Disclaimer: Okay, if Larry wasn't good enough, meet Pierre! "Ello, I am ze French dude Pierre. And my friend and I do not own Newsies, whatever zat silly zing is, anyway. Just a bunch of silly Amer-ee-can boys singing. What is ze point of zat?" "Thank you, Pierre. Now, go insult something else, will you?"
"Okay," Spot said to Mush and Blink. Jack was now with them too. "On da count a tree, we splits up, ya got it?"
"Get on wit it!" Mush whispered fiercely. "I jus' wanna get it over wit 'fore we gets caught!"
"Suddup, Mushy," Spot replied. "Why does I always hafta tell ya dat anytime we does somethin' involvin' a plan? Huh?"
"Aw, come on," Blink interceded for his friend. "He don't mean ta be disrespec'ful."
"Guys!" Jack whispered loudly. "Shut it! Remember where we are?"
"Shh!" Spot hissed. "Did you heah somethin'?"
Everyone was silent for a minute, and then it came again: "Jack? Spot? That you?"
The four boys turned and saw, in the ground floor window just behind the gates, Moth. "Moth!" Spot exclaimed, still whispering. "How'd you get in der? Dat's Snider's office!"
Moth rolled her eyes. "Sheesh, don't ask questions! I need your help! You have to get us out!"
The boys exchanged a look. "Us?" Jack asked.
Another girl appeared at the window. Her hair was reddish-brown and hung in curls, if they were a bit bedraggled. "Yes! Us!"
"We can't be stagin' a major jailbreak scene—" Spot began, but then he stepped closer to the gate just as the other girl stepped into the light, nearer to the window. "Unless," he added quickly, "we can come up wit a plan. Quick!"
Five minutes later, Moth and Emma were in position at the upstairs window of their original room. Mush was slowly being lowered down from the roof by Blink, and Spot was ready with his slingshot on a ledge on the adjacent window. Jack was climbing in Snider's office window, and now all they needed was a signal. Moth ducked away from the window and walked slowly toward the door to the hallway. She took a deep breath and assured herself that the plan would work perfectly. She and Emma had told the others in their room about it, and then spread to word to the other rooms by young boys who volunteered to serve as messengers. "One…" Moth whispered to herself, "Two… three." Then she closed her eyes and—
SCREAMED!!
Outside, the boys all winced in unison as they heard the ear-splitting shriek fill the night, long and shrill.
Moth kept screaming until she felt Snider grab her shoulders. "What's the matter with you?" he bellowed.
She stopped creaming and yelled hysterically, "SPIDERS!! SPIDERS!! GIANT SPIIIIIII-DERRRRRRRSSSSS!! NOOOOO!!"
Snider, clearly furious, pulled her out into the hall and stood with his back to the room, just as planned. Moth barely hid a smirk. Behind Snider's back, one by one, kids were sneaking down the hall to the window, where mush was helping them all out and onto the roof.
"Girl!" Snider hollered above Moth's shrieking. "Shut your mouth! I don't care how large those bugs were, you will obey and BE QUIET!" his voice rose, intimidating to the average jailed orphan, but it almost made Moth smile. All the racket was drowning out the sound of footsteps on the roof, the escapees climbing down to the ground, and Mush's occasional 'oof!'s, whenever the rope swung dangerously or someone was hard to lift up to the roof. Moth continued to yell and jabber nonsense, while she looked past Snider to see that there were only a few more to go, and then…
"SHOOT, SPOT!" she screamed, as loud as she could.
Spot leapt through the window, taking his cue flawlessly, and shot a smooth, round rock from his slingshot at the back of Snider's head. Snider turned when it hit him, charging at the window just as mush lifted Spot out and onto the roof with the others. Emma ran to Moth, and together they dashed madly down the halls, down the stairs to Snider's office. Jack was there, waiting for them with a key ring with two keys on it in his hand. One of the keys would open the gate.
"Thanks, Cowboy," Moth said, taking the keys. Jack grinned and shoved the desk against the door to the office.
"This'll hold him for a few minutes once he knows I'm here. Now, go!" he yelled, and the girls scrambled out the window and ran toward the gate with the other orphans.
"Run!" Emma yelled at the others. "Hurry! You want to be locked up again?"
Moth tried the first key in the lock. Nothing happened. "Drat," she muttered, and fitted the second one in. She pushed and yanked until, with Snider breaking through the door to the office, the gate unlocked with a satisfying click. Moth pushed the gates and they swung outward dramatically. "RUN!" she yelled to everyone streaming out into the street. "Run! Hide! Get away!"
Emma was on the other side , practically shoving kids out through the gates. Inside the office, Moth saw out of the corner of her eye, Snider and Jack were fighting. A second later, Snider had thrown Jack into the desk, hard, and was climbing out the window frantically.
Mush and Blink were suddenly at the girl's side. "Heya, Moth!" Mush said happily, out of breath. "Thought we was gonna get caught."
The last two orphans dashed through the gates, and Snider was running toward the group of jailbirds, Jack close behind.
"We're not out of this yet," Moth told Mush. "Where's Spot?"
Snider was sprinting now. Jack was doing his best to catch up, but he was clearly hurt. He was gaining on the warden with every step, despite that fact.
"Run!" Blink yelled. "Spot can take care of himself!"
"Dat's right!" And then there was Spot, running by so fast that Moth barely glimpsed the proud grin on his face. They all followed Spot, running as hard as they could through the gates and down the street, Jack running along with them now. Everyone was breathing hard, and Snider was still after them. Suddenly Emma tripped over her long skirts and was down before Moth even realized what happened. Before she could turn around, there went Spot again, pulling Emma to her feet just as Snider reached her. Snider snatched Emma by her arm and started todrag her away when Spot drew his slingshot.
"Hands off, ya bum!" he yelled, hitting Snider right between the eyes twice, so fast that he tripped over his own feet and fell backward, landing on his rear end with his hat crooked on his head.
Before he could get up, Spot had pulled Emma away and they were running again. Moth paused just long enough to wave to Snider mockingly, and yell triumphantly,
"Eat your boots, Snider!"