CHAPTER 4:
"Hey Mistah Weezel. This heah's me friend. She's gonna be sellin' papes wit us foah
a while. So you be nice ta huh, or I tell the big boys, and you'll be lookin' foah a job like
last summah." Jack told a short, very round man. He looked about fifty to me. I'd heard
stories about the trouble that he'd given my newsie friends, and I didn't like him already.
"Fifty papes please." I asked and Morris came out of the shadows to hand them to
me. I ran behind Jack, and I heard one of my attackers give a maniacal laugh. Weasel hit
him upside the head.
"Hundred papes." Jack said. He got his papes and said: "C'mon. Les get outta heah.
This place is infested with rodents." Morris tried to grab Jack through the bars, but the
idiot forgot that he was too big and his arm got stuck. Oscar ran around to the outside, and
Jack and I handed our papes to some of the other newsies and started running. Jack thought it
was a game, but I was scared. Jack was running so blindly that he collided with a boy, about
the same age as us, with dark curly hair.
"What do you think you're doing?" The boy asked.
"Runnin'!" Jack replied. The curly hair boy laughed and turned around to see Oscar
and Morris catching up with us.
"Go, I'll stop 'em." So we did. We didn't run far, just enough to get out of sight
for a few minutes, but we could see the three boys from where we were, and Curly was doing a
good job at holding them back. He was telling them really corny jokes, and I could see the
brothers were getting annoyed. Suddenly I heard Weasel yell for them to get back to the center
and help count. We were saved.
"Hey Davey." Jack said as he shook hands with the boy who helped us. "Tanks fah doin'
dat. Dat was real nice."
"Yeah thanks." I chimed in. I had heard of David Jacobs. He joined the newsies about
the same time the strike started last summer. Jack said he was "a real inspahration." I never
met him because I usually worked during the day, and by the time I got around to seeing the
boys, he and his little brother, Les, had gone home. "So this is the famous David Jacobs.
I've heard so much about you."
"And you are?" He asked.
"Oh me? I'm Bit. Little Bit. Been with the boys since I can remember."
"I've never seen you selling papes with them before."
"Well I wasn't technically a newsie back then, but I knew 'em all." He smiled. It was
that kind of smile that made you feel like you knew him all your life. I could tell he was a
genuinely nice guy, which was good, since they were hard to come by.
Jack dated David's sister, Sarah until Christmas last year. She didn't like the way he
always got into fights. She said he was "clumsy with his character." He was heartbroken for a
little while, but he got over it.
She met a boy, in late January, named Thomas Peters. They got married in March--it was
a spur of the moment thing--and moved off to Albany. I don't think I'll miss her much.
We all walked back to the distribution center, but stayed out of sight, and called for
the boys we had handed our papes to to bring them to us.
"Hey Cowboy. Havin' fun? Da days only beginin'." Race said.
"What's dat spose ta mean?" Jack asked.
"Dem Delanceys say dey wanna settle dis. Dey wants you to meet 'em in da ally by
Tibby's around tree. You win, dey leave ewall of us alone fahevah. You lose, and you ain't
sellin' papes heah no moah. Dat's what dey said, Cowboy."
"Dat's what dey said huh? Alrigh'. Let's do dis."
"Dere ain't no us, Cowboy. Just you an' Bit."
"Whah do dey want wit Bit?"
"I dunno, we ain't spose to go, and youse spose to bring Bit."
"She ain't goin'."
"No. Jack, c'mon. You need someone." I said.
"You ain't getting' hoit. Not again." Jack told me.
"Well what are you gonna do then?" I asked.
"I dunno. Lemme tink." So he thought.
We decided that at around two-thirty, all the newsies would get hungry and go to
Tibby's for some food. Jack and I would leave at three, and at our signal, the boys could
come help us out if we needed them. I was told the signal: "Bit. You gotta scream."
It was about two-fifty-five.
"So you gettin' scared?" I asked Jack.
"Nah. I done dis a million times. Plus, I got you to protect me. How's ya awm?"
"It's doin' better. It ain't there yet." We laughed. I just said "ain't."
"We gotta get you outta dis neighbahood. Youse becomin' one a us."
"I've always been one of you."
"Emily, look. If sumthin' happens, I just want ya ta know: I love ya. Not like that
mushy kinda love people get so woiked up about and broken up ovah. Just da kind dat means, you
ain't alone."
"I know, Jack. I love you too." He hugged me and said it was time to go.
We walked outside, hand in hand, scared of what waited for us on the other side of the
corner, but neither of us showing fear. We had to be strong for each other.
"Hey, Cowboy." There was that voice again. That slimey voice. "I see you brought
your girlfriend. Nice. Thank you. Get her." Morris ran to grab me, but I kicked him in the
groin before he could. He started to wimper. "Alrigh', but you still got me ta deal with."
Jack took Oscar by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall. Oscar pulled out his knife,
and in one clean swipe, he jabbed Jack in the leg. I lost it. First I screamed, then I ran up
to him and started flailing my arms everywhere; my right arm hurt but I didn't care. I punched
him and kicked him, and from the look on his face, I think he thought I couldn't do that. I
managed to get his knife and told the two of them to leave us alone. Morris was still on the
ground wimpering.
I pulled Jack into the street and saw two police officers blocking the door of Tibby's.
It seems there was a report of stolen bread earlier in the morning and they were questioning all
suspicious characters. I grabbed Jack, who could just barely walk, and ran up to the police.
"Help us. Please!" I yelled. My left forehead was bleeding from the short fight with
Oscar and a welt had started to rise up under my left eye.
"Oh my! Most certainly. Can you get him on my horse? I'll ride him to the hospital."
One of the officers told me. I signaled for one of the guys to come out, and Mush answered.
The second officer let him out, and he helped me heave Jack over. "I'm gonna go with them,
somehow. Tell the others what happened." Mush ran back inside, and I jumped onto the second
police officer's horse. We started to ride off when I noticed we were being followed. I saw
it in the corner of my eye. It was Davey.
"Hey Mistah Weezel. This heah's me friend. She's gonna be sellin' papes wit us foah
a while. So you be nice ta huh, or I tell the big boys, and you'll be lookin' foah a job like
last summah." Jack told a short, very round man. He looked about fifty to me. I'd heard
stories about the trouble that he'd given my newsie friends, and I didn't like him already.
"Fifty papes please." I asked and Morris came out of the shadows to hand them to
me. I ran behind Jack, and I heard one of my attackers give a maniacal laugh. Weasel hit
him upside the head.
"Hundred papes." Jack said. He got his papes and said: "C'mon. Les get outta heah.
This place is infested with rodents." Morris tried to grab Jack through the bars, but the
idiot forgot that he was too big and his arm got stuck. Oscar ran around to the outside, and
Jack and I handed our papes to some of the other newsies and started running. Jack thought it
was a game, but I was scared. Jack was running so blindly that he collided with a boy, about
the same age as us, with dark curly hair.
"What do you think you're doing?" The boy asked.
"Runnin'!" Jack replied. The curly hair boy laughed and turned around to see Oscar
and Morris catching up with us.
"Go, I'll stop 'em." So we did. We didn't run far, just enough to get out of sight
for a few minutes, but we could see the three boys from where we were, and Curly was doing a
good job at holding them back. He was telling them really corny jokes, and I could see the
brothers were getting annoyed. Suddenly I heard Weasel yell for them to get back to the center
and help count. We were saved.
"Hey Davey." Jack said as he shook hands with the boy who helped us. "Tanks fah doin'
dat. Dat was real nice."
"Yeah thanks." I chimed in. I had heard of David Jacobs. He joined the newsies about
the same time the strike started last summer. Jack said he was "a real inspahration." I never
met him because I usually worked during the day, and by the time I got around to seeing the
boys, he and his little brother, Les, had gone home. "So this is the famous David Jacobs.
I've heard so much about you."
"And you are?" He asked.
"Oh me? I'm Bit. Little Bit. Been with the boys since I can remember."
"I've never seen you selling papes with them before."
"Well I wasn't technically a newsie back then, but I knew 'em all." He smiled. It was
that kind of smile that made you feel like you knew him all your life. I could tell he was a
genuinely nice guy, which was good, since they were hard to come by.
Jack dated David's sister, Sarah until Christmas last year. She didn't like the way he
always got into fights. She said he was "clumsy with his character." He was heartbroken for a
little while, but he got over it.
She met a boy, in late January, named Thomas Peters. They got married in March--it was
a spur of the moment thing--and moved off to Albany. I don't think I'll miss her much.
We all walked back to the distribution center, but stayed out of sight, and called for
the boys we had handed our papes to to bring them to us.
"Hey Cowboy. Havin' fun? Da days only beginin'." Race said.
"What's dat spose ta mean?" Jack asked.
"Dem Delanceys say dey wanna settle dis. Dey wants you to meet 'em in da ally by
Tibby's around tree. You win, dey leave ewall of us alone fahevah. You lose, and you ain't
sellin' papes heah no moah. Dat's what dey said, Cowboy."
"Dat's what dey said huh? Alrigh'. Let's do dis."
"Dere ain't no us, Cowboy. Just you an' Bit."
"Whah do dey want wit Bit?"
"I dunno, we ain't spose to go, and youse spose to bring Bit."
"She ain't goin'."
"No. Jack, c'mon. You need someone." I said.
"You ain't getting' hoit. Not again." Jack told me.
"Well what are you gonna do then?" I asked.
"I dunno. Lemme tink." So he thought.
We decided that at around two-thirty, all the newsies would get hungry and go to
Tibby's for some food. Jack and I would leave at three, and at our signal, the boys could
come help us out if we needed them. I was told the signal: "Bit. You gotta scream."
It was about two-fifty-five.
"So you gettin' scared?" I asked Jack.
"Nah. I done dis a million times. Plus, I got you to protect me. How's ya awm?"
"It's doin' better. It ain't there yet." We laughed. I just said "ain't."
"We gotta get you outta dis neighbahood. Youse becomin' one a us."
"I've always been one of you."
"Emily, look. If sumthin' happens, I just want ya ta know: I love ya. Not like that
mushy kinda love people get so woiked up about and broken up ovah. Just da kind dat means, you
ain't alone."
"I know, Jack. I love you too." He hugged me and said it was time to go.
We walked outside, hand in hand, scared of what waited for us on the other side of the
corner, but neither of us showing fear. We had to be strong for each other.
"Hey, Cowboy." There was that voice again. That slimey voice. "I see you brought
your girlfriend. Nice. Thank you. Get her." Morris ran to grab me, but I kicked him in the
groin before he could. He started to wimper. "Alrigh', but you still got me ta deal with."
Jack took Oscar by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall. Oscar pulled out his knife,
and in one clean swipe, he jabbed Jack in the leg. I lost it. First I screamed, then I ran up
to him and started flailing my arms everywhere; my right arm hurt but I didn't care. I punched
him and kicked him, and from the look on his face, I think he thought I couldn't do that. I
managed to get his knife and told the two of them to leave us alone. Morris was still on the
ground wimpering.
I pulled Jack into the street and saw two police officers blocking the door of Tibby's.
It seems there was a report of stolen bread earlier in the morning and they were questioning all
suspicious characters. I grabbed Jack, who could just barely walk, and ran up to the police.
"Help us. Please!" I yelled. My left forehead was bleeding from the short fight with
Oscar and a welt had started to rise up under my left eye.
"Oh my! Most certainly. Can you get him on my horse? I'll ride him to the hospital."
One of the officers told me. I signaled for one of the guys to come out, and Mush answered.
The second officer let him out, and he helped me heave Jack over. "I'm gonna go with them,
somehow. Tell the others what happened." Mush ran back inside, and I jumped onto the second
police officer's horse. We started to ride off when I noticed we were being followed. I saw
it in the corner of my eye. It was Davey.