Saturday at eight
o'clock
they all exclaimed with enthusiasm , `` We will ! we will ! '' And then they made haste to dress as if the millennium could be hurried here by the rate at which they put on their clothes . Beth then and there composed a terrible oath , binding them to secrecy and obedience , and swore them all in solemnly ; then she chose one for her orderly , who was to take round the word on occasion ; and they were all to meet again in the fields behind the church on Saturday at eight o'clock . But in the meantime , not a word ! Beth made Charlotte captain of the band ; and drills , bathing rites , and other mysteries were regularly conducted , the girls being bound together more securely by the fascination of Beth 's discourses , and the continual interest she managed to inspire , than by any respect they had for an oath . Beth 's interest in them extended to the smallest detail of their lives .