ld call a
little _man_. He was quiet, thoughtful, affectionate and very wise.
Frank and Dick were close friends. Dick thought that Frank was the
finest boy in the world, and Frank had intense admiration for Dick's
fearlessness and candor.

"Well Frank, what's up?" asked Dick.

"O, is that you, Dickie boy?" replied Frank.

"Yes, it's me, but you are not you," answered Dick. "What's the matter?
I guess I know."

"Well, what?"

"You are worried over the 'Bull' and the racket," whispered Dick.

"Put it there, kid," replied Frank, extending his hand. "You are a wise
lad, you struck it right."

Dick was two years younger than Frank, but he had an old head. That made
them confidants.

"Come upstairs, Dick, I want to talk to you."

Alone with Dick in the secretary's room, Frank began:

"Father Boone will be here soon. I don't know just how to act. If I
considered myself only, it would be easy. I'd go and make a clean breast
of the whole affair. But there is Daly, and the crowd. I know that
Father Boone is tolerating a lot from Bill because he has hopes of
setting him right. It'll be an awful blow to him if he knows that the
crowd is down on Bill and that the secretary was the cause of it. I know
you'll say that I'm not the cause of it, that I did only what any fellow
would do. But we fellows of the Club aren't just any fellows. A whole
lot's been done for us, extra. And especially for me. I got all that
last night, before I struck back. But gee, I lost my head when he called
me a girl, and simply had to fight. I kept thinking of it all last night
and what Father Boone'd say. Not that he minds a fight. You remember on
the outing last month, two fellows had a scrap. He just said, 'It's
better to let the bad blood out than to keep it in.' He didn't even ask
who they were. And he never wants any tattling either. That is why I
feel this affair so much, and also because Daly is concerned. Father
Boone is so terribly decent with us that I just hate to think he will be
disappointed in any of us, and that I couldn't take Daly's slurs and
laugh them off."

"You big boob," put in Dick after listening gravely to all. "You'd be
just what he called you if you did that."

"I know, I know," repeated Frank, "but I feel terribly sore about the
whole thing."

"Take my advice, Frank, go direct to Father Boone when he comes in, and
tell him the whole thing from A to Z. He'll understand. Besides, I'll
bet a hat he knows it already.