one　batch　of　cereal；　but　it　had　been　a　whopper　of　a　batch。　A　doctor　told　Vic　that　if　a　child　who　had　just　died　after　ingesting　a　big　bowl　of　Red　Razberry　Zingers　were　the　subject　of　an　autopsy；　the　postmortem　would　reveal　a　digestive　tract　as　red　as　a　stop　sign。　The　effect　was　strictly　temporary；　but　that　had　been　overlooked　too。
Roger　wanted　them　to　go　down　with　all　guns　firing；　if　they　were　to　go　down。　He　had　proposed　marathon　conferences　with　the　Image…Eye　people　in　Boston；　who　actually　did　the　spots。　He　wanted　to　talk　with　the　Sharp　Cereal　Professor　himself；　who　had　gotten　so　involved　with　his　role　that　he　was　mentally　and　emotionally　torn　up　over　what　had　happened。　Then　on　to　New　York；　to　talk　to　the　marketing　people。　Most　important；　it　would　be　almost　two　weeks　at　Boston's　Ritz…Carlton　and　at　New　York's　UN　Plaza；　two　
weeks　Vic　and　Roger　would　spend　mostly　in　each　other's　hip　pockets；　digesting　the　input　and　brainstorming　as　they　had　in　the　old　days。　What　Roger　hoped　would　e　out　of　it　was　a　rebound　campaign　that　would　blow　the　socks　off　both　old　man　Sharp　and　the　kid。　Instead　of　going　to　Cleveland　with　their　necks　shaved　for　the　drop　of　the　guillotine　blade；　they　would　show　up　with　battle　plans　drawn　to　reverse　the　effects　of　the　Zingers　snafu。　That　was　the　theory。　In　practice；　they　both　realized　that　their　chances　were　about　as　good　as　they　were　for　a　pitcher　who　deliberately　sets　out　to　throw　a　no…hitter。
Vic　had　other　problems。　For　the　last　eight　months　or　so；　he　had　sensed　that　he　and　his　wife　were　drifting　slowly　apart。　He　still　loved　her；　and　he　damn　near　idolized　Tad；　but　things　had　gone　from　a　little　uneasy　to　bad；　and　he　sensed　that　there　were　worse　things　…　and　worse　times　…　waiting。　just　over　the　horizon；　maybe。　This　trip；　a　grand　tour　from　Boston　to　New　York　to　Cleveland；　ing　at　what　should　have　been　their　at…home　season；　their　doing…things…together　season；　was　maybe　not　such　a　hot　idea。　When　he　looked　at　her　face　lately　he　saw　a　stranger　lurking　just　below　its　planes　and　angles　and　curves。
And　the　question。　It　played　over　and　over　in　his　mind　on　nights　when　he　wasn't　able　to　sleep；　and　such　nights　had　bee　more　mon　lately。　Had　she　taken　a　lover？　They　sure　didn't　sleep　together　much　any　more。　Had　she　done　it？　He　hoped　it　wasn't　so；　but　what　did　he　think？　Really？　Tell　the　truth；　Mr。　Trenton；　or　you'll　be　forced　to　pay　the　consequences。
He　wasn't　sure。　He　didn't　want　to　be　sure。　He　was　afrai