BOOK ONE: YESTEIt.DA Y 97 corruptive elements. "Very weil," he said. "1'11 remernher that, Oppermann. Be seated." Berthold went to his seat, What he had done was certainly not very wise. He could see that by his enemy's attitude, by the light that Bashed in his eyes. But if he were to be given a choice again, he would da the same thing. He could not apol.. ogize to that man. The other decided to practise moderation at all costs, But he could not resist calling out to the boy, as he sat down among the others: "Perhaps some day,Oppermann, you will be glad if people are satisfied with such amends," His voice was casual hut just this tone emphasized his triumph and his scorn. "We'll go on now with our reading of Kleist," added Bernd Vogelsang and thus concluded the incident in .a lofty man- ner, 16 The report of what had occurred spread rapidly through the whole school. Even Rector Franccis heard of it before the morning was over. He was not surprised when Senior Master Vogelsang paid rum a visit, Vogelsang scarcely allowed himself a disapproving glance at the bust of Voltaire, so full was he of the recentevent. But he kept hirnself in hand, deliberately avoided all exaggeration, and gave an accurate account of the matter. Franccis listened to him with evident uneasiness, His small, well-kept hands stroked his trim moustache nervously. "Unpleasant," he said several times after Vogelsang had finished. "Exceedingly un- pleasant."

THE OPPERMANNS "What steps do you intend to take to punish the boy Opper- mann?" inquired Vogelsang in a restrained tone. "He's a conscientious lad," was Rector Francois's opinion, "particularly interested in German essays and his lectures. No doubt he had carefully prepared his manuscript. Perhaps we ought to have a look at it before we come to adefinite decision. It is probably a case of lapsus linguae. In that event it would be amistake, with all due respect to your feelings, my dear co1- league, to punish a slip of the tongue too severely." Vogelsang raised his eyebrows in astonishment. "In my opinion, Herr Rector, it would be impossible to punish such a case too severely. At a time when the shameful peace treaty, the treaty of Versailies, is creating havoc, a young chap has the audacity to decry by means of insipid logic one of the most sublime of German achievements. While we Germans, espe- cially we recognized Nationalists, are having such an immeas- urably hard struggle to awaken our people, a schoolboy, a mere child, insults the efforts made by our forefathers to shake off their chains. Such behaviour would perhaps have pleased your friend Voltaire, Herr Rector. But how anyone can take the trouble to look for excuses when a boy belonging to a school which, after all is a German one, reaches such a height of presurnption, that, I must frankly confess, is more than I can understand." Rector Franccis stirred uneasily in his chair. The thin, rosy skin of his face twitched. He was almost as much disturbed by the fellow's phraseology as by his topic. The bombastic Ger- man, the ranting, mass-meeting oratory made hirn physically uncomfortable. If only the chap were nothing more than an opportunist. The warst of it was that he sincerely believed the gibberish he was talking. Due to an inferiority complex, he had encased himself in an armour of the cheapest nationalism, through which not a ray of commonsense could penetrate. And he, Francois, had to listen to all this rubbish with atten-