the room. The boys
soon followed, for it was late. One by one the others left, and the
father and mother were alone with their dead. They sat silent for a long
time. Then Mrs. Daly touched her husband's arm and said, "Michael, let
us kneel down and say the 'Our Father,' the way Father Boone did."

Chapter VII

Knighted

The day after the funeral of Bill Daly, Frank was on his way down to
school when he met Dick and Ned.

"I say, Frank," began Dick, "don't you think you better do something
about that Club row?"

"There's nothing to be done, as far as I can see, Dick."

"That's because you're not hearing what we hear. But it won't be long
before you get it, too. It's just got to us, because they know we're
friends of yours."

"Well, in the name of Sam Hill, what is it you hear?" asked Frank.

"Want it straight?" asked Ned. "The word's round that the Club is going
to be disbanded, and that you're the cause of it. I almost got into a
fight with the first guy that told me."

"Yes," added Dick, "and they say that the best fellows are getting out
on account of you."

"Where did you get that?" asked Frank.

"Some one saw three or four of the fellows' mothers coming from the
rectory the last few days, and one of them asked Joe Rooney if his
mother was going to let him stay in the Club. You know Joe's father
keeps a store on 42nd Street and is somebody. Well, Joe is true blue
even if he is a dude, and he said, 'Why shouldn't I stay in the Club?'
She said, 'Oh, I thought all the decent boys had left. I can't have my
boy ever put his foot in that place again, with that pack of rowdies.'"

This was news for Frank, but to their surprise he showed little concern.

"Don't you see, Hank," said Dick, "that you are getting in bad. If a lot
of mud is thrown, some will stick. It's easy to give a fellow a bad
name, but it's hard to get rid of it. Why don't you do something? I am
sure Father Boone also will get a lot of annoyance from it, unless you
clear yourself."

But Frank did not seem to mind. It was so unlike him that Ned said, "If
we didn't know you so well, Frank, we'd think you were mixed up in it
ourselves."

"Yes," declared Dick, "to one on the outside it looks bad for you. That
Dunn kid told everybody that you were over to see his father and then
someone else blabbed what happened in the Club, that you owned up to
knowing all about it. Putting two and two together, they have built up
an ugly story, and