Later that same night, Lunch Money climbed the stairs to the girl's dorm, bidding Mush, Kid Blink and Boots good night. Her heart was heavy with the day's events and she couldn't stop worrying about Racetrack and her friends. She was greatly looking forward to busting them out of the refuge; it would be an enormous relief to have the mess over and done with. But, of course, nothing is ever so simple.
Lunch Money pushed open the door of the dormitory, ready to get to sleep. The day had been long and exhausting, and Lunch Money had been dreaming of her (relatively) warm bed for the last two blocks between Liam's and the lodging house. The other girls were already cozy in their nightgowns and having a game of cards before bed, the ritual Feivel made the other boarders abide by. Yawning widely, Lunch Money was undoing her braids before she'd even bothered to take off her coat.
She registered dimly that Rodeo and Tease were still out. They probably were going to work through the night. But Ritz was conspicuously present, not participating in the poker tournament and scowling at everyone. Lunch Money didn't even want to think about the silly fight she'd had with Ritz the other night. It all seemed so far away, like another life. Now, with her brother in jail, along with Jack and Crutchy, and her confusion over Spot at an all-time high, Lunch Money didn't have the energy to care about Ritz.
"Hey guys." Lunch Money muttered sleepily, shrugged off her coat and tossing it unceremoniously over one of the metal posts. Feivel looked up. She wore a puzzled expression; a sort of sneer and squint combination, like she couldn't quite comprehend the words coming out of Lunch Money's mouth.
"Whadadya doin' heah?" She asked curiously. It was Lunch Money's turn to look puzzled.
"I live heah." Lunch Money rolled her eyes.
"No! I mean, whadadya doin' heah, when Spot an' Mush an' Kid Blink an' Boots is goin' out ta the refuge tonight? I woulda thought ya'd be goin' wit' 'em." Lunch Money froze.
"What? We ain't goin' 'til day aftah tomorrow." She told Feivel, frowning.
"Yeah, yeah, that's what he told the othehs." Feivel nodded, "But then aftah everyone left, he stopped all'a ya Manhattan newsies an' told ya that you five were goin' tonight in secret."
"I neveh hoird that!" Lunch Money was fuming. They were planning to go without her? She would murder every last one of them if Feivel was telling the truth. "How d'ya know that, Feivel?"
"I was spyin' on 'em." She shrugged. Oh, of course. The little criminal. Lunch Money shook her head.
"I was talkin' ta me friends just now. They woulda told me if they were goin' tonight."
"Did they?"
"No."
"Then they lied ta ya." Feivel said simply, "'Cos I know I hoird Spot tellin' them about a new plan that they'd be carryin' out tonight."
"Feivel, if you'se is lyin' 'bout this, I'll kill ya." Lunch Money said threateningly. Little Feivel seemed coolly unconcerned by the death threats.
"I swear it, I ain't lyin'." Feivel told her, "For reals. If ya don't wanna believe me, then you can go ahead an' go ta bed an' let the boys take care of the mission."
"Really, she ain't lyin', Lunch." Nix spoke up, "I'se was listenin' wit' Feiv." Reading the look on Lunch Money's face, Nix added, "We only eavesdrop outta concern fa' our friends."
If they were indeed telling the truth, and the boys were going to break Jack, Racetrack and Crutchy out of the refuge tonight without even telling her, Lunch Money wanted to have some choice words with her friends. And force them to take her along, because a snowball had a better chance in hell than Lunch Money had of not assisting in her brother's rescue.
"Thanks fa' tellin' me, guys." She growled, stalking to the door, "But if you'se made this up, you'se is dead." She gave a final warning before shutting the doors soundly behind her.
Lunch Money thundered down the stairs, making a beeline for the boy's dormitory. She didn't even bother to knock when she threw open the door to of the boy's dorm. There were cries of indignation, but Lunch Money took them in her stride. Her eye did not fall on the boys in less than decent states of dress, but on four boys near the far wall. They were talking in hushed voices and hurriedly packing bags. She strode over to the little knot, utterly livid.
"It's true!" She glared at the company of boys, "Feivel an' Nix was actually tellin' the truth! You'se is goin' ta the refuge tonight?" Mush, Blink and Boots had the courtesy to look guilt-ridden, and they looked to Spot to answer Lunch Money's outraged question. Spot glanced up to meet Lunch Money's eyes for a split-second.
"Yeah." He said shortly.
"Was anyone plannin' on tellin' me?" Lunch Money demanded. There they all stood, going off to save Jack, Racetrack and Crutchy from the refuge without letting her come along, or even telling her about the operation. The Manhattan newsboys looked at Spot to answer again. This time he didn't even bother to look up.
"No." Simple as that. No, he was not planning on telling her that they were going to the refuge that night. Lunch Money glared at Spot before rounding on her friends.
"Boots!" She chided, looking into each of their faces in turn, "Blink! Mush! I was wit' ya all day, why didn't ya say anything about this? Why didn't ya tell me?"
Mush shifted uncomfortably, looking chagrined, "Well, Spot said not ta tell anyone that we was goin' ta night. He said he wanted ta keep it quiet so the bulls wouldn't ovehheah anything."
"Yeah, okay." Lunch Money said impatiently, "But why couldn't ya tell me?"
The three Manhattan newsboys were quiet. They didn't want to answer this question. The pause lengthened as they struggled to think of a way to avoid telling Lunch Money the answer, until Spot spoke for them.
"They didn't tell ya that we was goin' tonight, because I told them not to." Spot narrowed his eyes, giving Lunch Money a cold look. He shouldered a thick coil of rope and started in the direction of the door, but stopped at the sound of Lunch Money's voice.
"Why would ya do that?" She asked, looking angry and hurt.
"'Cos I knew if ya found out, you'd wanna come too." Spot shrugged casually, as though explaining the obvious. He then turned away, motioning for Boots, Blink and Mush to follow him. But Lunch Money dodged around Spot and planted herself in his path. He wasn't going to get away with this so easily.
"A' course I'd wanna come! Me brudder's in theah, dammit, and I got just as much right ta be in on this as they do!" She gestured to Mush, Blink and Boots, who were watching the action with wide eyes, unsure of which side to take. Spot just shook his head.
"It's gonna be dangerous. Mind gettin' outta me way?"
Lunch Money didn't move, she only gave Spot a nasty look and snapped, "I think I can handle it."
"Lunch Money, ya don't get it." Spot said impatiently, "Didn't ya heah Feivel an' Roundhouse? It'd be a miracle if any a' us gets out wit'out bein' caught. Armed guards, they got now. It ain't some mattah a' stealin' cigars from a vendor; someone could get hurt."
"So what?" Lunch Money said through gritted teeth. Did they all really think she was that useless? "I don't care."
Spot rolled his eyes and went around Lunch Money, again motioning for the boys to follow him. It was starting to get late and they had to leave.
"Lunch, you ain't goin', that's final. I'm done arguin' wit' ya about this."
"'That's final'?!"Lunch Money repeated heatedly, "Now ya just orderin' me around? You ain't even given me a good reason why I shouldn't go." Spot ignored her, angrily waiting for Mush, Blink and Boots to grab their rope coils and slingshots so they could leave. The sooner they left, the better, as far as Spot was concerned.
"Spot, I ain't gonna let this drop until ya at least tell why ya don't me goin' wit' ya." Lunch Money remained adamant and stubborn.
"Fine!" Spot exploded, turning to glare at her. Then, forcing his tone quieter and speaking slowly so that his voice wouldn't shake, "Fine. You wanna know the reason I don't want ya ta come? 'Cos I love you too much, okay?"
That, Lunch Money had not been expecting. Her mouth fell open in surprise and the entire room went silent. All eyes were on either Spot or Lunch Money, who held eye contact for only a couple of seconds before breaking their gaze, So much confused emotion had been exchanged in that brief look, and neither wanted to deal with those feelings at the moment. Or ever.
Clearing his throat to break the silence, Spot instantly refocused on the task at hand. "C'mon, fellas, we gotta get ta the refuge." Mush, Blink and Boots (all of whom looked shell-shocked) quietly followed Spot out of the dorm. Lunch Money watched them go, tears starting to well in her eyes. She swallowed and looked around. All the remaining Brooklyn newsboys were staring at her, open-mouthed.
"Whadadya lookin' at?" She sighed, not in an angry tone, but more a defeated, crushed one. With that, she slowly walked out of the boy's dormitory and trudged up the stairs to the girl's dorm. She didn't say anything to any of her roommates; she just climbed right into bed, stopping onlylong enough to take off her shoes. Feivel and Nix just shrugged at each other, and all the newsgirls chose to let Lunch Money alone.
The gloomy atmosphere Lunch Money had brought into the girl's dorm seemed to be contagious, and all the girls went to bed early that night. Nix and Starboard stayed up a while longer, discussing their suspicions about Lunch Money and Spot, every so often glancing at Lunch Money sleeping in the bunk below Nix. At one point, both Starboard and Nix drifted off. By then it was deep into the night, but there was still one boarder awake.
Lunch Money sat up, listening closely. The other girls had fallen asleep. Finally. Slowly, cautiously, Lunch Money climbed out of bed. Then, trying to make as little noise as possible, she grabbed her shoes and coat. Glancing out the window, Lunch Money smirked to herself. The damn snow was falling again. She averted her eyes from the sight quickly, as a deep pain shot through her.
Feivel muttered something in her sleep. Lunch Money jumped at the noise. She had to hurry if she didn't want to get caught. And she must have hurried, for by the time the newsgirls got up the next morning, Lunch Money was gone.