left without even putting the stopper on the ink
bottle, let alone picking up the scribbled and torn papers.

Chapter II

The New Quest

The diplomats had hardly gone ten minutes when Father Boone came into
the Club to get something he had forgotten in his indignant exit. On his
way down from the office he passed through the library, and of course
noticed the disordered papers on the table. The sheets were scribbled on
and scratched and some were crumpled and torn. He paused to put things a
bit in order, and his eye caught his own name on one of the papers. It
began, "Dear Father Boone," and the same salutation headed several more
of the sheets. "Oho, what's this?" he exclaimed. As the note was
addressed to him, and lying there on the open table, he read:

"Dear Father Boone, I want to tell you in writing what I could not say
to you in person. I tried to but somehow I could not."

This is as far as it went. On the next page he found the following: "If
I could only let you know that what hurts us most is that" and there it
stopped. Another page had this, "I am sure there is something besides
what we know, because we have done nothing that should so...." and there
it ended.

He recognized Dick's handwriting on another sheet which read as follows:
"Dear Father Boone, the boys realize that you must have a good reason
for your dis....". That was the abrupt ending. "We know from experience
that you never pun....." No more. Evidently Dick had got stuck fast.

The next pile of paper seemed to have little or nothing on the
sheets. The first page the priest took up had "Ned" written all
over it. For variety there was here and there "Ned Mullen."
Evidently Ned was hard pressed for a start when he filled that
sheet. On the next page there was a little more variety, but
not much more literature. Here and there over the page were
scrawled the names of Ned--Ned Mullen--Hank--Dick--Father
Boone--Bull--and a drawing of a dog. Poor Ned must have been hunting
hard for a good introduction.

Father Boone sat down near the table. His thoughts had taken a new
turn. These lads, he recalled, were on the committee. Evidently they
wanted to set something before him, and were very much in earnest about
it. Such insistence indicated a serious state of affairs. He should have
heard them out instead of withdrawing in indignation. Still, he had done
that only to impress them with the seriousness of their conduct.

When they saw his