Mercy Curtis, who had a sweet voice, now commenced to sing the marching song of the school, which had been adopted by the Sweetbriars and made over into a special sorority song. Sitting on her bed, with her arms clasped around her knees, the lame girl weaved back and forth as she sang:
"'At Briarwood Hall we have many a lark—
But one wide river to cross!
The River of Knowledge—its current dark—
Is the one wide river to cross!
Sweetbriars all-l!
One wide River of Knowledge!
Sweetbriars all-l!
One wide river to cross!
"'Sweetbriars come here, one by one—
But one wide river to cross!
There's lots of work, but plenty of fun,
With one wide river to cross!'"
"Altogether!" cried Heavy. "All join in!"
"The dear old chant!" said Helen, with a happy sigh.
Ruth had already taken up the chorus again, and her rich, full-throated tones filled the room:
"'Sweetbriars all-l!
One wide River of Knowledge!
Sweetbriars all-l!
One wide river to cross!'"
"Once more!" exclaimed the girl from Montana, who could not herself sing a note in harmony, but liked to hear the others. The chant continued:
"'Sweetbriars joining, two by two—
There's one wide river to cross!
Some so scared they daren't say 'Booh!'
To the one wide river to cross!"
"That was us, Ruthie!" broke off Helen, laughing. "Remember how scared we were when we walked up the old Cedar Walk with The Fox, here, and didn't know whether we were going to be met with a brass band or a ticket to the guillotine?"
The Fox, otherwise Mary Cox, suddenly turned red. Ruth hastened to smooth over her chum's rather tactless speech, for Mary had been a different girl at that time from what she was now, and the memory of the hazing she had visited on Ruth and Helen annoyed her.