Fifth Business Study Guide

Part III ' My Fool-Saint

Dunstan gets enrolled as a student in University College in Toronto during the fall 1919. He became an honors history student and was paving the path towards being an academic. He becomes financially secure because of the money he got from selling his parents' home. He also managed to sell his father's printing press but still hasn't seen much of the money that came from it. He also gets a small annual sum because of his awarding of the Victoria Cross.

Percy also started to attend university in Toronto. Like Dunstan, he rechristens himself as Boy Staunton. He sees himself as the epitome of greatness. He styles himself after playboy and royal, Prince of Wales. Boy was studying law, but he was better known for his moneymaking abilities and attracting women. Boy turned his already-wealthy father into a millionaire by converting their sugar beat business into a refined sugar business. He also makes some of his money in the stock market.

Boy takes a brotherly liking towards Dunstan, as aside from his parents, Dunny is the only link that he has to his past. He also sees Dunny as a great confidant because he is not tainted by greed, unlike the rich elite of society. Dunstan goes along with Boy, but he still has some resentment towards him. Boy rewards Dunstan with good stock tips as a thank-you for his friendship. This allows Dunny to continue his academics and eventually get his Masters degree. Dunstan keeps all of Boy's secrets, eventually calling it 'œThe Fifth Business.' Boy continues his lifestyle as a playboy and constantly cheats on Leola, claiming that his cheating means nothing because he is not in love with the girls that he's sleeping with. Not able to cope with the lifestyle of being rich, Leola eventually sinks into depression.

After he completes his Masters, Dunstant pursues a career at Colborne College for Boys. He becomes comfortable with his position that he is rarely seen not studying or teaching. As a result, he becomes a victim to rumors concerning his sexuality due to the stereotype of bachelor teachers being repulsed by women's companionship. At this time, he is 26-years old and, thanks to Boy's stock advice, living comfortably because of 8 thousand dollars. Dunstan travels back to Europe to search for the statue of the Virgin Mary with the face of Mary Dempster, the one that he saw before he passed out and lost his leg. Dunstan has some difficulty retrieving it, and develops an obsession over Roman Catholic saints. He becomes enamored with the mysticism of sainthood. His study of saints is actually an extension of his encounter with his own saint, Mary Dempster.

Boy continues to educate Leola about the finer things in life, but despite being in love with her husband, she still fails to adjust. When the Prince of Wales visited Canada, he met Boy. Boy gets tasked to become the tour's aide-de-camp. He finally got the royal validation that he's been itching for a long time.

One day, a man named Joel Surgeoner visits Colborne College to conduct a lecture. He is the head of Lifeline Mission in Toronto, an organization that helps the poor and destitute. Dunstan does not share Joel's belief of God delivering during times of great need. When Surgeoner confronted Dunstan about this, Dunny recognizes him as the hobo that they caught Mary Dempster with during that night in the gravel pit. He invites Dunstan to the mission. Dunstan paid him a visit and Surgeoner explained to him how Mary Dempster provided him with unconditional love during that night. That event actually changed Surgeoner's life for the better. Dunstan recognizes this as the third miracle that Mary Dempster has done.

Dunstan makes up his mind to visit Mary Dempster and gets the address of the aunt that she was staying with in Weston from the magistrate, who insisted that it was Dunstan who threw the snowball that changed the Dempsters lives. Dunstan denies his accusation. He takes the address and pays a visit to a Catholic priest. He decided that his saint has already performed three miracles, thus deeming her eligible to become a proper saint. The Catholic priest laughs at his suggestion. The priest tells Dunstan that the Catholic Church is the only one that can deem someone eligible to become a saint, not a teacher like him. He adds that Dunstan's brother, Willie, was never actually dead and that the image that he saw inside the ruined church was merely hallucinations brought on by his injuries. The priest continues that Mary Dempster is a 'œfool-saint,' just a perceived saint who doesn't really amount to anything.

Not brought down by the priest's remarks, Dunstan continued on to Weston to pay Mary Dempster a visit. She is not forty years old, but looks happy and healthy. She blocked out most parts of her past life and has no recollection of Dunstan. Bertha Shanklin, Mary's aunt, is overprotective of her niece. She is cautious about Dunstan's intentions and made him go away. However, Dunstan managed to warm up to her, letting her agree to allow Dunstan to visit them regularly.

Dunstan returns to his post at Colborne College and resumes his daily activities. It is now 1929, when the famous stock market crash hit the world. It's fortunate that Boy has advised Dunstan to sell all of his stock prior to the crash, letting their wealth unscathed and intact from Black Friday. Dunstan continues to search for saints in Europe. During his visit to the tiny village of Tyrol, he encounters the Le grand Cirque forain de St Vite, a travelling circus. It's a rag tag affair, but Dunstan is completely enamored by the performances. Dunstan sees a magician that he recognizes to be Paul Dempster. After pestering the magician to divulge his real name, he finally admits that he is indeed Paul Dempster. However, Paul told Dunstan that he wants nothing to do with him or his past. Excited by what he discovered, he pays for a round of drinks for everyone in the company. The bearded lady told Dunstan in confidence that Paul only performs with the circus out of sheer loyalty to the owner. The owner's name is Le Solitaire and he was the one who rescued Paul from life in Deptford. Paul requests Dunstan to keep him a mystery from his mother, Mary. Dunstan is stunned with his discoveries and finds that his wallet is missing.

Notes: Dunstan's maturity becomes more evident with this part, as he has already become an established part of society.