Chapter 27
It was already nighttime. Blink couldn't sleep. He was supposed to bring Bristles to see her 'father' on Friday morning, before her birthday party in the afternoon. What was Grinds going to do to Bristles if he and Sunny really took her to him? That was obvious. He would overtake her by force. That was just the thing the Harlem leader of the newsies would do. Thinking about these things, Blink tossed and turned in his bunk. What could he do? How could he keep Bristles from getting hurt? He could just not let Bristles go to see Grinds, he'd just cut off the appointment. But that wouldn't work, because he would come back looking for them, possibly putting his friends in an even worse situation than before. What if he just took Bristles to the harbor like Grinds told him to? He might be able to get Bristles out of there if he talked to the Harlem newsies leader. No, that definitely wouldn't work out. Grinds was not the guy that would listen to people, let alone being talked into changing his mind. And if he just got a little impatient, he might decide to give Blink a few 'things to think about', like a black eye or two or maybe even worse than that.
He probably lay there for an hour, and still no idea that wouldn't end with at least one of them severely injured came into Blink's mind. Feeling extremely nervous and frustrated, Blink got up from his bunk and went out of the Lodging House. Perhaps some fresh air would clear his mind.
It was very late, and the streets were empty except for some carriages passing by the dark roads every so often. The lamps had been lit, casting a faint glow onto the pavement. Blink reached into his pocket and cursed as he failed to find a cigarette. So far his mind was still a blank. His mind was still clouded. But until he would think of an idea, he would keep walking.
Blink had been walking for so long, he didn't even realize it. He was tired and cold. It seemed as if he would have collapsed right there. He sat down on a few wooden crates and just stayed there thinking if he would even go back without an idea of what to do. Sunny wouldn't be mad at him for not knowing what to do, but it just seemed that Blink had to think of an idea to save his friend. He was never in the real spotlight truly, but what if this was his chance to prove himself a hero? Not necessarily in all of New York, but just among the newsies. To impress them all, to impress Sunny…at some point between this, Blink had transferred his thoughts into dreams and had fallen into a deep sleep.
***
Blink woke up feeling very groggy. He did not remember until after a few minutes that he was not in his bunk bed but on a pile of crates. Last night coming back into his mind, he sat up on his bed of wooden crates and looked at where his tired feet had carried him last night. It seemed very familiar, though not Manhattan, but Blink was still drowsy and could not bring himself to remember where he was. He suddenly spied a familiar figure that he was not too happy to see coming towards his direction, for he jumped behind the crates.
As he watched intensely, a newsie walked by. Blink ducked further behind the crates as he passed. Fortunately, he was not seen. Once the newsie walked by, Blink came out behind the crates and looked at Grinds back facing towards him as he walked away. He was in the Harlem territory! Blink must have been so tired last night, he didn't even know where he went! All he could think about was finding a way to keep Bristles from going to Grinds. Wait…maybe if I follow him, I'll find a way ta save Bristles! Blink immediately leapt up and followed in the direction of the Harlem newsies leader, hoping to somehow find a solution to his problem.
