Frank's hat may not have been worth much, but it seemed to be the limit of his disposable property—to judge by the extreme earnestness with which he risked it. At all events the boys felt that Frank was keenly convinced of his position, and as he was always careful about his conclusions, they were inclined to agree with him.
(IX)
In this frame of mind the chums parted. The others went directly home. Frank made some excuse for loitering and as soon as they were gone, took his way in the direction of the hospital. It was fully ten o'clock, and the hospital was nearly a mile off. He had to walk, but by a combination of brisk walking and occasional sprints, he got to the place in short time.
Everything was quiet about the immense building. In the main vestibule Frank found a matter-of-fact, middle-aged man standing behind a desk, over which was a sign—"Bureau of Information." Several people were seated on a long bench nearby, waiting to be conducted to friends or relatives who were patients, or to get word of their condition.
Frank approached the desk timidly, and said to the clerk, "May I ask, sir, how William Daly is?"
At the words 'William Daly,' there was a scream and a flutter from the bench, and in a moment a woman stood before Frank and put her arms about him, crying as she did so, "Do you know my Willie? Are you one of Father Boone's boys?" Without waiting for an answer, she went on, with sobs and exclamations, to give a fond mother's estimate of the best boy in the world.
As Mrs. Daly told of her Willie's affection for her, she broke down completely. The clerk summoned a nurse. Mrs. Daly was taken into a side room, and under the firm but kind management of the nurse, she soon calmed down. Frank, although so tender-hearted, was not an expert at giving sympathy. Indeed, it was good that he was not, for in Mrs. Daly's hysterical condition, sympathy would have made her worse. The excitement was hardly over when word came from the office that William had regained consciousness, and that he was out of danger. The messenger also added that he was sleeping quietly, and that it was not advisable to disturb him now, but that his mother would be welcome to see him in the morning.
Mrs. Daly turned to Frank. "You are one of Willie's friends?"
Frank reflected on the fight and the contemptuous terms that Bill had used toward him, but he also remembered their final talk, and so replied without hesitation, "Yes, Mrs. Daly."
"Oh, he was the good boy to his mother! And it's a hard time of it he's had, with no one knowing how much the poor boy went through to help his mother. O Blessed Mother of God, help him from your place in heaven!"