Crutchie had only been working in Snyder's office for an hour when a policeman burst through the door. Crutchie kept his head down and focused on removing a scuff mark from the floor. He hoped to remain unnoticed and stay in the room to eavesdrop on what he assumed would be about the strike. Sure enough, Snyder paid hardly any attention to him.
"Sir, you have to come. It's just mass chaos!" the policeman said urgently.
"What is it?" Snyder asked, standing up from his chair.
"The strike, they've finally gained leverage," the policeman said. "They printed out this article and have mass produced it. Everyone in the city has read it." The man handed Synder a copy of the article. Snyder's eyes grew smaller and his face redder as he read further down the page. When he reached the end, he slammed it down on his desk.
"Damn!" he shouted angrily. "Very well, let's go now." They rushed out of the room without giving Crutchie so much as a second glance. When he was sure they were gone, Crutchie quickly stood up and grabbed the crumpled article that sat on Synder's desk. Crutchie had a completely different reaction than Snyder as he read it. His heart began to swell as he neared the bottom of the page and his smile grew bigger and bigger with each word he read. Katherine was a genius. If this didn't help them win, then nothing would. Crutchie's head snapped up as he heard approaching footsteps. He dropped back to the floor and resumed scrubbing the scuff mark when the door opened.
"Still workin' on this mark, Mr. Snyda," Crutchie said innocently, not looking up.
"Relax, Crutch, it's me," Rover said. Crutchie laughed in relief.
"Good, I was afraid-" he stopped talking when he looked up at Rover. He was sporting a very large black eye and his lip was swollen. "Rova, look what he did to you."
"It ain't nothin," Rover said, brushing this off. "Not the first time Snyda's hit me anyway. At least this time, he had a reason for it. Hey, thought you'd need this." He handed Crutchie his crutch.
"Thanks, Rova," he said, accepting it and standing up. "Are you sure you's ok? I know how rough Snyda can be."
"Just forget that. Is it true?" he asked anxiously.
"Is what true?" Crutchie asked, moving to sit in a chair.
"About the strike!" Rover said anxiously. "Is it true about the article they printed and the rally this mornin and-"
"See for yourself," Crutchie said, handing him the article. Once Rover had finished reading it, he kissed the paper and hugged it.
"This is perfect," he said happily. "We heard lotsa rumors runnin around. Ran into Rat this mornin for a little bit and he told me about what Bird said. Didn't get much more information after that."
"Well a policeman was just in here," Crutchie said. "He told Snyda there's a mob outside of Pulizter's office. All we gotta do is wait now. One way or anotha, the strike is ending today."
"You really think so?" Rover asked, picking up a scrap of bacon left over from Snyder's breakfast tray.
"If it wasn't serious, Snyda wouldn't a gone to check it out," Crutchie said. Rat nodded, chewing on the piece of food. Suddenly they heard the sound of multiple people running past the door. Rat cracked open the door, stuck his head out briefly, and then slammed the door shut again, a broad smile on his face.
"All the guards is running somewhere!" he explained. "I think they's goin to the strike!"
"This is unbelievable," Crutchie said, walking over to the window. He pushed aside the curtain to see if he could get a distant view of the street. He noticed the streets were littered with papers that seemed to be Katherine's article. There were people walking all in the same direction. Children eagerly tugged on their parents' arms to walk faster. Then, just as Rat said, Crutchie saw a line of guards from the refuge run past.
"This is actually gonna happen," he said, turning around. "The hard workin kids of New York is finally gonna get listened to."
"And all these damn… tyrants is gonna get what's comin to 'em," Rat said, sitting in a chair on the other side of the desk. "Snyda. Pulitzer. Hearst. All the bosses of the factories. All the police who look away from us when we cry out for help." He leaned back in the chair and propped his feet up on the desk.
"Rat, maybe you should get back to work," Crutchie said, realizing he must have been absent from his post for about ten minutes. "Don't want you to get in anymore trouble."
"Crutch, it don't matter anymore, not today at least," he said. "Not a single guard is payin' attention to us today. Snyda ain't even here. Take a seat, Crutchie. In his chair. See how it feels." Crutchie looked reluctantly at Snyder's large desk chair before sitting down. He felt a rush of energy run through him and propped his feet up on the desk just as Rover had done.
"How's it feel bein' the boss?" Rover asked.
"Feels good," Crutchie said, feeling empowered. "Feels real good."
"Whatchu gonna do the first thing we get out?" Rover asked.
"You really think we'll get out? I know the strike is doin' lotsa things," Crutchie said doubtfully, "But I don't think releasin' all us from the refuge is one of them."
"Bird told me he heard rumors of them shuttin' down the refuge," Rover said. "He came to my room this mornin, lookin' for you. He told me all the stuff they wants to happen."
"Shuttin' down the refuge," Crutchie mused. "Imagine how much easier things would be."
"Well I tell you what I'm doin' once I get out," Rover said. "I'm gettin me a nice cigar and I'm gonna go up on a roof around dusk. And I'm gonna sit there and smoke and watch the sun set over the city. I'm gonna breath in the freedom I been denied eva since I got here." Crutchie thought for a moment.
"I'm just gonna hug my sista," he said. "I'm gonna tell her how much I missed her. Then I'll go to Tibby's and eat a real nice sandwich. I'll play games wit all my friends. We'll play marbles and cards and make fun of each otha. That's what I'm gonna do." They sat in silence, thinking longingly of the moment when they would be able to do those things.
Suddenly the door opened. Both boys jumped up from their seats, assuming it was Snyder or someone else coming to yell at them. They relaxed slightly when they saw it was a policeman who didn't work at the refuge.
"One of you kids called Crutchie?" he asked, looking between the two boys. Then he spotted Crutchie's crutch. "That was a dumb question. Alright, kid, you're comin' with me."
"I didn't do nothin," Crutchie said nervously.
"Don't worry, kid. You didn't do anything wrong," the man said calmly. "We've received orders from Mr. Pulitzer's office to come and bring you there."
"Why?" Crutchie asked.
"Don't have a clue but I'm told someone will explain it all to you on the way over there," he said. "Now come along. Let's get going." He left the room, leaving Rover and Crutchie alone.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Rover said, extending his hand to Crutchie.
"What makes you say that?" Crutchie asked, not taking his hand just yet.
"From the looks of it, we won the strike and you're bein' let out," Rover said, a smile on his face. As much as Crutchie wanted to believe it, he just had to wait to see it for himself.
"I'll do all I can to get you fellas outta here," Crutchie said, shaking his hand. "If it wasn't for you and Rat and Bird and-" Rover pulled him into a hug.
"I know, kid," he said, patting his back. "Thanks for bringin' so much life to the refuge. Without you and the other newsies, we ain't got nothin' much to live for."
"I'll see you on the outside," Crutchie said, pulling away from Rover and walking towards the door.
"Hey, Crutchie!" Rover said, calling him back inside. Crutchie poked his head back through the door. "I'd be honored to smoke that first cigar wit you."
"I know just the roof," Crutchie said, thinking longingly of the boarding house. The policeman was growing impatient with Crutchie and dragged him away. As they walked towards the exit, Crutchie received pats on the back, smiles, handshakes, and cheers. Everyone in the refuge had the exact same wonderful feeling that something good was finally happening.
Crutchie stepped outside for the first time in days. It was a beautiful day with a warm summer breeze blowing in his dirty hair. Out in the sunlight, Crutchie realized how filthy he must look to everyone else, but he didn't care. He couldn't believe it when the policeman gestured for Crutchie to climb inside the carriage. Crutchie had never been in one and always wondered what it would be like. He was even more surprised to find out who was inside.
"Miss Medda!" he shouted happily, seeing her friendly, warm face. She wrapped her loving arms around him and kissed his forehead. The carriage lurched forward as it began moving.
"Good to see you, sugar," she said, smiling. She licked her thumb and tried wiping off a trail of dried blood from his face but Crutchie waved her off. "They sure did a number on you. You alright?"
"I'm fine. I don't let 'em get to me," he said. "But what's goin on? All I know is they printed one of Katherine's papes and now there's a mob in the square."
"I think we've won," she said proudly. "I was in the office with Pulitzer, Jack, Katherine, Theodore Roosevelt, and Snyder. We were asked to leave Pulitzer and Jack alone to-"
"Hold it one second," Crutchie said. "Did you just say Teddy Roosevelt was there?" Medda nodded.
"He didn't know much about the strike until one of those papers wound up on his desk," she explained. "He just had to come down here and settle it himself. I think he's going to help you kids a lot."
"But why did they come get me?" Crutchie asked.
"One of the top things on their list of demands was to get you out of there," she said. "Oh honey, you should have seen how torn up they've been without you. I ain't ever seen a bunch of kids so downcast. But you getting caught was the best thing for the strike. It lit a fire under their butt and gave everyone something more personal to fight for."
"How's Dollface?" he asked. Though he knew he would probably be seeing her in a few minutes, he missed her more than ever.
"She's fine, but she's gonna be a whole lot better once she sees you," Medda said. "They'll all be a whole lot better once they see you."
"I'll be a whole lot betta when I see them," Crutchie said, looking out the window. The street became steadily more crowded as they neared Pulitzer's office until finally Crutchie could see the size of the mob. It went on for blocks. All kinds of people had showed up; rich businessmen, poor shopkeepers, mothers with their children. Everyone was chanting and shouting, some held signs in the air.
"I don't believe it," Crutchie said in awe. He couldn't believe that many people cared about their cause. Policemen directed the carriage to stop in front of the building and it stopped.
"You stay here," Medda said, opening the door. "I'm gonna go find out what's going on." She closed the door, leaving Crutchie alone. He stared out the window, wondering how long they had been there. He tried to search for a glimpse of his friends but there were too many people to find them.
Then the crowd began to settle down. The cheering quieted, the yelling stopped, and people lowered their signs. They had all turned their attention to the same place, though Crutchie couldn't see. He sat back, his heart pounding. He had no idea what was going on outside the carriage but knew the strike was moments away from ending.
"Please let us win," he said to himself, his fingers crossed. "Please let us win."
A minute later, the door of the carriage opened.
"You're free to go kid," said the policeman holding the door. He had a smile on his face. "You kids won." Crutchie scrambled to get up and quickly climbed out of the carriage. He faced the cheering crowd in front of him and saw his friends had moved to the front. Racetrack, Specs, Mush, Boots, Davey, Les. They were all there, jumping up and down with excitement.
"Hiya fellas!" Crutchie said cheerfully once they saw him. Then a blur slammed into him, knocking his crutch out of his arm. Crutchie hugged his sister closely.
"I thought I'd neva see you again," she said in his ear, holding back tears.
"Me too, little sista," he said, squeezing her tightly. "I'm fine though, just a little banged up." She pulled away to look at him. Crutchie watched her smile turn into a concerned frown as she looked at his bruised face.
"Kloppman'll fix you up in no time," she said, smiling brightly at him. Suddenly they were slammed with another body. Jack had run down from the balcony and threw his arms around the pair of them.
"Good to see ya buddy," he said to Crutchie. "Hope they didn't rough ya up too bad."
"Naw, I'm fine," he shrugged. More of their friends began gathering around Crutchie, all glad to see him back where he belonged.
"Another piece of good news," Roosevelt said, regaining the crowd's attention. Crutchie looked up at the balcony, amazed that what Medda had said was true. Roosevelt did want to help them after all. "Thanks to the very descriptive drawings of Mr. Kelly, the refuge will be shut down. All the children within its confines will be pardoned and released. No one will have to run from Mr. Snyder ever again. Which reminds me, bring him out boys!" The front doors of the building were opened as Snyder walked out in the clutches of the police. Everyone cheered at the sight of Snyder struggling break free of their grip. They walked him over to the same carriage that had brought Crutchie to them. Nothing felt better than seeing Snyder in the hands of police.
"You are under arrest for the brutal mistreatment of minors and illegal withholding of state money," the policeman said, taking out a pair of handcuffs. Crutchie then got an idea, hobbled over to them, and tapped the man on the shoulders.
"May I?" he asked humbly, gesturing to the handcuffs. The police officer looked uncertainly up at Roosevelt, who shrugged happily, and then handed the cuffs to Crutchie, who let out a chuckle.
"Looks like it's off to the refuge for you little man!" he said happily, slapping the handcuffs on Snyder. The police dragged him away as he aimed a kick at Crutchie. The crowd of newsies behind them cheered loudly as they watched Snyder be driven off in the police carriage. Nothing had ever felt so good as to watch Snyder disappear from Crutchie's life forever with his friends cheering behind him and his sister at his side.
I'm so sorry! I completely forgot to update and things got crazy! But it's back! There's actually one more chapter, more like an epilogue, so stay tuned! And I promise I won't take 3 weeks to upload it!