The boy received the Sacred Host with intense reverence and joy. He crossed his arms in prayer. After a short while, he turned to his mother and said, "God wants me, mother."
She responded, "The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord."
The father came over to his son, and taking his hand kissed it, saying with a voice of suppressed emotion, "Good-bye, Willie, pray for your poor old Dad."
"Good-bye, Dad. A kiss."
His eyes caught Frank kneeling beside the bed and he faintly smiled at him.
Then, to his mother, "Good-bye, Ma."
She kissed his forehead tenderly. He looked up a moment, and closed his eyes. Father Boone and Frank were just saying, "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death," when the mother gave a gasp and said, "My Willie is dead!"
(V)
On the way home an hour later, Frank and the priest walked for a while in silence. Each had his own thoughts. In an indefinable way, the priest showed a marked respect for the boy. He understood all now, "A truly noble boy," he kept saying to himself. But Frank occupied only a part of his thoughts. The mysterious ways of God's Providence furnished him food for reflection. "A soul saved, a life lost," he said to himself, as he considered the reform of Mr. Daly and the death of Bill.
Frank, too, had his thoughts. His tired head was full of all he had seen and heard of Bill's life and family. Bill was a "victim of circumstances." "What if my father had been like his?" he asked himself. "I have never thanked God enough for my good father and mother." Then he was glad both for Bill's sake and for his own that Bill had gone to confession. In his own relief at knowing that the strain of misunderstanding was ended for both himself and Father Boone, he expected the priest momentarily, to refer to the subject. When they had gone a distance in silence, Frank burst out—the first words between them since leaving the hospital.