When Father Boone left Mrs. Mulvy and Frank, he had indeed troublesome thoughts for companion. The conviction that Frank knew a good deal about the matter was now absolutely sure. Evidently, also, the boy was in some way implicated in a conspiracy of silence. His whole appearance showed that he was holding back something and that he was doing so reluctantly. His complete collapse indicated a great interior struggle. It also showed that the boy was naturally high-minded and noble. For otherwise, he never would have broken down, as he did.
But what was holding him back? Why should he fear to trust the director? He found no answer to free him from his quandary. He would gladly settle the whole matter, and regard the affair closed, if he considered only his own feelings. But his duty to the boys must not be shirked because it caused present pain to himself or others. "Better to have a tooth pulled," he said, "than to have it the source of future trouble."
When Father Boone entered his room, he found several letters on his desk. They were mostly Church matters. But one was different. It was on better quality of stationery than the ordinary. The envelope and the paper bore a monogram. Opening it, he found these lines:
Dear Father Boone:
I want to thank you for all your kindness to John. Enclosed is a little contribution for the Club. Hereafter, it will be impossible for John to attend the Club meetings, and so I request you to drop his name from membership.
Sincerely yours,
Julia Harkins.
(Mrs. John Harkins.)
To Rev. Jerome Boone, S. J.
John Harkins resigned from the Club!... Anyone who knew Father Boone's ideas about the Club would have understood at once what this resignation meant to him. Mrs. Harkins' letter didn't explain why it was "impossible for John to attend the Club" but it was clearly written between the lines. John Harkins was a boy enjoying exceptional home advantages and his refinement, manliness and social standards made him just the type to give "tone" to the Club.
Mrs. Harkins was rightly very careful of the associations her son formed, and Father Boone had been her guarantee that in the Club John would mingle with perhaps poor, but good and manly boys. Evidently rumors of the affair had reached her.
"The Club is discredited! The director has been asleep. Cockle in the field. And here I am sitting and allowing the weeds to grow and the wheat to be choked. I will get to the bottom of this at once. With the Club's name in question, I am certainly justified in drastic action—in probing the matter directly. I will send for Mulvy right away. I should have done it long ago."