CHAPTER XXVII. — SAM IS INITIATED INTO A COLLEGE SOCIETY.

 Before Sam reached Harvard Square he caught sight of the college yard and the numerous buildings of brick and stone which had been erected¹ within it for the accommodations of the students.

 

"It's a pretty big place," thought Sam. His ideas of a college were very vague. He had fancied that it consisted of one large brick building, like the New York public schools.

 

"I wonder what they want of so many buildings, anyway?" said Sam to himself. "There must be a lot of students."

 

He got out at Harvard Square, and crossing the street entered the college yard, or campus, as it is sometimes more ambitiously called. There were very few students about, for it was Saturday, when there was a morning exercise only, and, the rest of the day being a holiday, many of the students were accustomed to go to Boston, or to visit their friends elsewhere. Sam knew nothing of this, and was surprised to see so few young men about.

 

Now it happened that three sophomores², having nothing more important to occupy their attention, had made up their minds, by way of a lark³, to play a trick on some freshman⁴, who, from inexperience, looked like an easy victim. For convenience's sake I will call them Brown, Jones and Robinson.

 

As these three young men were walking arm-in-arm in front of University Hall, they saw Sam approaching. Of course, where the classes are so large, it is impossible for all to be personally acquainted, which accounts for their instantly mistaking Sam for a freshman.

 

"There's a fresh," said Brown. "He looks green enough for our purpose. Suppose we take him?"

 

"All right," said Jones. "He'll do."

 

Sam was rather surprised when the three college boys stopped and Brown addressed him.

 

"What is your name, sir?"

 

"Barker," answered Sam.

 

"All right!" said Robinson, in a low voice. "There's a Barker in the freshman class. I've noticed his name in the catalogue."

 

"I believe, Mr. Barker," said Brown, "that you belong to the freshman class."

 

"That's a good joke," said Sam to himself. "I'll see it through."

 

He was not a little flattered at being mistaken for a collegian, and nodded assent⁵.

 

"We have heard of you, Mr. Barker," said Jones, in the most favorable manner. "We belong to the senior class, and at our last meeting we elected you unanimously a member of the Alpha Zeta Society."

 

"You don't say so!" exclaimed Sam, really astonished.

 

"We have inquired of the faculty⁶ concerning your scholarship, and have been told that you are one of the best scholars in the class."

 

"If that's so," thought Sam, "the class don't know much."

 

"There are plenty that know more than me," said Sam, aloud.

 

"All your modesty⁷, Mr. Barker," said Robinson. "We are convinced that you are a first-class man, and will be an acquisition to our society."

 

"What does it all mean?" Sam began to wonder.

 

"We are a committee of the society appointed to initiate⁸ you by the usual impressive ceremonies," said Brown. "It is very fortunate we have met with you, for Saturday is our day for initiations."

 

"Is it?"

 

"Yes; have you any particular engagement for the next hour?"

 

"Not as I know of."

 

"Then we will at once proceed to the society room and take you to the initiation⁹. Are you ready?"

 

"I haven't made my will yet," said Sam, humorously.

 

The three sophomores looked at each other doubtfully. Perhaps their intended butt¹⁰ was not as verdant¹¹ as they supposed.

 

"That formality is not necessary," said Jones, after a pause, "unless you desire to leave any money to the society."

 

"I guess I'll join first, and see how I like it," said Sam.

 

"Quite reasonable," said Brown, in a tone of satisfaction.

 

"We'd better not lose any time," said Robinson.

 

"Follow us, Mr. Barker," said Brown.

 

"All right, gentlemen."

 

Robinson offered his arm, and the four proceeded to one of the older college halls, and ascended¹² to a room on the third floor.

 

"Ain't they sold, though!" thought Sam, with an inward chuckle¹³. "They think I'm a student, and I'll find out all about their society—I can't think of the outlandish name."

 

The door was locked, and then Brown said: "Mr. Barker, you will not object to be blindfolded¹⁴, of course."

 

"Go ahead," said Sam. "If that's the regular thing, I'm agreeable."

 

He was blindfolded by Brown and seated in the center of the room. He heard various movements, lasting¹⁵ for perhaps five minutes. Then the bandage was removed, and Sam saw that his three companions were metamorphosed. All wore masks. The light of day had been shut out, and four candles were burning on the table. In the center was a skull¹⁶, and beside it was a large book, a photograph book, by the way.

 

"Barker," said one of the masked figures in a sepulchral¹⁷ voice, "do you desire to join our mystic band?"

 

"You bet!" answered Sam.

 

"No levity," was the stern reply. "Before you are admitted you must swear solemnly not to divulge¹⁸ the secrets of the association."

 

"I won't," said Sam.

 

"'Tis not enough. You must swear!"

 

"All right, I swear."

 

"Kiss this book, and swear with uplifted hand."

 

Sam did so.

 

"Do you know what will be the penalty if you violate the oath?"

 

"I'll be 'bounced,' I expect."

 

"Worse than that. Do you see this skull?"

 

"Yes, I do."

 

"It is the skull of a freshman who joined our society five years since, and divulged¹⁹ the secrets."

 

"What did he die of?" asked Sam.

 

"He disappeared," said Brown, impressively. "He was found dead in his bed one morning, with a dagger²⁰ in his heart."

 

"You don't say so!" said Sam, impressed in spite of himself.

 

"It was a fitting punishment. Don't incur²¹ it."

 

"I won't," said Sam. "I don't know anything to tell anyway."

 

"You shall know all. Our society was founded hundreds of years ago by the emperor Charlemagne."

 

This didn't impress Sam as much as was expected, since he had never heard of the Emperor Charlemagne.

 

"Kings, nobles, prime ministers have belonged to our mystic ranks," proceeded Brown.

 

"Then I wonder they elected me in?" thought Sam.

 

"That book," indicating the photograph album, "contains the records of the society."

 

"May I look into it?"

 

"No," said Jones, hurriedly, laying his hand upon the book. "The time may come, but not yet."

 

"Just as you say," said Sam, submissively. "I'm in no hurry."

 

"Bandage his eyes once more," said Brown.

 

Robinson advanced, and tied a handkerchief over our hero's eyes.

 

"Now stand up."

 

Sam stood up.

 

Brown proceeded to read a chorus from Euripides, which impressed Sam as much as anything yet, for the Greek seemed but a strange and barbarous jargon²² to his unaccustomed ears.

 

"Do you understand what I have said?" asked Brown, at the close of his reading.

 

"Not entirely," said Sam,

 

"Then your education has been neglected. But it matters not. Raise him."

 

Jones and Robinson proceeded to lift Sam, one by the head, the other by the heels, rather to his alarm.

 

"What's your game?" he demanded, resisting.

 

"No harm is intended. It is one of the necessary formalities."

 

"Go ahead, then."

 

The two students bore Sam about the room, chanting discordantly²³ as they went. At length they set him down again in a chair. Then Brown passed his hand several times over Sam's face, explaining that this was one of the necessary formalities also. Then the bandage was taken off, and a Greek book was handed to Sam.

 

"We will test your scholarship," said Brown. "Read."

 

Sam stared at the Greek page in bewilderment, turning the book upside down, but not finding it any more intelligible²⁴.

 

"I can't read this stuff," he said.

 

"You need not render it into English," said Brown. "Pronounce it in the original."

 

"I can't," said Sam, helplessly.

 

The three looked at each other.

 

"You can't read Greek?" said Brown.

 

"Of course I can't."

 

"Then how did you get into college?"

 

"I walked in."

 

"I mean, how could you be admitted without knowing Greek?"

 

"I wasn't admitted. I never was here in my life before."

 

"What! Are you not Barker, of the freshman class?" asked the three sophomores in chorus.

 

"My name is Barker—Sam Barker—but I don't belong to any class."

 

"What made you say you did?"

 

"Just for fun."

 

"Sold!" exclaimed the three in concert. "I guess this has gone far enough," said Brown. "Let's unmask."

 

Masks were removed, the curtains raised, Sam was invited to wash his face, which Brown, in his manipulations, had blacked, and there was a hearty²⁵ laugh all round. Sam was invited to tell his story and did so. The three students were wealthy, and took up a contribution for his benefit, amounting to ten dollars.

 

"I'll come round another day for half price," said Sam, humorously.

 

"The next time we initiate a freshman, it'll be the genuine article. All the same, we've had some fun. Won't you stay and dine with us? We shall have dinner in an hour."

 

"Thank you," said Sam, "I'm agreeable."

 

"We'll take you round to see the college before dinner. We can't do less by a member of the Alpha Zeta Society."

 

Sam laughed. "I guess you'll have to put down the name on a piece of paper," he said, "or I'll forget what society I belong to."

 

Sam's good humor and droll²⁶ observations made him a favorite with the three students. He learned, to his surprise, that Brown was a cousin of Julia Stockton, whose acquaintance he had made on the Fall River boat.

 

"I was in town yesterday, and Julia mentioned you—said you were very polite to her. It is very strange we should run across each other so soon after."

 

"That's so," said Sam, and, calling to mind the ten dollars in his pocket, he could not help adding to himself: "It's mighty²⁷ lucky, too."

1 ERECTED   

adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立

参考例句：

• A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
• A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。

2 sophomores   

n.（中等、专科学校或大学的）二年级学生( sophomore的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We are freshmen and they are sophomores. 我们是一年级学生，他们是二年级学生。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Over half the students in the course are sophomores. 听这门课的一大半是二年级学生。 来自辞典例句

3 lark   

n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏

参考例句：

• He thinks it cruel to confine a lark in a cage.他认为把云雀关在笼子里太残忍了。
• She lived in the village with her grandparents as cheerful as a lark.她同祖父母一起住在乡间非常快活。

4 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

5 assent   

v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• I cannot assent to what you ask.我不能应允你的要求。
• The new bill passed by Parliament has received Royal Assent.议会所通过的新方案已获国王批准。

6 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

7 modesty   

n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素

参考例句：

• Industry and modesty are the chief factors of his success.勤奋和谦虚是他成功的主要因素。
• As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后，谦虚使人进步。

8 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

9 initiation   

n.开始

参考例句：

• her initiation into the world of marketing 她的初次涉足营销界
• It was my initiation into the world of high fashion. 这是我初次涉足高级时装界。

10 butt   

n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶

参考例句：

• The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
• He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

11 verdant   

adj.翠绿的，青翠的，生疏的，不老练的

参考例句：

• Children are playing on the verdant lawn.孩子们在绿茵茵的草坪上嬉戏玩耍。
• The verdant mountain forest turns red gradually in the autumn wind.苍翠的山林在秋风中渐渐变红了。

12 ascended   

v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He has ascended into heaven. 他已经升入了天堂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The climbers slowly ascended the mountain. 爬山运动员慢慢地登上了这座山。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 chuckle   

vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑

参考例句：

• He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。
• I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个，我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。

14 blindfolded   

v.（尤指用布）挡住（某人）的视线( blindfold的过去式 )；蒙住（某人）的眼睛；使不理解；蒙骗

参考例句：

• The hostages were tied up and blindfolded. 人质被捆绑起来并蒙上了眼睛。
• They were each blindfolded with big red handkerchiefs. 他们每个人的眼睛都被一块红色大手巾蒙住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

16 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

17 sepulchral   

adj.坟墓的，阴深的

参考例句：

• He made his way along the sepulchral corridors.他沿着阴森森的走廊走着。
• There was a rather sepulchral atmosphere in the room.房间里有一种颇为阴沉的气氛。

18 divulge   

v.泄漏(秘密等)；宣布，公布

参考例句：

• They refused to divulge where they had hidden the money.他们拒绝说出他们把钱藏在什么地方。
• He swore never to divulge the secret.他立誓决不泄露秘密。

19 divulged   

v.吐露，泄露( divulge的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He divulged nothing to him save the terrible handicap of being young. 他想不出个所以然来，只是想到自己年纪尚幼，极端不利。 来自辞典例句
• The spy divulged the secret plans to the enemy. 那名间谍把秘密计划泄漏给敌人。 来自辞典例句

20 dagger   

n.匕首，短剑，剑号

参考例句：

• The bad news is a dagger to his heart.这条坏消息刺痛了他的心。
• The murderer thrust a dagger into her heart.凶手将匕首刺进她的心脏。

21 incur   

vt.招致，蒙受，遭遇

参考例句：

• Any costs that you incur will be reimbursed in full.你的所有花费都将全额付还。
• An enterprise has to incur certain costs and expenses in order to stay in business.一个企业为了维持营业,就不得不承担一定的费用和开支。

22 jargon   

n.术语，行话

参考例句：

• They will not hear critics with their horrible jargon.他们不愿意听到评论家们那些可怕的行话。
• It is important not to be overawed by the mathematical jargon.要紧的是不要被数学的术语所吓倒.

23 discordantly   

adv.不一致地，不和谐地

参考例句：

• The walls of the rooms were discordantly papered. 房间的墙是拼凑的纸糊的，颜色很不协调。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• The piece ended discordantly. 这部作品结尾很不和谐。 来自互联网

24 intelligible   

adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的

参考例句：

• This report would be intelligible only to an expert in computing.只有计算机运算专家才能看懂这份报告。
• His argument was barely intelligible.他的论点不易理解。

25 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

26 droll   

adj.古怪的，好笑的

参考例句：

• The band have a droll sense of humour.这个乐队有一种滑稽古怪的幽默感。
• He looked at her with a droll sort of awakening.他用一种古怪的如梦方醒的神情看着她.

27 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。