"Wes should take her back." Jolly said as they walked toward Manhattan.
"Wes can't if wes do Spot will see us and then we'll never find Kit." Bait stated, Lacy just nodded agreeing with Bait because he was Bait.
They finally made it into Manhattan safely around first light. Every one was tired but they pushed onward and made it to the train yard in time to see Bryon and Mills say goodbye. They watched Mills get on a train and Bryon head off.
"Ise bet that is the train Kit is on." Bait said pushing Lacy off his shoulder where she had put her head when they stopped.
"How can youse be sure." Jolly asked hitching Two Bit up in his arms.
"Ise just know. Come on lets get on a car before someone spots us." Bait suggested. "Come on Lacy wes just need to get on a car then youse can sleep all youse want."
His words barely registered with the tired girl but she sleepily followed the two older boys down the tracks and into an open boxcar. "Now what?" Jolly asked.
"Ise don't know Ise never done this before." Bait was a bit irritated.
"Well neither have I." Jolly stated, "Ise guess we should hide. Ise don't wanna get caught before the train starts, they'll throw us off for sure."
"Youse right, come'n lets hide behind those boxes." Bait pointed over to a stack of boxes that seemed to make the best hiding place for the four stowaways. They lifted the two girls over and were surprised to find a bunch of straw behind the boxes. They all laid down and soon were so tired they didn't hear the boxcar doors slam shut or the train start on its trip to Nebraska.
Back in Brooklyn sobbing broke the early morning silence of bunkhouse. No one had noticed the four children had slipped out till that morning. Tack had thought they had gone to bed and not wanting to disturb them had fallen asleep in the main room. She woke up around two and decided to check on the kids to make sure they were taking Kit's departure okay. She went in and saw that no one was in any of the beds. She checked under the bunk and the cot and all around in the room, trying to search out any of the hiding places they could have found.
Panicking she went out and shook Spot awake. "What's the big idea?"
"Spot they're gone." Tack was able to get out.
"Whose gone Tack?" Spot tired to rub the sleep from his eyes.
"The kids, they're gone. I went to go check on them and they just aren't there." Tack's voice raised to a fever pitch which woke Rounder who slept in the bunk across from Spot.
"What's wrong?" He sat up stretching.
"She's going on about something with the kids being gone." Suddenly Spot was wide awake. "The kids are gone?"
"Yes, that is what I was trying to tell you. They're gone." Tack slid to the floor and began to cry.
Rounder climbed out of his bed and sat down next to Tack, "Don't worry they probably went on the roof or something. Ise go check." Rounder patted her on the back and then went to go check it out.
Spot got out of bed and pulled on a pair of pants, which would have caused Tack to blush but she was distraught over losing her sisters. "Ise bet Rounder's right they probably just up on the roof."
Tack didn't calm down and when Rounder came back empty handed she began to sob loudly. The two young men were at a loss at what to do. Spot went to go get a towel for Tack to blow her nose. He was coming back when the moonlight caught a piece of paper on the twin's bunk.
He gave Tack the towel as he struck a match to light a candle. He read the note then gave it to Rounder to read. "Tack Ise know where the kids are."
"Where are they?" Tack wiped her eyes with the towel.
"They left a note, here read it."
Tack took the note and read it allowed:
" `Spot and Tack, Me an Jolly an the gols wen ta fine Kit in Nabaska. Wes brin her back.
Bait, Jolly, Lacy and /-\| To Bit, Wes tok mony four food.' They went to go get Kit? How are they going to get there?" Tack began to cry again.
"Rounder go get the bag that is on the shelf in Kit's room." Spot said as he put his arm around Tack. "Tack wes gonna get them back."
"Here youse go Spot, what's in the bag?" Rounder was back quickly with the bag.
"Some money and stuff of Kit's that she gave me. Along with an address wes was supposed to go to if something happened to her." Spot pulled out some paper. "Wes need to go to Nebraska, she gave us the name and address of a Jeremy Olson. Wes send him a telegram telling him to watch for Kit and her cousins and leave a telegram for her too about the twins and the girls following her."
"What youse gonna to do with the money?" Rounder asked.
"There's enough money here for a ticket to Nebraska, Kit told me. I got some more money, Tack get youse stuff together wes going to Nebraska." Spot picked the sniffling girl up from the floor. Tack nodded and went to hurriedly pack.
Spot then headed down to wake Kosei. "Kosei wake up man."
"What youse want Spot?" Kosei was angry about being woken up.
"The twins went after Kit, they took the little girls with them, me and Tack are going for them and for Kit." Spot said matter of factly.
"Really?" Kosei stood up and went over to a draw and pulled something out. It was a small bag, much like the one Rounder had gotten for Spot just moments earlier. "Here take these it will probably be a good thing."
Spot took the bag with out opening it, "Thanks. Watch out for the kids for me?"
"Course, go bring her back." Kosei commanded him.
"Ise planning on it." Spot said smartly as he went out the door and headed back up the stairs.
Spot called Rounder, "Ise already put youse in charge, don't burn Brooklyn down on me hear?" Rounder smiled and spit in his hand, holding it out to Spot, he reciprocated and they shook. Spot picked up the bundle of things he had gathered earlier and went over to Tack. She had just finished throwing things into a bundle and tied it up. "Youse ready?"
"I guess so. Wes gonna find them?"
"Of course. Let's get going." He grabbed her hand and they went running towards Manhattan and the train yard.
The sun was just coming up as they reached the train yard, they had run and made it before the train left. They missed seeing the children by mere moments and had passed Bryon on the street coming in. Spot raced up to the ticket counter. "Ise need 2 tickets to Lincoln, NE. And Ise need to send this message to the man on the front." He pushed the message through the window.
"Hold youse horses. First off youse can't get a train to Nebraska. Ise can get youse to Chicago, though. If youse do that youse train doesn't leave for another 10 minutes. Now the message will cost youse 2 bucks and the tickets come to 7 dollars each." Spot counted out the money in his pockets, they had just enough for the tickets and the telegram. "Well there youse go. Have a good ride." The man handed them their tickets and they went to the train. They barely got their seats before the train stated to move. Sliding onto the hard wooden benches Spot and Tack leaned against each other and were soon sleeping like children. Exhausted from their run and from the events of the past day.