Penrod and Sam

by Booth Tarkington

  CHAPTER V. THE IN-OR-IN

  Georgie Bassett was a boy set apart. Not only that; Georgie knew that hewas a boy set apart. He would think about it for ten or twenty minutesat a time, and he could not look at himself in a mirror and remainwholly without emotion. What that emotion was, he would have been unableto put into words; but it helped him to understand that there was acertain noble something about him that other boys did not possess.

  Georgie's mother had been the first to discover that Georgie was aboy set apart. In fact, Georgie did not know it until one day when hehappened to overhear his mother telling two of his aunts about it.True, he had always understood that he was the best boy in town andhe intended to be a minister when he grew up; but he had never beforecomprehended the full extent of his sanctity, and, from that fraughtmoment onward, he had an almost theatrical sense of his set-apartness.

  Penrod Schofield and Sam Williams and the other boys of theneighbourhood all were conscious that there was something different andspiritual about Georgie, and, though this consciousness of theirs mayhave been a little obscure, it was none the less actual. That is to say,they knew that Georgie Bassett was a boy set apart; but they didnot know that they knew it. Georgie's air and manner at all timesdemonstrated to them that the thing was so, and, moreover, their mothersabsorbed appreciation of Georgie's wonderfulness from the very fountof it, for Mrs. Bassett's conversation was of little else. Thus, theradiance of his character became the topic of envious parental commentduring moments of strained patience in many homes, so that altogetherthe most remarkable fact to be stated of Georgie Bassett is that heescaped the consequences as long as he did.

  Strange as it may seem, no actual violence was done him, except upon theincidental occasion of a tar-fight into which he was drawn by an obviouseccentricity on the part of destiny. Naturally, he was not popular withhis comrades; in all games he was pushed aside, and disregarded, beinginvariably the tail-ender in every pastime in which leaders "chosesides"; his counsels were slighted as worse than weightless, and all hisopinions instantly hooted. Still, considering the circumstances fairlyand thoughtfully, it is difficult to deny that his boy companions showedcreditable moderation in their treatment of him. That is, they weremoderate up to a certain date, and even then they did not directlyattack him--there was nothing cold--blooded about it at all. Thething was forced upon them, and, though they all felt pleased anduplifted--while it was happening--they did not understand precisely why.Nothing could more clearly prove their innocence of heart than this veryignorance, and yet none of the grown people who later felt themselvesconcerned in the matter was able to look at it in that light. Now, herewas a characteristic working of those reactions that produce what issometimes called "the injustice of life", because the grown people wereresponsible for the whole affair and were really the guilty parties.It was from grown people that Georgie Bassett learned he was a boy setapart, and the effect upon him was what alienated his friends. Thenthese alienated friends were brought (by odious comparisons on thepart of grown people) to a condition of mind wherein they suffereddumb annoyance, like a low fever, whenever they heard Georgie's namementioned, while association with his actual person became every daymore and more irritating. And yet, having laid this fuse and having keptit constantly glowing, the grown people expected nothing to happen toGeorgie.

  The catastrophe befell as a consequence of Sam Williams deciding to havea shack in his backyard. Sam had somehow obtained a vasty piano-box anda quantity of lumber, and, summoning Penrod Schofield and the colouredbrethren, Herman and Verman, he expounded to them his building-plansand offered them shares and benefits in the institution he proposed tofound. Acceptance was enthusiastic; straightway the assembly becamea union of carpenters all of one mind, and ten days saw the shack notcompleted but comprehensible. Anybody could tell, by that time, that itwas intended for a shack.

  There was a door on leather hinges; it drooped, perhaps, but it was adoor. There was a window--not a glass one, but, at least, it could be"looked out of", as Sam said. There was a chimney made of stovepipe,though that was merely decorative, because the cooking was done out ofdoors in an underground "furnace" that the boys excavated. There werepictures pasted on the interior walls, and, hanging from a nail, therewas a crayon portrait of Sam's grandfather, which he had brought downfrom the attic quietly, though, as he said, it "wasn't any use on earthup there." There were two lame chairs from Penrod's attic and alongone wall ran a low and feeble structure intended to serve as a bench ordivan. This would come in handy, Sam said, if any of the party "hadto lay down or anything", and at a pinch (such as a meeting of theassociation) it would serve to seat all the members in a row.

  For, coincidentally with the development of the shack, the buildersbecame something more than partners. Later, no one could remember whofirst suggested the founding of a secret order, or society, as a measureof exclusiveness and to keep the shack sacred to members only; but itwas an idea that presently began to be more absorbing and satisfactorythan even the shack itself. The outward manifestations of it mighthave been observed in the increased solemnity and preoccupation of theCaucasian members and in a few ceremonial observances exposed to thepublic eye. As an instance of these latter, Mrs. Williams, happening toglance from a rearward window, about four o'clock one afternoon, foundher attention arrested by what seemed to be a flag-raising before thedoor of the shack. Sam and Herman and Verman stood in attitudes of rigidattention, shoulder to shoulder, while Penrod Schofield, facing them,was apparently delivering some sort of exhortation, which he read from ascribbled sheet of foolscap. Concluding this, he lifted from the grounda long and somewhat warped clothes-prop, from one end of which hunga whitish flag, or pennon, bearing an inscription. Sam and Herman andVerman lifted their right hands, while Penrod placed the other end ofthe clothes-prop in a hole in the ground, with the pennon flutteringhigh above the shack. He then raised his own right hand, and the fourboys repeated something in concert. It was inaudible to Mrs. Williams;but she was able to make out the inscription upon the pennon. Itconsisted of the peculiar phrase "In-Or-In" done in black paint upon amuslin ground, and consequently seeming to be in need of a blotter.

  It recurred to her mind, later that evening, when she happened to findherself alone with Sam in the library, and, in merest idle curiosity,she asked: "Sam, what does 'In-Or-In' mean?"

  Sam, bending over an arithmetic, uncreased his brow till it became of ablank and marble smoothness.

  "Ma'am?"

  "What are those words on your flag?"

  Sam gave her a long, cold, mystic look, rose to his feet and left theroom with emphasis and dignity. For a moment she was puzzled. But Sam'solder brother was this year completing his education at a university,and Mrs. Williams was not altogether ignorant of the obligations ofsecrecy imposed upon some brotherhoods; so she was able to comprehendSam's silent withdrawal, and, instead of summoning him back for furtherquestions, she waited until he was out of hearing and then began tolaugh.

  Sam's action was in obedience to one of the rules adopted, at his ownsuggestion, as a law of the order. Penrod advocated it warmly. FromMargaret he had heard accounts of her friends in college and thus hadlearned much that ought to be done. On the other hand, Herman subscribedto it with reluctance, expressing a decided opinion that if he andVerman were questioned upon the matter at home and adopted the line ofconduct required by the new rule, it would be well for them to departnot only from the room in which the questioning took place but from thehouse, and hurriedly at that. "An' STAY away!" he concluded.

  Verman, being tongue-tied--not without advantage in this case, andsurely an ideal qualification for membership--was not so apprehensive.He voted with Sam and Penrod, carrying the day.

  New rules were adopted at every meeting (though it cannot be saidthat all of them were practicable) for, in addition to the informationpossessed by Sam and Penrod, Herman and Verman had many ideas of theirown, founded upon remarks overheard at home. Both their parents belongedto secret orders, their
father to the Innapenent 'Nevolent Lodge (sostated by Herman) and their mother to the Order of White Doves.

  From these and other sources, Penrod found no difficulty in compilingmaterial for what came to be known as the "rixual"; and it was therixual he was reading to the members when Mrs. Williams happened toobserve the ceremonial raising of the emblem of the order.

  The rixual contained the oath, a key to the secret language, or code(devised by Penrod for use in uncertain emergencies) and passwords foradmission to the shack, also instructions for recognizing a brothermember in the dark, and a rather alarming sketch of the things to bedone during the initiation of a candidate.

  This last was employed for the benefit of Master Roderick MagsworthBitts, Junior, on the Saturday following the flag-raising. He presentedhimself in Sam's yard, not for initiation, indeed--having no previousknowledge of the Society of the In-Or-In--but for general purposesof sport and pastime. At first sight of the shack he expressedanticipations of pleasure, adding some suggestions for improving thearchitectural effect. Being prevented, however, from entering, and evenfrom standing in the vicinity of the sacred building, he plaintivelydemanded an explanation; whereupon he was commanded to withdraw to thefront yard for a time, and the members held meeting in the shack. Roddywas elected, and consented to undergo the initiation.

  He was not the only new member that day. A short time after Roddyhad been taken into the shack for the reading of the rixual and otherceremonies, little Maurice Levy entered the Williams' gate and strolledround to the backyard, looking for Sam. He was surprised and delightedto behold the promising shack, and, like Roddy, entertained fair hopesfor the future.

  The door of the shack was closed; a board covered the window, but amurmur of voices came from within. Maurice stole close and listened.Through a crack he could see the flicker of a candle-flame, and he heardthe voice of Penrod Schofield:

  "Roddy Bitts, do you solemnly swear?"

  "Well, all right," said the voice of Roddy, somewhat breathless.

  "How many fingers you see before your eyes?"

  "Can't see any," Roddy returned. "How could I, with this thing over myeyes, and laying down on my stummick, anyway?"

  "Then the time has come," Penrod announced in solemn tones. "The timehas come."

  Whack!

  Evidently a broad and flat implement was thereupon applied to Roddy.

  "OW!" complained the candidate.

  "No noise!" said Penrod sternly, and added: "Roddy Bitts must now saythe oath. Say exackly what I say, Roddy, and if you don't--well, youbetter, because you'll see! Now, say 'I solemnly swear--'"

  "I solemnly swear--" Roddy said.

  "To keep the secrets--"

  "To keep the secrets--" Roddy repeated.

  "To keep the secrets in infadelaty and violate and sanctuary."

  "What?" Roddy naturally inquired.

  Whack!

  "OW!" cried Roddy. "That's no fair!"

  "You got to say just what _I_ say," Penrod was heard informing him."That's the rixual, and anyway, even if you do get it right, Verman'sgot to hit you every now and then, because that's part of the rixual,too. Now go on and say it. 'I solemnly swear to keep the secrets ininfadelaty and violate and sanctuary."'

  "I solemnly swear--" Roddy began.

  But Maurice Levy was tired of being no party to such fascinatingproceedings, and he began to hammer upon the door.

  "Sam! Sam Williams!" he shouted. "Lemme in there! I know lots about'nishiatin'. Lemme in!"

  The door was flung open, revealing Roddy Bitts, blindfolded and bound,lying face down upon the floor of the shack; but Maurice had only afugitive glimpse of this pathetic figure before he, too, was recumbent.Four boys flung themselves indignantly upon him and bore him to earth.

  "Hi!" he squealed. "What you doin'? Haven't you got any SENSE?"

  And, from within the shack, Roddy added his own protest.

  "Let me up, can't you?" he cried. "I got to see what's goin' on outthere, haven't I? I guess I'm not goin' to lay here all DAY! What youthink I'm made of?"

  "You hush up!" Penrod commanded. "This is a nice biznuss!" he continued,deeply aggrieved. "What kind of a 'nishiation do you expect this is,anyhow?"

  "Well, here's Maurice Levy gone and seen part of the secrets," said Sam,in a voice of equal plaintiveness. "Yes; and I bet he was listenin' outhere, too!"

  "Lemme up!" begged Maurice, half stifled. "I didn't do any harm to yourold secrets, did I? Anyways, I just as soon be 'nishiated myself. Iain't afraid. So if you 'nishiate me, what difference will it make if Idid hear a little?"

  Struck with this idea, which seemed reasonable; Penrod obtained silencefrom every one except Roddy, and it was decided to allow Maurice to riseand retire to the front yard. The brother members then withdrewwithin the shack, elected Maurice to the fellowship, and completed theinitiation of Mr. Bitts. After that, Maurice was summoned and underwentthe ordeal with fortitude, though the newest brother--still tinglingwith his own experiences--helped to make certain parts of the rixualunprecedentedly severe.

  Once endowed with full membership, Maurice and Roddy accepted theobligations and privileges of the order with enthusiasm. Both interestedthemselves immediately in improvements for the shack, and madeexcursions to their homes to obtain materials. Roddy returned with apair of lensless mother-of-pearl opera-glasses, a contribution that ledto the creation of a new office, called the "warner". It was his dutyto climb upon the back fence once every fifteen minutes and search thehorizon for intruders or "anybody that hasn't got any biznuss aroundhere." This post proved so popular, at first, that it was foundnecessary to provide for rotation in office, and to shorten theinterval from fifteen minutes to an indefinite but much briefer period,determined principally by argument between the incumbent and hissuccessor.

  And Maurice Levy contributed a device so pleasant, and so necessaryto the prevention of interruption during meetings, that Penrod andSam wondered why they had not thought of it themselves long before. Itconsisted of about twenty-five feet of garden hose in fair condition.One end of it was introduced into the shack through a knothole, and theother was secured by wire round the faucet of hydrant in the stable.Thus, if members of the order were assailed by thirst during animportant session, or in the course of an initiation, it would not benecessary for them all to leave the shack. One could go, instead, andwhen he had turned on the water at the hydrant, the members in the shackcould drink without leaving their places. It was discovered, also, thatthe section of hose could be used as a speaking-tube; and though it didprove necessary to explain by shouting outside the tube what one hadsaid into it, still there was a general feeling that it provided anothermeans of secrecy and an additional safeguard against intrusion. It istrue that during the half-hour immediately following the installationof this convenience, there was a little violence among the brothersconcerning a question of policy. Sam, Roddy and Verman--Vermanespecially--wished to use the tube "to talk through" and Maurice, Penrodand Herman wished to use it "to drink through." As a consequence of thesuccess of the latter party, the shack became too damp for habitationuntil another day, and several members, as they went home at dusk, mighteasily have been mistaken for survivors of some marine catastrophe.

  Still, not every shack is equipped with running water, and exuberancebefitted the occasion. Everybody agreed that the afternoon had been oneof the most successful and important in many weeks. The Order of theIn-Or-In was doing splendidly, and yet every brother felt, in his heart,that there was one thing that could spoil it. Against that fatality,all were united to protect themselves, the shack, the rixual, theopera-glasses and the water-and-speaking tube. Sam spoke not only forhimself but for the entire order when he declared, in speeding the lastparting guest:

  "Well, we got to stick to one thing or we might as well quit! GEORGIEBASSETT better not come pokin' around!"

  "No, SIR!" said Penrod.