will burn you like that. And then the
eldest, who has a special name which I can't remember, tattoos on him
the word Taum, that is Be Silent or Die, and a heart with the name of
a girl. Robert says that if he had known me sooner he would have chosen
"Gretchen." I asked him what name he had tattooed on him, but he said
he was not allowed to tell. I shall tell Oswald to look when they
are bathing and to tell me. In this society they abuse the masters
frightfully and the one who thinks of the best tricks to play on them
is elected to the Rohon; to be a Rohon is a great distinction and the
others must always carry out his orders. He said there was a lot more
which he couldn't tell me because it's too tremendous. Then I had to
swear that I would never tell anyone about the society and he wanted
me to take the oath upon my knees, but I wouldn't do that and he nearly
forced me to my knees. In the end I had to give him my hand on it and a
kiss. I didn't mind giving him that, for a kiss is nothing, but nothing
would induce me to kneel down. Still, I was in an awful fright, for we
were quite alone in the garden and he took me by the throat and tried
to force me to my knees. All that about the _society_ he told me when
we were quite alone for he said: I can't have your name tattooed on me
because it's against our laws to have two names but now that you have
sworn I can let you know what I really am and think in secret.

I couldn't sleep all night for I kept on dreaming of the society,
wondering whether there are such societies in the high school and
whether Dora is in a society and has a name tattooed on her. But it
would be horrible to have to strip naked before all one's schoolfellows.
Perhaps in the societies of the high-school girls that part is left
out. But I shouldn't like to say for sure whether I'd have Robert's name
tattooed on me.

August 15th. Yesterday Robert told me that there are some schoolboy
societies where they do very improper things, but that never happened in
their society. But he didn't say what. I said, the stripping naked seems
to me awful; but he said, Oh, that's nothing, that must happen if
we're to trust one another, it's all right as long as there's nothing
improper. I wish I knew what. I wish I knew whether Oswald knows about
it, and whether he is in such a society or in a proper one and whether
Father was in one. If I could only find out. But I can't ask, for if I
did I should betray Robert. When he