"Thank you, Ma'm," Jack smiled as he pocketed the penny, giving away his last paper. The lady smiled and went on. Jack looked around him and saw Blink just selling his last paper, too. He walked over to him.
"You're done?"
"Yes. Oh, and I see you've once more succeeded in selling a hundred newspapers in the time I need for fifty!" Jack grinned.
"A talent's a talent!" Then he frowned.
"I hope someone finds Crutchy's father soon. I've promised Crutchy we'd sort everything out today, and it's already past noon."
"Oh, I'm sure we'll find him. There are simply too many newsies in New York. The man has no chance to get past us!"
"Hope you're right!" Jack motioned over to a stand to their left.
"Let's get some food while we're waiting."
"Sure." They walked over and bought two hot dogs. Then they found a comfortable place in the shade and ate. Blink asked some questions about Crutchy's father, but Jack shrugged.
"Blink, understand me. I've told you as much as Crutchy allowed me to, but if you want details, ask him, okay?"
"Of course." At this moment they were interrupted by loud shouting.
A little boy was running through the park, crying "Cowboy! David! Mush! Where are you?" as loud as he could. Jack rose, hopefully.
"I'm here, Slider!" he called. The little boy turned around, saw them and ran over. "Cowboy, Cowboy we've seen him! I'm sure it really was him!"
"Cool down, Slider, cool down. WHERE did you see him?"
"Down at the harbor! Snipeshooter and me were selling there, and suddenly we spotted him coming out of a boarding house. Snipeshooter sent me here and said he'd follow him!"
"Blink, fetch Dave and Boots! They are selling down there." Jack pointed southward.
"I'll fetch the others. We'll meet here in a minute!"
"Okay!"
In a matter of moments, all boys were found. Jack explained to everyone what had happened, then he told Slider to lead the way. He ran off, the others following close behind.

When they reached the harbor, Slider indicated a small and dirty sidestreet.
"That's were we saw him."
"Okay, let's go and find Snipeshooter." They were lucky: as soon as they entered the sidestreet, they saw Snipeshooter running towards them.
"Oh I'm so glad you are here!" he shouted. "He's eating in some cheap restaurant right now, but he'll be finished any minute!"
"Show us!" Jack said and followed him.
Snipeshooter lead them to a run-down little building. They looked in through the big window. The room behind was dirty, and the furniture was in an awful condition. 'Compared to this, Tibby's is a noble restaurant,' Jack thought. His eyes searched the room. And indeed, in a corner near the counter, he clearly recognized the man from the photo.
"Good work," he smiled to the two small boys.
"Yes, really, very good," Dave affirmed. Slider and Snipeshooter looked really proud while the older boys all congratulated them.
"But now," Jack added, "thanks again for your good work, but get out of here." The young boys looked dissapointed.
"But..."
"But nothing! I don't want you in this; it might be dangerous!"
"Okay..."
"If we must...," they said and went away reluctantly.
"What next, Cowboy?" Boots asked.
"We'll wait till he comes out," Jack explained, "then we'll 'talk' to him."

They didn't have to wait long. Merely five minutes after their arrival, the man stood up, paid and headed to the door. Jack waved to his friends to step back a bit. When the man came out, he didn't notice them. He turned to the right and started to walk down the street quickly. As he passed by a dark alley, Jack grabbed him and drew him in. With the help of his friends, he managed to pin the man, who was very strong indeed, to the wall.
"What the hell... Let go of me you street rats!" the man shouted. Jack merely smiled at him. "Mr. James O'Malley, I presume?" The man looked startled.
"How do you know who I am?"
"Oh, we're friends of your son, SIR," David explained. His voice was threatening and full of anger.
"That damned bastard! You know him? Where is he? Where is that scum?"
"I really don't think that's any of your business. And don't you dare call my friend a bastard!" Jack said, accompanied by agreeing murmur from they others. Before Crutchy's father could find any reply, he continued, "I'd really say you've harmed your son enough. I'm here to make sure that will not happen again"
"Ha, and how are you supposed to do that, you rat? Will you try to keep me away from my son?" "No, I will not TRY to keep you away from YOUR SON. I'll SUCEED in keeping you away from NEW YORK!" Jack saw an bewildered expression cross the man's face. He heard his friends chuckle behind him. Dave patted his shoulder.
"So that's your plan. Brilliant!"
"Thank you," Jack said, his eyes never leaving O'Malley. "You'll leave New York today, and you'll never come back, understood?" The man laughed.
"You want to force me to leave? And how will you do that? Drag me to the train station? What do you think will happen if we encounter a cop?"
"Nothing will happen. We'll just walk past him. Unless, of course, you decide to raise a fuss. Then we'd be forced to tell him that you've just been released from jail and have attacked your son, trying to kill him. He might not believe us, at first, but the thing will go to court. And if they have a look at your file and see you've been in jail for abuse of your son before, and if Crutchy testifies...." Jack grinned. "Well, I hope you liked the jail, you'd most certainly be back!" The man went pale for a moment, but then he caught himself.
"Crutchy?" he laughed out, his voice mean and cruel. "Is that what you call him now? Suits him well, the damned crip!"
Jack lost his temper. He drew back his fist and punched the man in the face. He'd always been a good fighter, and now his rage doubled his strength. He knocked him out cold. He turned around to the others.
"Oops, guess that was a little too hard."
"Nothing's to hard for this scum," Dave assured.
"No," Race said, "but now we'll have to wait till he comes to before we can do anything."
But at this moment, O'Malley already started to stir and to moan. They grabbed him again quickly.
"Well, I hope we can talk reasonable now," Jack said. "You'll leave New York today. And don't even think about coming back! Every newsie in Manhattan already knows how you look. We've got a photo, you see, and we will bring it to Brooklyn, Queens, Harlem... Soon every single newsie in town will know your ugly face, and if you dare to show up here again we'll see you. You can't hide from the New York newsies, we are everywhere. You know, we only started to look for you this morning, and already found you. If you ever dare to come back, we'll soak you till you wish you'd never been born!" His voice was full of hatred and hardly controlled anger. Crutchy's father looked really scared now.
"Okay, okay." He sounded defeated. "If you care for the crip so much..." He saw Jack make a fist and hastily continued, "It's all right, I'll leave! Can I at least collect a few thing from my room first?"
"Sure, but don't try anything. We'll watch you close." Slowly, the man rose. The newsies observed his every movement. He started to walk hesitantly out of the alley and towards a small boarding house a little way down the street. The newsies still surrounded him, never dropping their guard. O'Malley looked at the ground. There was sweat on his forehead, and actual fear in his eyes. He seemed to have finally realized that the newsies could really be dangerous if they wanted.
'Damned coward!' Jack thought. 'Strong and courageous enough to beat a little boy, but as soon as he's facing someone his own size...' He could read from the grim expressions on his friends' faces that they had similar thoughts.
As they arrived at the run-down boarding house, they walked in and entered a little room at the right. It was dark, and the air was thick enough to cut. A dirty mattress was lying in the corner, cockroaches were crawling on the floor, and there was a small box behind the door.
"Uhh..." Boots said, "Never knew how lucky we are with our Lodging House!" His friends laughed, still observing O'Malley carefully as he bent down to the little box and opened it. There were a few dirty clothes in it. O'Malley took them out. He sprawled a cloth on the floor, apparently about to make a bundle. As the boys stood back to give him some space, he suddenly jumped up and darted for the door. But before he reached it, Mush tripped him. With a loud bang, he fell on his face. The boys laughed.
"Good reaction, Mush!" Race cheered.
Jack went to the man and pulled him to his feet.
"I hope that teaches you not to try funny things on us again. Next time we'll lose our patience!"
O'Malley stood up, grumbling. Blink took up the bundle and tossed it at him.
"Fine, I guess we'll go now!" Jack said, smiling maliciously at O'Malley. He grabbed his arm and lead him out on the street again.

On the way to the station the newsies watched O'Malley very carefully, not wanting him to escape in case he tried anything again. But he just walked with them silently, not resisting any longer. When they arrived, Jack looked at the timetable. He allowed his eyes to linger on the information about the train to Santa Fe for a moment, then he concentrated on the matter at hand.
"You're lucky!" he told O'Malley, grinning. "There a three trains leaving within the next twenty minutes, so you've got a choice. What would you prefer - Washington, Chicago or Buffalo?" O'Malley just shrugged.
"Come on, make your decision, man, or I'll do it for you!" Jack warned.
"Washington," O'Malley mumbled, reluctantly.
"Okay, let's go get your ticket." They walked over to the counter.
"Good day, Sir," Jack greeted the man behind the counter politely. "One ticket to Washington please. Third class. One-way."
The clerk looked at them a bit doubtfully, but he pulled out the ticket.
"Five dollars, please...Sir." Jack frowned at his not-to-polite behavior, but he had other things to care about right now. He turned to O'Malley and held his hand open, expectantly. O'Malley looked at him, shocked.
"You expect ME to pay for this?" he asked. Jack nodded, grinning.
"Sure thing, what did you think?" Boots asked.
And Blink added, drawing close to him and hissing into his ear, "Any problem with that?" "No..no," O'Malley stammered. "It's just..." he looked confused for a moment, then his face brightened and he looked at Jack triumphantly, "I haven't got any money!"
"If there's one thing I actually despise more than a liar, " David said, menacingly, "it's a bad liar!" With this, he pulled a shabby little pouch from O'Malley's front pocket. "We saw you pay at the restaurant," he grinned.
The clerk began to get suspicious. "Is anything wrong, Sir?" he asked. Jack glanced at O'Malley warningly.
"No, not at all," Crutchy's father said. Jack smiled.
"My...uncle's just a bit drunk, Sir," he explained. The clerk still looked doubtful, but didn't ask any further questions. Jack opened the pouch and looked in it.
"Oh," he said, "we're lucky. Five dollars and seventy-three cents!" O'Malley went pale. "It's all I've got," he mumbled.
"The better," David told him while Jack handed the five dollars cheerfully to the man behind the counter, receiving the ticket.
"It makes sure you won't have silly ideas about coming back anytime soon." The boys laughed as they went to the platform to wait for the train.
"Five minutes," Race said with a glance at the big clock hanging there. "Anyone for a game of cards?"
"Not now, Race!" Jack answered, amused. "We really ought to have an eye on our 'uncle' here." And, with a glance at David, he added, smiling, "That's no lie by the way! Crutchy's practically our brother, and therefore..."
"You just 'improved the truth a little'," David interrupted him, laughing. "I see that, Jack!" Jack was about to give a reply, when suddenly O'Malley spoke up.
"I don't understand you! Why are you doing all this, just for my son? He's nothing but a little bastard!" Jack stared at him.
"I told you once already: Don't talk about my friend like that. Your son is a wonderful person. He's friendly, always trying to help everyone, he's the very best listener I know-" His eyes, that had become soft during this description, suddenly were hard and icy again.
"Why do I waste my breath on you? You wouldn't understand. What can a creep like you possibly know about friendship and kindness!"
At that moment, the train arrived, its noise cutting off any answer O'Malley might have given. "Get on, now!" Jack ordered. "And get a seat next to a window where I can see you." With these words, he pressed the ticket into O'Malley's hand and shoved him towards the nearest door. First, Crutchy's father seemed to be about to object again, but as he saw the angry looks on the newsies' faces, he quickly climbed onto the train and took a seat besides the window. He stared at his feet. The newsies watched him as the train slowly rolled out of the station. They cheered and waved as it disappeared in the distance. Jack smiled, delighted.
"Done. I'm convinced we've seen the last of that scum!"

They left the station, happy and satisfied with themselves.
"What now?" Mush asked Jack.
"Well, me and David are going to deliver the good news to Crutchy. And..." He drew the article with the photo of Crutchy's father out of his pocket. "I need someone to bring this to Brooklyn." His friends looked at him, unsure.
"Oh, come on guys! Please don't start this 'Spot makes us nervous' - thing again. Have you forgotten how he helped us during the strike, he and his boys?"
"You're right, Cowboy!" Blink said, taking the photo. "I'll go!"
"I'll come with you," Boots offered.
"Me too!"
"And me," Race and Mush added.
"Okay. Tell Spot to show it to all of his boys and pass it on to the other parts of the city, then. See you at the Lodging House this evening." They nodded and ran off, heading for the Brooklyn Bridge. Jack turned around to David, putting an arm around his shoulders. "I'm so glad it worked!"
"Me too. Come on, let's go and tell Crutchy. I'm sure he'll be overjoyed."
"He certainly will."
And with that, they started to walk towards the Jacobs' home.

On their way to the Jacobs', they met Specs, who was just on his way to bring Les home. David thanked him for watching his little brother and assured them both that everything was all right now. Jack promised to tell Specs the details later, at the Lodging House.
As they entered the Jacobs' flat, a strange scene enfolded before their eyes: While Mrs. Jacobs was sitting on the table making laces, Sarah stood beside her father, supervising him in ironing a shirt and patiently explaining the best technique. Crutchy was nowhere in sight.
"Err...papa?" David asked, puzzled. Mr. Jacobs looked up, smiling broadly.
"Hello Jack, David, Les! Don't look so surprised! Crutchy has given me this wonderful idea: I'll learn to do the housework, so Sarah and Esther have more time to make laces. That way, I can support the family and do something useful until I find a proper job. What do you say?" David and Les still looked a bit confused, but Jack smiled.
"That's just like Crutchy. 'Do what you can and accept your limitations,' he always says."
"Yes," Mr. Jacobs laughed, "that's exactly what he told me. And he's right, don't you think so, boys?" David and Les were smiling now, too.
"He certainly is!" Dave said, and Les added, "I'm glad he had this idea." Jack could see in their eyes how happy they were to see their father's good mood.
"By the way, speaking of Crutchy, where is he?"
"He was tired," Mrs. Jacobs explained, "and I let him take our bed so he can get some rest. It's quieter."
At this moment, the door to the small bedchamber opened and Crutchy stood in the frame, smiling broadly.
"Jack, David! I'd thought I heard your voices! Hi Les!" He crossed the room and hugged them shortly.
"It's good to see you're all right."
"Crutchy!" David greeted him, "I see you've been busy solving our problems while we were out there, solving yours." Crutchy smiled timidly.
"Oh, I've done nothing special, just said what I thought." Suddenly he looked up.
"Wait! Did you say you...solved my problem?" Jack laughed.
"Sure did! Did you doubt us?" Crutchy smiled.
"Never! I just worried... How did you do it?" So Jack recounted his plan and it's fulfillment. Crutchy's eyes grew wider and wider.
"You mean he's out of New York...for good?" he marveled.
"Yes," David assured him, "you'll never have to worry about him again!"
Crutchy smiled. "Thank you, thank you so much! I just wish..." His face fell.
"You just wish what?" Jack asked.
"I wish I'd have told you everything from the start, instead of keeping it a secret and causing so much trouble." He looked at the floor.
"Crutchy," Jack said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "I agree, you should have told us right away, but I can understand you didn't, and so will the others."
"The others! Oh my God, I was so mean! I still can't believe how I shouted at them. I really ought to apologize!" Mrs. Jacobs interrupted them.
"I'm sure they'll accept, Crutchy, but before you go home, stay and dine with us. You too, Jack." "No, really, Mrs. Jacobs, you've done enough already..." Crutchy begun.
"Nonsense!" Mr. Jacobs insisted. "You've done more for us than you can imagine! And my wife has prepared a pudding especially for you, to celebrate the day." Crutchy blushed. Mrs. Jacobs smiled.
"Sit down now and let's eat! Sarah, lay the table, will you?"
"Sure, Mum," she smiled, fetching a staple of plates from the cupboard. When she put them on the table, Jack heard her whisper into David's ear, "Your friend really did a wonder!" David just nodded and smiled.
'Crutchy is a wonder himself,' Jack thought.

After supper, Jack and Crutchy prepared to go back to the Lodging House. The Jacobs offered them to stay for the night, but Crutchy claimed that he really had to talk to his friends. So the Jacobs let them go, but not without thanking Crutchy once more and inviting him to come to visit them whenever he wanted.

On their way back, Jack noticed that Crutchy was still weak. He also seemed a little nervous. "Anything wrong, Crutchy? You're not still worrying what the others will say, are you?"
"Well, a bit."
"But Crutchy, there's no need for..."
"Jack, please, let me just think about what I shall tell them, will you?"
"Okay," Jack agreed. He understood that Crutchy, as he was usually always cheerful and friendly to everyone, felt especially bad about having shouted at his friends. He knew, though, that the newsies wouldn't see that as half as serious as Crutchy did.
The boys walked in silence for the rest of the way.

As they entered the bunkroom, the were greeted with cheers and smiles.
"Jack, Crutchy! Glad you're back!" Bumlets shouted.
"Race and Blink have told us what happened, Jack," Specs said. "You did great, really."
"Crutchy, welcome back"
Everyone was talking at once. Jack smiled. He saw Crutchy looking at him, begging for help. "Hey, hey!" he raised his hands. "I'm glad everything's worked out, too, but be quiet now, all of you! Crutchy wants to tell you something. The newsies complied, looking at Crutchy expectantly.
"Well, err..." Crutchy began, slowly. Jack placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Just say it," he whispered. Crutchy straightened.
"First, I want to apologize for the way I behaved lately. I know I was a jerk, and I'm sorry!" The newsies only smiled at him, and he relaxed a bit.
"Secondly, I want to thank all of you for your help. Jack has told me how you all helped in looking for my father and throwing him out, and I'm really grateful for your support. I certainly didn't deserve it after my behavior these last days!" he finished, hanging his head.
The newsies were quiet for a moment, then Mush spoke up.
"Crutchy, that's rubbish! What we did for you, we did out of friendship. A friendship can bear some bad words, that doesn't mean it's over. And help between friends is something natural, it doesn't have to be deserved." He smiled, walking over to Crutchy and hugging him. "I'm just glad you're all right now." The other newsies agreed.
One after the other, they came over to Crutchy, to hug him and say some friendly words. Crutchy had tears of gratefulness in his eyes. Jack, who hadn't left his side since they had entered the room, squeezed his shoulder.
"Told you so," he smiled. Race was the last one to come over.
"Oh, Race," Crutchy said, "I was so especially mean to you, yesterday evening. Can you forgive me?" he asked. Race smiled. "I already have," he said, hugging him. "Under the condition you promise me something!"
"And what is that?" Crutchy asked, while the other newsies were looking at Race quizzically. Race smiled.
"Promise me you'll never again keep your problems to yourself like that! Promise me you won't hurt yourself and us with secrets ever again!" Crutchy smiled and spit-shook with Race.
"I promise!" he said. "No more secrets!"

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