"No, I have already done that," he replied, "but, if you don't mind, I'll wait for you."
"No, no, Father dear," she said, "don't wait for me, for I am afraid it would be a long wait."
He considered for a moment, and decided to leave.
(III)
On his way home, Father Boone had time to review the occurrence at the school earlier in the day. It was the Dunn boy whom the Sister had pointed out, as she told him the little incident. He said the Club boys were "picking on him." It could be that they were retaliating for something connected with the Club affair. He did not like the set of things. But if he could have seen what was occurring in some other quarters, he might have liked the looks of things still less.
After school, Ned and Tommy sought Frank. The Regal High was but a short distance from the parochial school.
"Say, Frank," began Ned, "that Dunn kid is a fresh guy. Today, after bumping into Tommy and me, he got ugly and gave me a kick. I shook him up a bit, and he starts in and blabs about the fight with you and 'Bull.' Afterwards, he told the Sister about it, only he made it ten times worse than it was. To hear him talk you would think we had a free fight over there. He spoke of breaking things and a lot of stuff like that."
Of course Frank saw at once what had happened. Harry had heard his father mention the damaged room. He kept his surmises to himself, however, replying, "O, don't mind that fellow, he's only a kid."
"But, Frank," continued Ned, "if you heard how the thing has spread and how your name is mixed up in it, you'd mind."
Frank laughed off this observation, and tried to turn the talk to something else. But as they walked along, they were stopped by at least three different boys who asked what the row at the Club had been.