"Sir!" "Mr. Alexander, sir!" "Permission to cross your quad, sir!" "Rack that chin in, scumbag." " You look like a piece of shit." " Eyes front, maggot." "Eyes front!" " What's your name, screw?" "Pop off." " Sir, my..." " Shut up!" "Tell me your name." " Sir, my..." " Shut up." " Can't you hear, scum?" "He told you to shut up." " Sir, no excuse..." " Shut up!" "We're gonna break you, boy." "We love to break Knobs." "Mr. Macabbee." "Y'all have a religious belief against washing this car?" "No, but my mama told me, never talk to a man in uniform." "Shoot." "Halt, Bubba." "Pop to, you bum." "What are you doing here so early?" "I'm spending the day in Charleston, sir." "Tell me, Bubba, where does a faggot English major like you spend his summer vacation, huh?" "Havana?" "Peking?" "The Kremlin, sir." "Me and Nikita Khrushchev have been plotting the overthrow of the fiercest fighting man in the United States Army." " Oh?" " A man with the soul of a lion, the heart of an elephant, brains of a gnat, and the sexual organs of a Girl Scout, sir." "And whom might that be, Bubba?" "Why, Colonel Berrineau, sir." "Bubba, you get your ass back here by 1 700." "There's something I want you to do for me." " Is that an order, Bear?" " Bubba!" "It's good to see you." "It's good to see you too, Bear." "Park your car, you go to the left, and then you go right..." "Hey, what's your problem, McClean?" "Got a date?" "Yeah, with Tradd." "I always knew you were cornholing your roommate, you little pissant." "We're very much in love, Macabbee." " Got you!" " Hello, Will." "Henry, be careful of the azalea roots." "Abigail." "Will." "Oh, Will." "Welcome back." "Oh, we all missed you so much." " But I missed you the most." " You did?" "Oh, Will, so much happened this summer." "But it was all so boring I'm not even gonna tell you." "Oh, you are a spectacle." "If I wasn't married to Commerce, I'd teach you a trick or two." " Abigail." " Oh, don't think I wouldn't." " Hey, Will, you get your butt in here." " Go on in, honey, I'll be right back." "Hey, thank God you're back, boy." "Now I can talk to somebody." "Tradd and Abigail think the Yankees is who whupped us in the war." "Sit down." "Sit down." " Oh, the Giants will kill them." " Yeah, I know it." " Senior year, eh?" " Yes, sir." "I'll tell you, Will, in my last year at the Institute," "I had Charleston women buzzing around me like..." " Like flies on a mule." " That's right." "You two." "Well, look at him, Abigail." "Now, that boy looks like a soldier, even if he don't act like it." "Yeah, he is something." "You could put a suit of armor on Tradd, he's still gonna look like a hairdresser." "Commerce, that's perfectly horrible." "Well, will you listen to that." "That's Mozart." "Did you ever hear such a racket?" "Nice." "Come here." "Hey, come on." "Watch the sacred bod, will you?" " How are you?" " I'm fine." "Good." "Good." "Hey, is your side of the room gonna look like the city dump this year?" "Am I gonna be able to breathe in there?" "Boston won." "Oh, they play a game called baseball." "Will, would you explain it to him, please?" "I don't have to ask how your summer went." "No, it was fine." "I was in Europe, and he was locked in his study, as usual." " Doing what?" " Writing in his journal." "Probably about the great disappointments in his life." " Like his son." " Tradd." "Will, this is the key to the house." "You know you don't need it." "You can knock on the door here any time of the day or night, but we all..." "My parents and I wanted you to have it." " Thanks." " Yeah." "Strut out here!" "Get the hell out of here!" "What are you looking at?" "Look at this ugly slat here." "You're supposed to salute, boy." "Poor little mama's boy." "We gonna make you drive to the desert and sleep forever!" "Count off!" "One!" "Delta!" "Delta!" "Delta!" "One, two!" "One, two!" "One, two!" "We ain't running a boys' club around here to see little schoolgirls." "When this goes down..." "Say goodbye now." "Say goodbye to Mommy and Daddy." "Right over there." "Thank you, boy." "Come on down, do you understand?" "Get those knees up!" "Oh, here's Pignetti's kitty." " Hey, Will, put in 5 for me." " Oh, sure." "Oh, God!" "Oh, Mark, you scared the living hell out of me, you wop." "You know, it hurts me when a very ugly person like yourself casts aspersions on my heritage." "Oh, no, no, no, we love all things Italian." "Oil slicks, lube jobs, that kind of thing." "We got nothing against that kind of..." " Excuse me!" " Over there, toe cheese." "Pig." "I can't talk now, paisans, huh?" "Toe cheese here just insulted my girl." " I didn't know you had a girl, Pig!" " It's Mr. Pignetti to you, worm-head!" "Now, watch as I show you the woman you insulted." "Get your eyes off her!" "If you only knew how good she was, how humble and quiet and smart, you'd be so ashamed, you'd beg me to kill you." "What did Gooch say, Pig?" "Go on, tell Mr. McClean what you said." "I asked him if he got any pussy this summer." "You heard it, he said that in front of Teresa." "But, Pig, this is not Teresa." "It's just a photograph of Teresa." "Listen, you kiss the statue of the Virgin, you kiss the Mother of God herself, okay?" "Excuse me." "Gooch." "It's Mark, Gooch." "Gooch, apologize to the photo of Teresa, Mr. Pignetti will let you go." "Come on." "I'm sorry, Teresa." "I'm really..." "What did I say wrong?" "You know, it's all I can do to keep from tearing your tongue out of your head." "Call her Miss DeVito." "I'm sorry, Miss DeVito." "I'm really sorry." " Get out of here!" " Run, Gooch!" "Get out of here!" "Paisans, huh?" "Listen, you know what I learned this summer?" " What?" " How to kill just using my thumbs." " Oh, Pig, you're an animal!" " Squeal!" "What's the name of your company commander?" "What's the name of your company commander?" " What?" "!" " I don't know, sir." " What?" "!" " What are you looking for?" "Fly shit in the sugar." "There." "Over there." " Say it." " Yes, sir!" " Jesus Christ, he showed up." " Say, "I'm ugly."" " "I'm an ugly black boy," you say it!" " I'm an ugly black boy, sir!" "That's it! "I'm an ugly shoeshine," you say it, boy!" " I'm an ugly shoeshine, sir!" " God almighty, damn." "He ain't here to fry chicken or mow the lawn." "That Negro's joining the Long Gray Line." "Yeah, for about one night, till the Corps of Cadets finds out a..." "Yeah, a pickaninny, a jigaboo, a coon." "Why not plain old nigger?" "He's gonna hear them all, and worse, by tomorrow." "What do you want with me?" "A little upper-class teeth." "Bear, you're the commandant of cadets." "I mean, it's your job to..." "It's not my job to play favorites." "No, it's gonna have to be a cadet that runs interference for Mr. Pearce." "Yeah, but interference against the whole corps?" "If that's what it takes." "Oh, Bear." "Are you a racist?" "Yeah, I'm a racist." "I'd like nothing better than to see Mr. Pearce move his black ass right out of here." "Well, then why not let him get pushed?" "Because from now on, Pearce is one of my lambs, and all of my lambs get an even break." "Yeah, but putting my neck out for a..." "Who looked after you when you were a screwup Knob?" "Well, you did, but..." "Who saw something in you besides arrogance?" "Who made you into a cadet?" " Bear, you did." " Bubba." "I'm calling my marker due." "They let him in, huh?" "I can't believe it." "This is gonna be the greatest Hell Night on record." "Christ, a goddamn nigger." "They're gonna rip him to shreds." "So, what's the matter with you, huh?" "Nothing." " What do you mean, nothing?" " I mean, nothing." "Like no thing is wrong." "Nothing." "Hey, listen, you got a problem, you come to your paisans, okay?" "Come on, Will, there's nothing you can't come to us about." "I mean, you want me to hand someone their head or something?" " No." " It's lights out." " Lights out!" " Watch it, watch it." "Lights out!" "Lights out!" "Hey, Will." "Hey, listen, any time you wanna talk, okay?" "Okay." "It's really good to see you guys." " Let's make this a good year." " Yeah." " Pig?" " Huh?" "I was just wondering." "What?" "You get any pussy this summer?" "Any poontang?" "Hey, what are you doing?" "Sir, would you or any other fine, kind, refined Northern or Southern gentleman at this mess care to partake of any food off my plate, sir?" "Well, I don't know." "The meat loaf looks pretty good." "You hungry, Will?" "Go ahead and eat your food." "Come on, mangia." "What are you, a goddamn ballerina?" "Give me some of these peas, boy." "Well, I'll take some of your carrots." "Eat up, boy, that's gonna get cold on you." "You too, Poteete." "Hey, boy, your face is dirty, boy." "You got my arm all wet, Gilbreath." "Looks like a water monkey or something." "Gentlemen, members of the Honor Court, the Institute's Code of Honor is a simple one." "A cadet will not lie, cheat or steal or tolerate those who do." "It is a simple code, but it is a stern code." "There are no second chances here." "One is either an honorable man or one is not." "And the Institute does not forgive." "Make no mistake, gentlemen, life here is hard." "But the rigors of this system produce a superior breed of man." "Something this country needs now more than ever because America is fat." "America is fat, sloppy, immoral, and she needs men of iron to set her on the right path again." "She needs Institute men." "Men you are not now." "But for those of you who have the courage to remain, the men you shall become." "Jeez, I love Hell Night." "Why?" "I don't know." "I'm..." "I'm sentimental, okay?" "All right, fat boys, skinny boys, all you little boys down there, come on, we want you boys now!" "You boys are in for a treat tonight." "It's gonna be a lot of fun." "We're gonna break you, boy." "Gentlemen, the Fourth Year System is now in effect." "Let's go!" " Let's go!" "Come on!" " Class, let's go." "Come on!" "Come on, Will." "Let's go." "It's a party!" "Get up now, boy." "Come on, get up." "Get up!" "You know what this is, boy?" "Pop off!" " It's a quarter, sir." " Shut up!" "Open your mouth and stick out your tongue." "All right, move it." "Let's see those knees on those chins." "Swallow it." "That's good, boy." "That's real good." "You're gonna be my little piggy bank." "Come on, Ken, we're gonna miss the sweat party!" "Let's go." "Come on." "Let's go!" "Go, Seabiscuit." "Mark!" "Mark, Mark, where's Pearce?" "Hey, find your own victims, huh?" "Come on, fat boy!" "Let's go." "Let's go." "Come on." "I hope you said your prayers because we're gonna kill you tonight!" " What do you think of that, huh?" " Nothing, sir." "Shut up!" "I want you to stick your dick in the asshole in front of you!" "You hear me, you vultures?" "You pantywaists!" "You pussies!" "I'm gonna rip your balls off, pal!" "Go on!" "You hear me?" "You pussies!" "You afterbirth!" "I hate you!" "I wanna kill all of you!" " You hear me?" " Freeze, nigger!" "Don't take another goddamn step!" "What's the matter with you, boy?" "Didn't you understand what I just said?" "He's gonna die, sir!" " What?" " He's gonna die!" "He's not gonna die, Mr. Pearce." "He's gonna be just fine." "Keep your..." "Twelve." "Thirteen." "Fourteen." "You better get it up, nigger boy." "They're gonna send you home in a box to your mammy." "Let's shish kebab this coon." "Come on, John, let me hold the sword." "You just keep on, boy." "Nobody told you to stop." "You know the rules, Alexander." "You can have any fun you want, but you touch one hair on any of my lambs, and you'll pay the Bear." "Yes, sir!" "All right, Pearce, pull-ups!" "Move it!" "Get up, you nigger!" "Bubba, don't make me do your job again." " Yes!" "Pull-ups!" " Get up, boy!" "You're dead meat now, boy!" "Let's go!" "Get up!" "What are you doing lying down?" "Oh, God, get up!" "I want you on your feet right now!" "Get up at attention!" "I don't care if you die or not!" "Now, get up!" " You wanna become a man?" " Yes, sir." "Well, you better start working on it right now!" "You know what I mean?" "Get rid of that stomach!" "You can't be a scumbag in this school!" "We only have men here!" "You wanna stay around?" "Shut up!" "I don't wanna hear you anymore!" "I want you to either become a person or nothing, okay?" "You can get out of here tonight or else you can become a man!" " You understand me?" " Pig!" "Pig, stop it!" "Pig, stop it!" "I'll take care of Poteete." "I'll take care of it." "Come on, big boy!" "Come on home to Daddy!" "They can't make me leave here." "I don't care what they do to me." "They can't make me leave here." "They can't make me leave here." "They can't make me leave here!" "Well, then, Poteete, you can't cry." "You've got to stop crying, or they're gonna run you out." "You can't cry or piss in your pants or nothing." " I've never pissed in my pants." " Yeah?" "Neither did a friend of mine till Hell Night." "Then he couldn't stop pissing in his pants." "But they'll run you out if you cry." "I won't cry." "Morning mess formation in two hours." "Want everybody sleeping soundly." "Morning mess formation in two hours." "Get to sleep in there!" "Pearce." "Pearce." "Shut up." "Go to sleep, man." "I can't." "Pearce!" "Come on." "Help!" "Look down, mister." "Pop to, mister." "Silence." "Silence." " Do you know who's behind you?" " No..." "The Ten." "The Ten is behind you." "You'd be better off stepping forward than stepping back into the hands of The Ten." "You face us, boy, you're going on the ride." "You're going down the hole." "Don't move!" "Don't turn around." "Fall in!" "Come on, maggots." "What are you looking at?" "Rack that chin in!" "Rack it in!" " Rack it in!" " What are you doing?" "I'm gonna have your ass for breakfast." "I'm gonna have your ass on toast." "What are you looking at?" "You wanna look up my butt?" "I'll stick your head up my butt." " What are you looking at?" "!" " Shut up!" "Shit." " Who...?" "Who is that?" " That's Poteete." "Poteete!" "Goddamn it, you fat faggot, get down here!" "Eyes straight ahead." "You stay in formation." "Poteete, get down from here." "I can't, sir." "Why not?" "They won't let me." "Poteete, there's nobody up here." "I don't wanna face The Ten." "If I face The Ten, I'm going on a ride." "What?" "I'm going down the hole." "Who told you that?" " But, sir, I..." " Poteete." "I'm tired, sir." "Come on, we'll get you in the cooler." " No!" " It's the infirmary, Poteete." "The infirmary so you get some sleep." "Get some sleep." "Just get some sleep." "Come on." "Goddamn." "Oh, shit." "What do you mean?" "Come on, what do you mean?" "I mean, the Bear's ordered me to look after Pearce," " And that's exactly what I'm gonna do." " Some people don't belong here." "Is that the way you feel?" "I don't want us to fight over the system." "No, let's fight about it if that's what he wants." "Okay, Will, you're against the system." "You're against patriotism." "We all know what you're against." "Now tell us what you're for." "Us, here in this room." "And Pearce." " Why?" " He doesn't belong here." "Why the hell are you doing this?" "Well, how about because it's right." "Oh, I get it." "I understand now." "Will is a candidate for sainthood." "That's it." "We gotta wire the pope." "St. Will, protector of niggers and all other forms of alligator bait." "Forgive us, Will, for we have sinned." "Oh, pray for us, Will, now and at the hour of our death, amen." " Oh, please help me pass biology." " Make us nice to niggers." "Intercede for us, Will." "We're just the dirt on your shoes." "So good." "So right." "So clean." "Kick me in the teeth, St. Willie." "The general wants to see you." "Durrell?" "I don't even have any demerits yet." "The great man waiteth, Bubba." "Sir, Cadet McClean reporting as ordered, sir." "You have lint on your blouse, Mr. McClean." "I sent for you because I noticed that you didn't participate in Hell Night." "No, sir." " Why?" " Well, sir, as I didn't like it very much when it was done to me, and I didn't want to do it to anybody else." "There's a statement here in your record that you applied for admission to the Institute" " At the request of your dying father." " Yes, sir." " He figured it'd make a man of me, sir." " But your record during your Knob year indicates anything but manly behavior." "It's childish." "Yes, sir." "If it hadn't been for the..." "If it hadn't been for Colonel Berrineau, I don't think I would have made it." "Well, let's be glad that the colonel could help." " Let's see, it's Will, isn't it?" " Yes, sir." "At ease, Will." "How do you think I feel about Hell Night?" " Well, I don't know, sir." " I hate it." "I loathe deliberate cruelty because I'm a soldier, not a sadist." "But, Will, you have to understand the purpose of the Institute." "We are called to produce something special, almost unique in this day and age:" "the whole man." "The system is hard, but it's fair." " And more importantly, it works." " Yes, sir." "It's just..." "Yes?" " Well, sir, will it work for Mr. Pearce?" " Pearce?" "What's your interest in Mr. Pearce?" "Oh, well, the whole school's interested in Cadet Pearce, sir." "Let me tell you something, Will." "I've seen combat in two wars." "And I've seen heroism." "But I've never seen greater courage than that displayed by Mr. Pearce when he walked through our gates." "The system will work, even for Mr. Pearce." "Yes, sir." "But for it to work, Will, it needs..." "It must have your active participation." "Even in the hazing of Knobs, sir?" "Certainly hazing of Knobs." "That's part of your duty, Will." "The Institute is asking for your help." " So am I." " Yes, sir." "Well, that's all I have to say." "Thank you for coming in, Will." "Bear, what's The Ten?" "The what?" "The Ten." "That's a funny question, Bubba." "Is it?" "Why?" "Well, when I was a cadet here, back before the beginning of time..." " When dinosaurs ruled the earth." " That's right, Bubba." "Well, back then, they used to say that the cadre sleeps," "Corps of Cadets sleeps, but The Ten, they don't never sleep." "I guess everything comes back around sooner or later." "Don't you know, Bubba, nothing ever changes around here?" " Yes, sir." " And that's the way I like it." "Except for Pearce." "Except for Pearce." "What's the hole, Bear?" "Well, the hole is where The Ten will take you if you cross the Institute in thought, word or deed, even in your dreams." "Into the bowels of the earth, into hellfire." "Even if you come out alive, you wish you was dead." "Is the hole a real place?" "Is hell a real place?" "I don't know." "I don't know either, Bubba." "But I know one thing, I sure as hell don't wanna go there." "You know what I mean?" "Will!" "Will." "Poteete." "What?" "Stupid ass, get off the roof!" " Get down, boy!" " Come on, boy, get down!" "Poteete!" " What the hell's going on?" " Poteete!" "Poteete!" "If I do this, they'll leave me alone!" "Who?" "They'll let me be a cadet, and they'll let me wear the ring!" "Who, Poteete?" "Who?" "!" "Poteete!" "Jump!" "Oh, God!" "You know, I think the general's at fault for letting somebody like Poteete in." "Or Poteete's father." "Now, he should've known that the guy was unbalanced." "You and I were not the toughest guys to ever walk in Durrell Gate." "We went through Hell Night, and we didn't go crazy." "Yeah, but it was something else." " It was somebody else." " Somebody else what?" "Somebody didn't want Poteete in." "Got scared, thought he might stick it out." "Who is this?" "I don't know." " Just something Poteete said." " Was this after he cracked up?" "Yep." "Tell me something, you wouldn't let Pearce in here, would you?" "Not unless he came to cut the grass." "Will, I don't have anything against Pearce." "It's just the way it is." "It's just the way it's always been." "Get your knees up this high, boy." "Why don't you just get the hell out of here, make it easier on everybody." "Don't worry about me, sir!" " Dumb-ass." " They won't run me out, sir!" "Well, if they try, I wanna know about it." "Sir?" "Come to me, just me." "You understand?" "If anything happens, anything weird, anything at all, you tell me." "This is gonna be the last time we talk, so if you've got something you wanna say, leave a note for me in the library, in a book called The Decline of the West by Oswald Spengler." "Hasn't been checked out in the history of the Institute." "Okay, get down and give me some pushups, impress the white trash." "Goddamn these fucking logarithms." "I say, fuck English lit." "Fuck it in the nose!" "Fuck it in the ear!" "Hey, hey, look." "Guys, I was just kidding with Gooch about Teresa's picture, you know that." "But it makes me feel kind of funny to hear that kind of language going on when I can see her face right in front of me." " That's ridiculous, Pig." " I know it is, but I can't help it." "Turn her picture to the wall." "I couldn't do that." "She inspires me to study this shit." " Shit?" "Now you said it, "shit."" " You see what I mean?" "It's always "fuck," "shit," "piss," all the time around here." "I mean, if she could hear this, it would embarrass her." " Now, Pig, this is a photograph." " I know that." "It can't see, smell, hear, taste, right?" "Mark." "Now, Mr. Santoro, if you'd please address a few obscene remarks to this totally inanimate photograph." "Jesus, would you look at the tits on that bitch." "Pig, how we doing?" "Okay." "Tradd." "My, but I would dearly love to play a little hide the sausage with that spectacular piece of wop ass." "Pig?" " She can't hear you." " Huh?" " She can't hear you!" " Attaboy!" "Hi, baby." "How would you like a hot flesh injection with the old pork sword, huh?" "Nine inches of steaming kong up that tight little..." "I'm gonna kill you for that!" "Platoon!" "Attention!" "Left, right, left." "Bubba." "Bear." "How's Mr. Pearce making out?" " He's okay, I guess." " You guess?" "There are no notes in Decline of the West." "Well, what do you hear?" "He's taking a lot of shit." "He's tough." "One tough nigger." "That's good, huh?" "Makes your job a whole lot easier." "Yeah, lucky me." " Hey." " Hey!" "Carolina, keep us faithful" "True to duty True to thee" "God of battles Guard our homeland" "Keep her steadfast Ever bravest" "Bound to freedom Pride and glory" "Fabled still In song and story" "By the ties Of ring and line" "Carolina, keep us strong" "Gentlemen of the fourth year, be seated." "Tonight, it is my privilege to welcome you to the brotherhood of the ring." "The fellowship of the line." "The ring is a sacred symbol of the Institute and its ideals." "Those of you who wear it will, for the rest of your lives..." "Gentlemen, I had a rather long speech prepared to deliver to you this evening, but less than one hour ago, I received a message, which I believe expresses the ideals of the ring far better than any words which I can command." "With your permission," "I would like to read it to you." ""To General Bentley Durrell, commander, Carolina Military Institute." "General:" "It is my sad duty to report to you the death of your son, Jack." "He was killed while practicing parachute descents." "It may help you to know that it was a simple accident, that no one was at fault," "and that your boy suffered no pain." "He was a fine soldier." "Considerate, intelligent," "and always attentive to his duty."" "Gentlemen." " The ring." " The ring." " The line." " The line." "I wish I was in the land of cotton" "Old times there are not forgotten" "Look away" "Look away" "Look away, Dixieland" "In Dixieland Where I was born in" "Early on one frosty morning" "Look away" "Look away" "Look away, Dixieland" "And I wish I was in Dixie Hooray, hooray" "In Dixieland..." "What's the matter, boy, you forget the words?" "No." "No." "I know the words." "These are the finest young men in the world, Will." "And you're one of them." "That ring on your finger says so, and I say so." "That I wish I was in Dixie Hooray, hooray" "In Dixieland I'll take my stand To live and die in Dixie" "Away, away Away down south in Dixie" "Away, away Away down south in Dixie" "You gonna leave my school, mister?" "No, sir!" "Face right!" "Ready!" "Cover." "All present and accounted for, Mr. McClean." "Thanks, Mr. Macabbee." "All right, turd-brains, dismissed." "I told you we never talk." "Never." "Why don't you answer the notes, then?" " What?" " Why don't you answer the notes?" "Move out, Pearce." " What the hell are you talking about?" " I left four notes." " I told you I was scared." "I said..." " That's bullshit, Pearce." "I check The Decline of the West every day." "What did the notes say?" "What are you doing?" "Oh, goddamn!" "Who did this to you?" "It was in the dark." "Like with Poteete." " And he said..." " Who was it?" "I don't know." "But he said if I don't get out in two weeks, I'll be going on a ride." "I'll be going down the hole." "And even if I get out alive, I'll wish I was dead." "I swear to God, I'm gonna find out who did this to you." "I've earned the right to be here!" "Whatever it takes, if I could just see it coming..." "All right, all right." "Now, we gotta find out who's been intercepting the notes." " Who's your roommate?" " I don't talk to him." "I don't talk to anybody." " What about yours?" " Shit, no." "No one knows but you and me." "Somebody else knows." "Somebody else knows." "Forward, march!" "Left." "Left." "Left." "Left." "Left." "Squad, halt!" "Attention!" "Ready, face!" "Draw swords!" "You!" "Excuse me." "Here we go." "Oh, be careful." "Why, Teresa, what is that?" "It's a miniature ring." "It's supposed to mean we're engaged to be engaged." "But it really means we're just plain engaged." " Pig." " To be married." "Let me just show you something." "My daddy thinks he's gonna be the next General Patton." "General?" "!" " Old Blood and Guts Pignetti." " Santoro." "That's what we call him around the dorm." " Don't you listen to them, now." " All right." "Congratulations, my dear, to the both of you." "Thank you." " They're happy." " Sure, they'd better be happy." " Mr. St. Croix." " Good evening, colonel." "Hi, Mrs. Bear." "That's Mrs. Berrineau to you, Pignetti." " Yes, sir." " Excuse me, dear." " Sorry." " Evening, Santoro." " Pretty lady you got with you." " Charlotte, this is the colonel." " Let's get some punch." " Bubba." " Some punch?" " Yeah." " Here you are." " What the hell's going on, Bubba?" "I don't know, colonel." "Are you gonna tell me what this is all about, or you just gonna go on acting like a goddamn asshole?" "Yeah, I'll talk to you if you want, but not here." "Come on, then." " I wanna hear this." " Will you excuse me for just a minute?" "All right, Bubba, shoot." "Why didn't you tell me The Ten was real?" "I never said The Ten wasn't real." " You said..." " I said, it was a legend." "Look, Bubba, back where I grew up, back in Greenville, they used to say that the Klan nightriders was ghosts of Confederate soldiers killed in the war." "Now, that was legend." "The Klan was real." "You're trying to put me off the track, Bear." "What happened, Bubba?" "Tell me what else you know about The Ten." "They used to say it was made up of the ten outstanding cadets of each senior class." "All of them sworn to uphold the honor of the Institute against anyone or anything." "And all of them sworn on their lives to secrecy." "You wouldn't know who any of The Ten was" " Unless you was one of The Ten." " But the officials knew about it?" "Nobody knew about it for sure." "Except The Ten." "Why didn't you tell me this before?" "Because what the hell does it matter?" "Ten, nine or 29, it's all just cadets, just like yourself, just like all the rest of them." "Unless the Institute's behind it." "What are you talking about, boy?" "Well, you want Pearce out of here as bad as anybody." " I never said I didn't." " But you had to keep appearances up, so you appointed somebody to look after him." "Somebody like me, a screwup, wouldn't get in anybody's way." "What happened, Bubba?" "Why in the hell did you take Pearce's notes?" "I never took anybody's notes." "I'm scared of you, Bear." "Why?" "Why are you scared of me, boy?" "I'm scared you lied to me." "Because if you lied to me, then everything you told me about being a cadet, and everything I've been through, and everything Mark and Pig and Tradd's been through has been a joke." " Now, listen, Bubba." " If ten guys can go around in the dark, can change the rules any time they want and get away with it, if that's the honor of this Institute, then that ring is a piece of crap." "It's a piece of shit." "You get out of my sight, boy." "You're making me sick." "Mr. McClean, you got a lot of growing up to do." "The whole thing seems a little silly to me, Will." "The Ten, the Cracker Jacks, the Milwaukee Braves, who the hell cares?" "It's still just a bunch of assholes beating up a nigger." " So, what else is new?" " It's not just beating up a nigger." "It's running a cadet out of here because somebody doesn't like his face." "Pearce took everything this place had to dish out." " And that's the system, buddy." " Right." "And Pearce beat it." "He made it." "And that pissed somebody off, and now they wanna change the rules." " They wanna change the system." " Hey, listen, you guys." "I spent everything I had on Teresa's gardenia." "Now, how about a little contribution to even up the kitty?" "All even." "Just a loan, guys, okay?" "Will, look, this Ten stuff is probably just some crap they made up" " To spook Pearce." " Well, I'm gonna find out." " And I want you guys to help me." " Whatever you say, paisan." "Let's go." "You don't even know what I'm talking about." "I don't gotta know." "See, I love to rack ass." "White ass, black ass, yellow ass, I don't care." " Mark?" " Forget it, Will." "We only got a little while till graduation." "I say we sit tight." "Well, I'm not gonna sit tight." "You know what you're doing, Will?" "You're putting our friendship on the line" " For somebody you don't even know." " Yeah, that's what I'm doing." "I'm putting our friendship on the line." "Now, how about it?" "Okay, Will, I'm in." "What the hell." "I'd rather get my teeth kicked in than memorize a periodic table any day." "Tradd?" "How's it going, Will?" "How you doing, guys?" " Bobby." " Good to see you." " How are you?" " Come on, Bobby, sit down, huh?" "Yeah, sit down, Bentley." "Tell me, you still pissing in your pants, or did that clear up?" "No, Mark, since I left the Institute, just cleared right up." " Hey, to Frank Sinatra, okay?" " Tradition." " To the Institute." " Don't be an asshole." "I'll be glad to drink to the Institute, if that's what you want, Mark." "Whatever it means to you." " So, what do you want to know, Will?" " I wanna know about our Hell Night." " When you disappeared." " I didn't disappear." " The hell you didn't." " I was taken." " Taken, my ass." " Taken by who?" "Well, you don't see much when you're blindfolded and thrown in the trunk of a car." "They said, "You're going on the ride." "You're going down the hole." " And even if you come out alive..."" " You'll wish you were dead." "That's right." "It started out like a regular sweat party, then it got worse." "How worse?" "L..." "What'd they do to you?" "I'll never say what they did to me." "Well, Bobby, I mean, why didn't you say anything to the Bear" " Or some TAC officer?" " Why don't you go to hell!" "When I was riding back in the trunk of that car," "I thought nobody wanted to wear that ring as much as me, but now..." "I decided then I didn't want any part of that school." "And I still don't." "You got dealt some bad cards, huh, paisan?" "That's all." "Listen, Bentley, did you hear any names or any nicknames?" "Not until about a year ago." "I was in this bar when I heard a voice from that house." "How do you know?" "Because I nearly pissed my pants when I heard it." "Well, who was it?" "Who was the bastard?" "Come on!" "I didn't know him then, but I had my girlfriend ask around." "His name is Dan Mclntyre." "He's in first-year law here." "He was our battalion commander our Knob year." "First-class prick!" "Drink up, Bobby." "You swear he said that about Teresa?" "I swear." "If I was you, I'd..." "Here he is." "Shut up." "Nail him!" "Hey!" "Let go of me!" "It's coming." "Who are you?" "I'm a professional lawyer." "Yeah, well, counselor, you just answer a couple of questions, we'll let you go." "Otherwise, you can try being a professional lawyer without any legs." "What the hell is this?" "!" "All right!" "All right!" "What do you wanna know?" "Are you a member of an organization known as The Ten?" " Never heard of it!" " He never heard of it." " Oh, well." " Sing, you little shit!" "You wear the ring!" "You'd do this to one of your brothers?" "Bye-bye, brother." "All right!" "All right!" "I'm in The Ten!" "Now, let me go!" " Where's the hole?" " What?" "Where is the hole?" "!" "Mclntyre, I'm a nice guy, don't make me leave you here." "Mclntyre, where is the house?" "Come on!" "The house is General Durrell's plantation on Pritchard Island." "Now, cut me loose!" "Sorry, Mclntyre, you didn't give us enough time." "There just ain't enough time, buddy!" "Oh, Jesus!" "Jesus!" "You bastards!" " Where's Pearce?" " They took him." " Who took him?" " They took him in the dark!" "Shit!" " I'm going." " I think it's too late, paisan." " It's way too late." " Well, it doesn't matter, I'm going." "The barracks are closed, Will." "You'll never get past the guard." "Hey, what do you mean?" "He wants to go, he goes." "Will." "What the hell's going on here?" "Let's waste him right now." "Come on, boy!" "Oh, a stinking nigger." "Get your stinking nigger out of here." "This isn't funny, is it?" "You gonna leave my school, you goddamn nigger?" "No, sir!" "We're gonna kill us a nigger tonight." "Do it again." "Let's juice him!" "Juice him." "Juice him." "Settle down, little pussy!" " Let's set this coon on fire." " All right!" "On fire!" " Fire." " On fire, boy." "He's gonna burn." "He's gonna burn." "Yeah!" "He's gonna burn." "Show him how it is." "Sir, I'll leave!" "Please, sir!" "I'll leave, sir!" "Please, sir, I'll leave, sir!" "Please!" "I'll leave, sir!" "I'll leave, sir!" "I've got you, you bastards!" "Goddamn it!" "I seen your cars." " I know your names." " Come on!" "Kill him!" "Go get him!" "Come on!" "Better run, you faggot!" " Let's get him!" "There!" " I want that son of a bitch!" "Don't let him get away!" "Pig, cut him off!" "Get him, Caine." "We got him!" "Get him!" "Get him." "Cut him off!" "I got him." " Let's go!" " A surprise!" "Alexander!" " Saving your ass again, McClean." " Let's go!" "Come on, let's hurry up!" "Right now!" "Come on!" "You deserve this pain." "I should pickle your head." "Hey, paisan, you missed the big one." "Yeah, somebody had to let you fools back into the barracks." "Oh, we got their names too." "Alexander, Gilbreath, Braselton, Collins." "Yes, and they've got the general." "Which leaves us up shit creek." "Will, I'm ready to stomp anybody any time." "It won't help." "I say we're lucky if we graduate now." "I say we make peace with them." " What?" "!" " I say we kick ass!" " Pearce." "How you doing?" " Fine, sir." "Fine, huh?" "Last time I saw you, you smelled like a gasoline station." "Sir?" "Hey, at ease, Pearce." "I'm talking about them throwing gasoline on you." "No one's throwing gas on me, Mr. McClean." "What are you talking about?" "Hey, boy." "How'd you sleep last night?" " I slept fine, sir." " What?" "!" "Good." "I don't think Mr. McClean slept so well." "He's been talking like he's been having some nightmares." " Yes, sir." " Pearce?" "You bastard!" "Take it easy, McClean." "The nigger's safe as long as he keeps his mouth shut." "So are you." "Now, you got what you wanted." "This is a truce." "What I want are your balls on a plate, and I'm gonna get them." "What are you gonna do?" "Go tell the Bear?" "No, I'm not gonna tell the Bear." "But I'm gonna tell some people." "Maybe newspapers." "I got ten friends who will swear I was studying in barracks last night, and I'll swear the same about them." " Only because it's true, McClean." " Oh, go to hell." "On the other hand," "I don't like aggravation." "Now, you start spreading fairy tales about this Institute, and you'll be out on your ass, McClean." "And you can take your roommates with you." "It can be arranged." " You leave my roommates out of this." " It's too late for that, McClean." "I'm gonna stop this." "I don't know how, but I'm gonna stop it." "Dead." "Okay, if that's the way you wanna play it." "Oh, by the way, did you hear what happened to poor, old Bobby Bentley?" "What about Bobby Bentley?" "He fell down a stairwell at Columbia this morning." "Broke his arm." "Real klutz, huh?" "Just goes to show you, McClean, you gotta be careful and smart." "Room, attention!" "It's a setup, Will." "They were watching me." "Shut up, Mr. Pignetti!" "Mr. McClean," "I'm remanding this cadet to your custody until 2400 hours, when you will see that he reports promptly to a special convention of the Honor Court." "This cadet has been accused of stealing and informed of his rights and obligations under the Institute's Honor Code." "Do you understand my report, Mr. McClean?" "Yeah." "Yeah, I do." "Pig, what happened?" "It's ridiculous." "They saw me taking some gas out of Will's car." "Oh, Jesus." "I knew you wouldn't mind." "They said I was stealing." " How could I steal from you?" " You couldn't." "You and Tradd gotta defend me." "You guys gotta explain how it is." "Your Honor, I would like to call Senior Private McClean to the floor." "Mr. McClean, will you tell us how you felt when you heard that Mr. Pignetti had been accused of stealing gas from your car?" "I was relieved." " Why would you be relieved?" " Your Honor, this is ridiculous." "Overruled." "Why would you be relieved?" "Well, if it had been any other car, then Mr. Pignetti might well have been guilty of stealing, but in our room, we share." "We borrow from each other." "There's no way he could've been stealing." "Then, as far as you're concerned," "Mr. Pignetti had a kind of implicit permission to take gas from your car." "To take anything." "It was understood." "Then you, as the so-called victim in this case, state that nothing was stolen from you." " Nothing." " Thank you, Mr. McClean." "You may sit down." "I just have one or two questions for Mr. McClean." "Now, Mr. McClean, I'm sure that we're all touched by the communal arrangements between yourself and your roommates, but they're not really pertinent to this case." "What we want to know is, did you or did you not give Mr. Pignetti specific permission to take gas from your car on this specific night?" "Well, not specific permission, but we had a..." " Thank you, Mr. McClean." " Yeah, but we had an ongoing..." "Thank you, Mr. McClean." "You may sit down." " Yeah, but..." " You may sit down, Mr. McClean." "Your Honor, I would like to call Cadet Dante Pignetti to the stand." "Why, Mr. Rowland, you're aware, and I'm sure the defense counsel is aware, that no cadet is compelled to bear witness in a case against himself." "I don't mind talking." " Mr. Pignetti, you understand?" " I understand." "Proceed." "Mr. Pignetti, you must be very impressed by the loyalty of your friends." " I am." " I think we all are." "I think all of us are willing to forgive a friend who's transgressed against us." "It's human nature." "But the Institute's Code of Honor embodies an ideal that transcends human nature." "Not all of us can live up to it, but all of us have to try." "Your Honor, I object." "The prosecution is making a speech." "I'm merely trying to point out, Your Honor, that what Mr. McClean feels now about Mr. Pignetti's action is not pertinent here." "The Honor Manual defines stealing as taking property without due authority." "Now, goodwill between roommates does not constitute due authority." " Your Honor..." " What is your question, Mr. Rowland?" "I will simply ask Mr. Pignetti the question that I asked Mr. McClean." "Mr. Pignetti, did you or did you not receive specific permission to take gas from Mr. McClean's car?" "Well, I..." "It's a very simple question, Mr. Pignetti." "Yes or no will suffice." "No." "No!" "Gentlemen, we'll adjourn." "Gentlemen." "At 0200 hours, this court delivered to General Durrell a verdict of guilty in the case of Cadet Dante Pignetti." "Accompanying the verdict was a strong recommendation for leniency." "The recommendation for leniency was denied." "This court will reconvene on the parade ground in two hours for final action." "Mr. St. Croix, as defense counsel, you will confiscate Institute property." "What does he mean, "Institute property"?" " You gotta give him your ring." " No!" " Pig, give him the ring." " No!" "It's mine, okay?" "Give him the goddamn ring." "The Honor Court has met and found Pignetti, D.A., guilty of stealing." "His name will never be mentioned again by a member of the Institute." "Let him go from us forever." "Let him begin The Walk of Shame." "Turn." "Get laid, asshole." "Come on, turn around, that's the way it's played." "Platoon, attention!" "Dust on the press." "Four demerits." "Lint on the cover." "Four demos." " You gotta be..." " Shut up, Mr. McClean." "Shoes not polished to Institute standards." "Three demos." "Fingerprints on the brass." "Three demos." "This place is a goddamn pigsty." "One of you boys been pissing in this sink?" "Five demos." "All right, move, tough guys!" "Move it!" "Move it!" "Move it!" "Go on!" "Get up." "Get up." "Move it!" "So at least we know how they're gonna do it." "Yeah, they're gonna run us out on excess demerits." "It's foolproof." "All they gotta do is keep hitting us with those." "Everything from stains on our underwear to dirty light bulbs." "How many you got now?" " Thirty-two." " Will and I got 35 each." "I figure we'll be out in about three days." "Hey, was it worth it, Will?" "Four years down the drain for a nigger?" "It wasn't for the nigger." " It was never for the nigger." " No." "It was for you." " So you could be a hero." " Shut up, Tradd!" "We went along with him." "We didn't have to." "I'm sorry, Will." "So, what are we gonna do?" "Just sit here and take it?" "Nope." "No, there's something I can do." "What, Will?" "Just me." "It doesn't involve you guys." "Alexander." "I got a deal for you." "No deals." "You had your chances." "I think you're gonna like this one." "I'll resign today if you lay off Mark and Tradd." " Now, that might be acceptable." " Good." "But you deliver your resignation to me, in writing." "All right." "McClean." "You forgot to say thank you." "Thank you." " Down easy." " All right, right in the water." "I don't know, paisan." "It's not right." "Of course it's right." "I got you into this, I gotta get you out." "What do you make of that?" "It's Commerce." "And Mclntyre." "Yes, sir." "We come down to check on the water, make sure it's still here." " What Tradd wants to do..." " Man, don't talk about it here." "Jesus Christ, I hope your car's out there." "Don't worry." "Well, I hope it starts." "This is our last shot, Will." "You got the key?" "Yeah, I got the key." "When Commerce was in France, he bought himself a whore." "Don't read the personal stuff." "Oh, right, we don't wanna pry." "Jesus Christ." "What?" "Mark, what?" "It's from his junior year." ""Later on that evening, after Corps Day," "I was inducted into a secret organization known as The Ten."" "Commerce." "He has a list of The Ten that goes way back." "Here's Durrell." "God almighty." "But Bear's not in here." "Well, he's probably got a list of The Ten for every year since he's graduated." "Let's get them, buddy." "Take a look at our year." "Shit, somebody's here." "Son of a bitch." "Come on, let's get out of here." " Why, that son of a bitch." " Come on, Wilkes." "Come on, come on." "Forget it." "Let's go." "Will?" "How long did you know?" "Since last night." "I read Commerce's journals." "You bastard." "That key..." "You remember our roommate's name?" "Do you?" "I do." "But I'm not allowed to say it." "Help me say it, Tradd." "Help me say our roommate's name, Tradd!" "Will, stop!" "You don't understand about The Ten." "It isn't about what they did to Pearce." "It's the ten finest cadets of the senior class." "Oh, please." "Look, it's people like my father." "It's the only thing I ever earned in my whole life." "And it meant something to him." "You earned our friendship." "All right, then give it to me now, Will." "I didn't like what The Ten was doing." "I was trying to make them stop." "I was working from the inside." "Will, I'm sorry about Poteete." "I'm sorry about our roommate." "Were you sorry when you informed on him?" "Were you sorry when you sat around collecting demerits with me and Mark when you knew you weren't gonna get kicked out?" "You called the plantation when I was out there with Pearce." "You took Pearce's notes." " And you blew it for Bobby Bentley." " Will, will you just listen?" "When The Ten ruled that you guys had to go, I argued for you." "I pleaded." "I told them that I could use our friendship to keep you quiet." "Tell Commerce I only read what I had to." "Will, wait." "Get out of here, mister." "Go back outside and knock." "No, sir." "I've come here to give you my terms." "If you think I'm going to be impressed by the insolence of a goddamned impertinent schoolboy, you are very much mistaken." "Your papers of expulsion are right on this desk." " Don't you sign that." " Give me your ring, mister." "Are you out of your mind?" "The power of The Ten is secrecy." "I'd call it cowardice, but that's not important." "What is important is that I know the secret." "Good morning, general." "Mr. McClean here tells me that you're running him out of the school." "I'm not running him out of school." "I'm expelling him for excess demerits." "I wonder, sir, if I could take this opportunity to accuse you of being a goddamn liar." "Mr. McClean has given me a list of The Ten over the past 30 years and of the boys they've run out of the school." "I've contacted 1 2 of those boys." "They've all volunteered to swear, in court, if necessary, that they were taken to your plantation house their last night as cadets." "Do you understand what you're doing?" "Now, you may recall on numerous occasions you told me that the activities of The Ten were as mysterious to yourself as they were to me." "That wasn't exactly true, now, was it, general?" "What do you want, colonel?" "It's your hand now, Bubba." "You play it." " I got three demands, general." " I'm waiting, Mr. McClean." "First, we graduate." "All of us." "That means that our roommate, Cadet Dante Pignetti, be enrolled in the fall so he can complete his term." "Yes." "Second, that The Ten be dissolved." "Dissolved and acknowledged before a general assembly of cadets." "And?" " And your resignation." " My resignation?" " You want my resignation?" "!" " Hell, yes!" "You know what those boys went through down the hole." "I hold you personally responsible for it!" "Now, if you'll have a look out the window, you'll see Mark Santoro holding 50 letters addressed to reporters throughout the state." "In them is a brief description of The Ten, a list of their names, including your own, general." "And their activities." "Words like "kidnapping" and "torture" are used." "If I walk out of here without my ring," "Mark's gonna mail every damn one of them." "I order you to stop this!" "No, sir, it's too late for that." " Because you'd do it, wouldn't you?" " You bet your ass, general." "I think it'd be best for the school and for you if you were to retire quietly after the end of the school year." "Mr. McClean, your terms are acceptable." "Sir." "Mr. McClean." "I know how you must feel about me." "You saved my life, and I turned my back on you." " You did what you had to do, I guess." " Yes, sir." "See, I'm the first, and if I don't make it, the next nigger has my record around his neck like a rock." "You'll make it." " I'm counting on you to make it." " Yes, sir, I will." " Now, move your ass, Pearce." " Yes, sir." "Thank you, sir." "So long, Bubba." "So long, Bear." "I'll be seeing you." "You forgot something." "No." "Go on, take it." "You earned it."