"--and of all the crowd only two had a
right to speak, because only two had actually taken part in the fight.
Frank had tried to see Father Boone, without success thus far--and Bill
evidently was steering clear of the affair.

Even then, why should a scrap cause the director such great worry--they
thought--unless he was angry because it had happened right after what he
had said about Bill, and had resulted in his leaving the Club. As for
Frank--well, every boy knew that he would do the same himself under the
circumstances.

As for Father Boone, the more he thought of the whole affair, the more
he was sure of his first decision. It was a free fight in which most of
the boys had had some part; only Frank deserved special censure because
he had failed in his official capacity. By now the director was
beginning to be concerned about Daly who had not appeared at the Club
since the disorder. He did not want the boy to get away from his
influence and so decided to call at his home.

While the boys were discussing the advisability of sending a committee
to the director, he was on his way to Daly's house. When he got there,
he was met at the door by Mrs. Daly. She was a large slovenly woman. The
home was like herself. It was on the top floor of a side street
tenement. A dark and crooked stairs led up to it. Father Boone reflected
that some people were like that stairway, and when he reached the top
floor and saw before him Bill Daly's mother, he thought that poor Bill
was to be pitied more than anything else. "I must hold on to that boy if
possible," he mused. "After all, it's not they who are well who need the
physician, but they who are ill."

Mrs. Daly conducted him into a dirty room. He was asked to please pass
through to the parlor. Groping his way through two dark bed-rooms, with
no light or ventilation except from a small window opening upon a shaft,
he came to the parlor. Apparently, it was more of a clothes room than
anything else. On the couch, which was a bed at night, on the table, and
on the chairs were articles of wearing apparel. Father Boone had to
remove an armful of assorted garments from a chair to get a seat. His
hostess was not at all concerned. It was her normal surroundings.

Mrs. Daly was glad to see the priest. Her heart was good and her
religion meant something to her in spite of everything. But she was
dragged down by conditions, like many another. Some natures are superior
to environment. Hers wa