The lodging house was on fire. Mush let out a stream of swear words and sprinted towards the building. A bunch of the newsies were gathered outside. I ran after Mush, and heard him ask Snipeshooter, "Is everyone out heah?"

"Kloppman went back inside," Snipeshooter said, his freckles standing out on his pale face. "'E said 'e wan'ed t' check, 'cause no one can fin' Snitch anywhere."

"Holy smokes!" someone suddenly yelled. "Wha's goin' on?" At the sound of the familiar voice, we all turned to see Snitch come running up.

Mush swore again, and then started for the building. "What're you doing?" I screeched, grabbing his arm and trying to pull him back.

"Not now, Daffodil," he said lowly. He shook away my hand and searched the crowd. "Jack! C'mon! We'se gotta get Kloppman!" Jack sighed deeply, then nodded and the two of them took off.

"Boys, you can't go in," the policeman said, trying to hold them back. "We're waiting for the fire patrol…"

"They won' get heah in time!" Mush shouted. "Now MOVE!" Before the policeman had time to register what was going on, Mush and Jack had darted around him and into the tongues of flame.

I turned away and hid my face from the sight. Someone put their arm around me, and I sobbed into his chest. I was sure that I'd never see Mush again. Why did he have to go running into that building? Why?

The minutes ticked by, and I was in agony. I could feel the flames as if they were trying to get at me, not at Mush. I could just imagine the smoke pooling in his lungs, and could see him in my mind, collapsed on the floor, unable to move while the flames consumed his body.

"Take 'er away from heah, Spot," someone said loudly over the noise.

"Okay. C'mon, Daffodil. This ain' no place fer ya," Spot's voice said, and it was only then that I realized that he was the one I was crying on. He tried to lead me away, but I refused to move.

"MUSH IS IN THERE!" I screamed, tearing away from him. "MY MUSH!" I fell to the dusty road, no longer caring about how beautiful my dress stayed, and cried heartbreakingly into my gloved hands.

A moment later, I heard clanging of a bell as the volunteer fire service came up, and looked over in hope. At the same instant, a whooping cheer was let up from the newsboys. Smudged with ash and soot, Mush and Jack were escorting a coughing Kloppman from the house. Mush's shirt had several holes burnt into it, but he was grinning as happily as ever.

I pushed myself from the ground and ran over to him, still crying. He let the policemen handle Mr. Kloppman, and took me in his arms. "Wha's wrong, Daffodil?" he asked sweetly, kissing my forehead.

I looked up at him, the tears still streaming. "I thought you were going to die and I'd be all alone," I told him, hugging him as tight as I could.

"I'd neveh get meself killed, Daffodil. If'n I did, who'd watch out fer ya? I'm neveh gonna leave ya," he promised, and hugged me tightly back. Then he stepped away. "Aw, look at wha' I did to youse dress! I'se sorry, Daffodil!"

I looked down. The white skirt was filthy with dirt and soot, my gloves were stained, and I was sure that my hair was, once again, a mess. Then I laughed.

Mush looked at me as if I'd gone insane. "Uh, Daffodil? Why'se you laughin'?"

"Mush, I don't care about my dress. I'd rather run around in just my corset than be without you," I told him.

He laughed, too. Then he looked at me thoughtfully. "So will ya, then?"

"Will I what?" I asked, looking down at my boots to see that they weren't actually too dirty.

"Run aroun' in jus' yer corset?"

"Mush!" I said, looking up at him in shock and hitting his arm. He burst into gales of laughter, and, shaking my head, I joined in.

*

That night was the most uncomfortable night of my life. We all slept in a park, and I was on a park bench. The only good thing was that I slept in Mush's arms; but even with that reassurance, park benches are not meant for even one person to sleep on, and fitting two is just absurd. Add that to the fact that I was forced to sleep in my corset, and I was not a happy camper.

The following night, we went to settle down again in the park. This time, I shook my head. "No."

"No wha', Daffodil?" Jack asked.

"You don' know anythin'!" Crutchy answered, with a chuckle.

Mush laughed hysterically. "Didja heah dat, fellas? Jack ast Daffodil 'no what,' an' Crutchy tol' 'im—"

"We heard, Mush," Skittery said grumpily. "Now what is you goin' on abou', Daffodil?"

"You fellas have done so much for me," I said, standing up and looking around at the boys, every age and size, spread out in all directions. "Now it's time for me to do something for you."

With that, I turned on my heel and exited the park. The boys all scrambled to their feet and followed me. "What're ya doin', Daffodil?" Mush asked curiously, when he caught up with me.

I just smiled, and led the way down some streets.

"Wai' a minute…" Mush said, as I stopped in front of my house. "Is you tellin' me dat—"

"Come along, boys," I called. "You're sleeping at MY house tonight." I started up the walk. Most of the boys had come here with Mush, but a few hadn't, and I heard them whistle at it. I saw a curtain next to the door move, and knew that someone had seen us coming. When I reached the front door, it was locked, but this was no matter. From beneath my high-necked dress, I pulled out a key which I wore on a thread around my neck, and unlocked the door, and pushed it open.