The next morning I sat with them at breakfast. I still hadn't found the desire to eat much of anything since Doug had been taken away. But then at lunch time Jumper started putting more food on my tray as we went through the line, I looked at him as he smiled at me. When we sat down at the table I saw Topper slide some of his bread and an apple into his pocket. Then he looked at me intently and said, "Youse betta start eaten and savin as much of ya food as ya can the next few days. The tree of us is getting outta here."
I looked at him to make sure he was serious. But he didn't look like he was joking. Then he asked me if I had somewhere I could go when we got out. I sat there thinking of looking for Dadai, but I knew that if he wanted me he would have come back. And I knew my chances of finding Maeve and the McGinty's were slim. So I shook my head no and said, "I'm an Orphan."
He nodded in understanding. He clasped Jumper's hand to get his attention and traced out letters on the table to tell him something. A few moments later Topper looked up at me with an idea. He asked me if I was still young enough that I had to go for reading and writing class and I told him I did. He asked me if I could find a way to pocket a few extra pencils for them.
They had gotten assigned to the laundry room for their first week and came back that night with a few extra clothing items which they hid in a pillowcase. They also grabbed some hats and a jacket for each of us. I showed the 6 pencils that had gotten off the teacher's desk when everyone else had left the room. I had also ran up to the chalkboard in the room and grabbed all the chalk I could find. And the small note tablet that was on the teacher's desk. And they thanked me and Jumper gave me a hug when I handed them to him. The next morning we again stored up some of our breakfast and lunch and hid it in our pillows.
That afternoon while we were in the courtyard Topper pointed a corner of the fence out to me. He told me there was a rusted bar and that he thought with the two of them pulling on it they could bend it out of place enough for me to squeeze through. The plan was for me to climb the tree that hung over the fence and help them get up. We set our escape for the next night. We would hurry and grab our things as soon as dinner was through.
I was nervous and pacing most of the next day. My pillow case full of gear was hidden in a corner between my bunk and theirs. I had the sheet from my bed ripped into strips and braided to make a rope and I wrapped it around my chest under my shirt. As soon as dusk had fallen we left the mess hall and headed to our room and grabbed the bags. We made it back out into the courtyard before the rest of the boys were done eating.
Jumper and Topper began pulling on the bar while I stood watch. Other than the noise on the street it was pretty quiet. They got the bar pulled as far as they could and after trying a few different angles I was able to get between the bar and the wall. I ran straight to the tree. I was fortunate there was some crates nearby and was able to climb up into the tree quickly. I unbuttoned my shirt and unwrapped my makeshift rope. I wrapped it around the branch and held it tight as Jumper climbed up slowly.
Topper tossed up our pillowcases of gear and then started climbing. He slipped half way up and that's when I heard yelling coming from the nearest building. Someone began blowing a whistle and Topper slipped again. When he was almost to the top someone had reached him and was pulling him by his foot. Jumper and I grabbed onto his shoulders to help pull him up as he kicked out at the man below. We could hear the crunch when he connected with the man's nose.
We scrambled out of the tree on the other side. I picked up two of the bags and Topper the other. Then he put his arm under Jumper to support him and we took off as fast as week could, running through alleys trying to avoid being seen. We ran for what seemed like an hour before Jumper started sinking to the ground. We knew he couldn't go any further and so we sat behind some trash cans and took a rest. We ate some of the stale bread from our bags and fell asleep for the night.
The next morning we headed for the Brooklyn Bridge. I remembered some of the places we passed from while my Dadai was still around. And we eventually went towards the docks. As we approached we started to see boys of all ages sitting on posts watching us pass. A few smiled at us, some scowled, but one stepped in our path. But as soon as Topper stood face to face with him he backed away, but spit at his feet. I tried to copy his tough boy expression, it almost started to make my face hurt after a while, but it made me feel safer in this place.
As we approached the dock outside the Brooklyn Lodging house the leader of the group, a boy named Train jumped off his perch and came to great us. He stared hard into Topper's eyes and then smiled a crooked smile. He spit in his hand and offered it to Topper.
Topper spit and shook back. "Glad youse came back."
"Ise glad to be back. Is everthin clear 'tween us?" He asked.
"It be a bit dif'cult to undstand but . . ." He trailed off as a boy approached in a looked mean and had a white scar that ran across the right side of his face from the bridge of his nose to his chin. He walked straight up and shoved Topper towards the edge of the dock. "Whadda youse think youse doing back 'ere pretta boy? Didn wese make it clear ta yas that we don't wants your kind 'ere?" He shoved him again. But Topper just rolled his shoulders with the shove and it didn't move him.
His face hardened and his top lip curled up in a snarl. "Who shares me bed is no consoin of yours Scar. Youse the one bringin in those two cent diseased whores, who steal from us! Where does yas think Queens is gettin our secrets from? Youse the one whisperin our hidin places and sellin spots to 'em. No otha reason dey would come to youse twice."
Scar turned red and lunged at Topper, who as calm as ever, just stepped aside and watched him drop off the edge of the pier into the filthy river. Most of the boys began laughing, myself and Jumper included. As Scar resurfaced Topper looked down and said. "Ise don wanna see ya face around our territory anymo Scar. Next time I pay yous back for beatin Jumper, and pay back is a bitch." He looked over to Train who nodded that he agreed. Scar swam over to a ladder and two of his boys helped him up. They turned and walked away from the lodging house.
Topper introduced me to Train, who agreed that I could stay with them. There was really any open bunk space, but Topper told me I could stay in his room, there was an old beat up couch in there for me to sleep on.
The next day was my first on the job. I did well enough at it to get by. But I was much better at the other favorite activities of the Brooklyn Newsies, gambling, wrestling and most of all shooting. Six years later and I still was good with a slingshot.
Train and Topper grew to trust me. I was good at breaking up the fights that happened frequently. I had perfected the glare that Topper used to intimidate his opponents. I did my best to follow his non aggressive fighting style. But from time to time I found myself losing my temper.
It was sort of awkward sharing a room with those two. I would wake up to noises often. I would cover my ears trying to block out the memory of Brick making similar sounds. Some nights when I came up to the room late I would hear things and just curl up to sleep outside the door.
I knew from my conversations with Topper that he understood my feelings towards my friend. And he would just smile and nod when I talked about my heartache from not knowing where or how he was. He promised to help me search the streets for him someday soon. It made me happy to know I had more than one friend.
After my 12th birthday and living with the Brooklyn gang for over a year, I got to tag along on my first trip with Train, Topper and Jumper. They were headed to talk to the new leader of the Manhattan Newsies. A boy named Cowboy who had escaped from the refuge just a few months before we did, I was sure I must have met him at some point. There were some complaints that his Newsies were trying to infringe on Brooklyn's territory. So we were going there to settle it. It turned out to be a fruitful trip.