Nascent Drama

[The Dork Lord]

"Lookyhere, Huck, being rich ain't going to keep me back from turning robber."

 

[The Dork Lord]

"No! Oh, good-licks; are you in real dead-wood earnest, Tom?"

 

[The Dork Lord]

"Just as dead earnest as I'm sitting here. But Huck, we can't let you into the gang if you ain't respectable, you know."

 

[The Dork Lord]

Huck's joy was quenched.

 

[The Dork Lord]

"Can't let me in, Tom? Didn't you let me go for a pirate?"

 

[The Dork Lord]

"Yes, but that's different. A robber is more high-toned than what a pirate is -- as a general thing. In most countries they're awful high up in the nobility -- dukes and such."

 

[The Dork Lord]

"Now, Tom, hain't you always ben friendly to me? You wouldn't shet me out, would you, Tom? You wouldn't do that, now, would you, Tom?"

 

[The Dork Lord]

"Huck, I wouldn't want to, and I don't want to -- but what would people say? Why, they'd say, 'Mph! Tom Sawyer's Gang! pretty low characters in it!' They'd mean you, Huck. You wouldn't like that, and I wouldn't."

 

[The Dork Lord]

Huck was silent for some time, engaged in a mental struggle. Finally he said:

 

[The Dork Lord]

"Well, I'll go back to the widder for a month and tackle it and see if I can come to stand it, if you'll let me b'long to the gang, Tom."

 

[The Dork Lord]

"All right, Huck, it's a whiz! Come along, old chap, and I'll ask the widow to let up on you a little, Huck."

 

[The Dork Lord]

"Will you, Tom -- now will you? That's good. If she'll let up on some of the roughest things, I'll smoke private and cuss private, and crowd through or bust. When you going to start the gang and turn robbers?"

 

[The Dork Lord]

"Oh, right off. We'll get the boys together and have the initiation to-night, maybe."

 

[The Dork Lord]

"Have the which?"

 

[The Dork Lord]

"Have the initiation."

 

[The Dork Lord]

"What's that?"

 

[The Dork Lord]

"It's to swear to stand by one another, and never tell the gang's secrets, even if you're chopped all to flinders, and kill anybody and all his family that hurts one of the gang."

 

[The Dork Lord]

"That's gay -- that's mighty gay, Tom, I tell you."

 

[The Dork Lord]

"Well, I bet it is. And all that swearing's got to be done at midnight, in the lonesomest, awfulest place you can find -- a ha'nted house is the best, but they're all ripped up now."

 

[The Dork Lord]

"Well, midnight's good, anyway, Tom."