The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1919-08-02
OPPORTUNITY
written for The Catholic Bulletin by
A. McC.)

Bill RaQIOrQ was messenger boy
out of school hours; one of those in
tense souls, all wrapped up in the
movies, of the w. S. Hart variety
mostly. The life of the frontier an
pealed to him, and, while his mother
frequently predicted that his craze fol
the movies would bring him to nc
good, it was, on the contrary, his
greatest protection. When mounting
dark stairways of questionable abodes
he was, in his own mind, ASCENDING
Arizona mountain tops, bareback, on
his famous steed. While delivery
notes between people of low morals
he was, actually, delivery important
communications in regard to the flood
ing of the Bloody Gulch Mines. And
when taWdry, overdressed women
smiled upon the boy, he never knew
what they were doing. | doubt if he
always saw them. Do you believe it?
There are those whom Heaven thus
protects, and Bill raced through the
city streets, and amid the haunts OF
vice, unscathed
His mother did what she could
She made him take his bath once a
week; she kept his clothes mended;
she deplored his "spendthrift" pro
pensities, and was glad of one thing
Bill had no time for girls. Five
years ago, she had lost her husband
and had gone to work in a department
store. Her mother kept house fol
them, and, now that Bill was earning
something, too, they were even com
Portable, in a small way. Like sc
many, many people nowadays, they
meant to be good, perhaps called
themselves God-fearing, but religion
bothered them-not at ALL Sunday
was legitimate sport day, the work
ingman's holiday, and was so regarded
when it came around.
1t was at this time, when Bill was
thirteen years old, that he fell in love
with a man. Do not smile: every
boy that is worth anything has to fall
in love with man, and it generally
strikes this age. The fellow Bill
chose to fall in love with was twenty
five, good-looking, well-dressed, col
lege-bred, and, strange to say, of {
Sunday School department. By al
signs, Bill should have Stunned thai
type, which earns the invariable scorr
of all right-minded miners, pros
pectors, and cowboy heroes. But sucl
was Bills fate, and you shall heal
how it happened.
He was going by the Settlement
House one evening whistling his ia
vorite tune, beautiful Ohio or what
ever it was, when boy on the Settle
ment steps hailed him.
Hi, Bill! Come on in!''
What for?"
Come on! We want you Come on!
Bill sauntered over. His companion
seized him by the sleeve and begar
pulling him in.
Say, you oughter hear this guy
Boy Scout talker"
"Aw-Boy Scout. Who wants tt
hear about them?" Nevertheless, he
allowed himself to be led into the
auditorium, where young man was
talking to a bunch of city young
sters on the joys of tramp through
the woods. He had arrived at q
breathless moment, the kindling of g
campfire, scientific scout style, under
the open sky. He went on to the bak
ing of the fish, which had been caught
prior to Bills entrance. You never
saw movie artist command more APT
attention than those kids" were &C
cording that Sunday School gentle
man. Well, all | can say is, Bill haG
fallen head over heels in love with
the scout master before the campers
had fairly gotten out their jack knives
to attack the feast. He was a little
mortified, though, afterward, at the
impression he must have made.
The scout master was taking the
names of those indicating a desire tc
become scouts
William Radford?" he asked. II
seemed his name was Mr.. Wells.
Bill, for short" said the messenger
boy, and then bluShed.
why, that's my name, too" said
Mr.. Wells, genially, pretty good name
for us fellows, what?"
'You betcha." roared out Bill, and
turned redder than ever. Just his
luck! Why couldn't he have said
something elegant and original to this
wonderful man? Something that
would have put him in a class by him
self, as it were, and commanded adj
miration. But, as you see, by this
time he was perfectly helpless.
1t was hard for Bill to bend his
neck to the new rule of living. He
managed, however, to stay in the club
Wells at least two or three times a
week. Then he had to find a church