Why did Sheila mention Eric Caswell in "The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant?"What are two examples of suspense in the story?

Sheila mentions Eric Caswell in the story because although
she is going to the dance with the narrator, it is Eric whom she is really interested
in. The fact that she talks about Eric while she is on the way to the dance with the
narrator, coupled with the indifference of her behavior in general, should have
forewarned the narrator to the reality that Sheila was just using him, but he is so
enamored by her glamorous allure that he fails to see that his brief courship can only
end in failure.

One of the first things Sheila tells the
narrator on the canoe ride to the dance is that "Eric Caswell's going to be there." She
later relates that "Eric said (she has) the figure to model;" it is clear that Eric is
much on her mind, even though she has consented to go to the dance with the narrator.
The extent to which Sheila has set her sights on Eric Caswell becomes completely evident
when she goes home with him instead of her date.

There are
many instances of suspense in the story. One of them occurs when the narrator first
hooks the bass, and realizes that "it was a bass...it was a big bass...it was the
biggest bass (he) had ever hooked...Sheila Mant must not know." The narrator struggles
to hold on to the bass without letting Sheila know what he is doing, but fortunately, it
turns out that she is too busy talking about herself to notice his preoccupation. A
second instance of suspense is when the narrator realizes that he must choose between
letting Sheila know what he is doing, and letting the bass get away. For an instant, the
narrator is "torn apart between longing," but the scales tip in Sheila's favor when he
looks at her attractive figure, and he quickly cuts the line in half, in a decision that
he will forever regret.