Racetrack Higgins found himself whistling as he made his way back to the lodging-house that evening. It was dark, but he could find the place in his sleep. The sky was lit from below with street lights, blotting out the stars as they scattered among the black blanket that covered all of New York. Race knew he should be sleeping, but his body buzzed with excitement, he went to the track earlier that night after selling off all his papers. It had been a pretty good day, but he knew he'd have to get up tomorrow and do it all over again.
Turning the corner that led to the lodging-house, he got the strange feeling that he was being watched. It didn't surprise him necessarily; he just won quite a nice sum of money and someone was bound to want a piece of it. He already argued with the men he won against, many threatening to call the Bulls if he took the payout; funny how they were all willing to take his money, but vile once they had to dish it out. Ignoring the feeling, he kept his pace, trying to be quiet the closer he got as to not wake anyone. There used to Race coming in and odd hours, and most of the Newsies slept pretty hard considering they were out on the streets all day, but many, especially Jack, kept on high alert.
He heard a noise to his right, a sharp sound that was exceptionally jarring in the otherwise deserted street. He stopped a moment, glancing around him, trying to see into the darkness, but came up empty. It wasn't far now, but he quickened is pace it just a little. After a moment, the sound came again, bouncing off the surrounding buildings. Racetrack stopped again, more curious than afraid, and peered once more into the shadows, trying to summon the source of the sound. All at once, a guttural sound came from behind him and he whipped around. The man stood there, bizarre smile on his face, one that could be mistaken for a smirk. For a moment, Race didn't move. The man was clearly drunk and Race wasn't sure what he might do. "Nice job tonight." The man spoke, showing his teeth. He was wearing a dark colored suit, his tie askew, his shirt untucked. Rice didn't recognize him from the track, but then there were a lot of men there.
"Thanks." He managed. "Have a nice evening." He figured the man could be a potential customer so we didn't allow his strange appearance to bother him. Turning his back on the odd man with the eerie smile may not have been his brghtest decision, but Race is more eager to get back to the lodging-house then he had been, his nerves jumping like electricity. Jamming his hands in his pockets, he finished his trek to the lodge, making his way to his bunk, where he stashed the money under his pillow for future use. He fell asleep surprisingly quickly, despite the original buzz, the strange guy all but forgotten.