When Jack returned to the Lodging House that evening, he found several boys sitting on the floor playing poker.
Race was sitting beside them, excitedly whispering into Blink's ear.
"I see you feel better, Race?" Jack asked, smiling.
Race jumped to his feet and turned red. "I...I wasn't playing, Jack, really. I was just helping Blink. You only said you didn't want me to gamble myself..."
"Hey, hey, it's okay, Race." Jack put a reassuring hand on Race's shoulder. "I wasn't accusing you of anything." He gave him a warm smile. "There's no reason to panic, all right?"
Race nodded. "All right." He was obviously embarrassed about his outbreak. The awkward moment was broken by Blink yelling
"Hey, Race, come and have a look at this hand!"
"No problem," Race said and sat back down with the boys.
Jack flashed Blink a grateful smile before he sat down on his bunk.
'He's still afraid. He still doesn't believe we've forgiven him.' The realization hurt him. 'What can I do? How can I make him believe in our trust again?'
Suddenly, an idea hit him.
"Race!" he shouted.
"Yeah?"
"Come over here, will you?"
"Sure." He went over to Jack. "What is it?"
"Could you do me a favor?"
"Of course, anything!"
"Great. I didn't get most of the stuff for Christmas yet. And now there's hardly any time left. And I still don't want you to work tomorrow, so..."
"Jack, I'm fine, I can work..."
"No discussions. You won't, period. But perhaps you could do something else and get the Christmas stuff? That's not as exhausting as walking all over New York with the papes, and it will only take a couple of hours or so."
"You mean...I can go all alone?"
Jack nodded. "Of course you can."
Race smiled happily. "I'd be glad to help."
"Okay, thanks," Jack said. He handed Race a handkerchief with some coins tief up in it and the bag David had given him earlier. "This is the stuff we already have, and that's the rest of the money. Get a present for Kloppman first and then try to find some cheap apples, nuts, cookies and so on. You must see how far you can get with the money, I don't know exactly how much it is."
Race looked at him in disbelief. "You mean...you haven't counted it?"
Jack grinned. "No, I haven't counted it."
The boys smiled at each other. Jack knew that Race understood exactly what he had wanted to convey with these words.
"Thank you, " Race said.
"No problem."
At this moment, Blink shouted, "Oh no! I simply don't believe this!"
Jack chuckled. "I think your help is needed."
"Sounds like," Race grinned and went back to help Blink.

The next day, Race was slowly walking over the marketplace. He was carrying a big bag full of sweets, apples and nuts. Under his arm, he had a book about New Orleans for Kloppman. He knew the old man would enjoy this, he had often heard him talking about the wonderful honeymoon he and his wife had spent there. The money Jack had given him was used up, and now he was looking for a Christmas present for Snipeshooter.
'It's funny,' he thought, 'that I have to buy a present for Snipes of all people - he was really mean to me these last days - can't say he had no reason, though...'
He remembered the last evening. Snipeshooter had come in late. Upon spotting Race, he had walked over to him at once. Staring at his feet, he had mumbled an apology for his hateful remarks. Than he had looked up, and there was so much regret in his eyes that Race could not doubt his sincerity. He had told Snipeshooter that he could understand him and forgave him. When they spit-shook on it, Race had noticed that Snipeshooter's fingers were cold as ice. That was when he had the idea to buy him woolen gloves as a present. He had figured that he should buy a pair just a tad too small for himself, then they should be a bit too big for Snipeshooter, and so he could use them for several years. But the only pair the right size and not too expensive which he had found up to now was pink - and Race was not willing to buy these. 'Pink is definitely no color for a boy - must remember never to mention this to Spot.' He chuckled to himself.
After a while, he finally found what he was looking for - a warm pair of dark blue gloves, the right size and for exactly fifteen cents. Race bought them, stuffed them into his jacket pocket, and made his way back to the Lodging House.

When he walked past Tibby's, he realized he was quite hungry. He knew his friends would be at lunch right now, and hesitated at the door, worried.
'Nonsense, I'll just walk in. It'll be okay!' Determinedly, he opened the door. But inside, he stopped again. The scene before him - his friends laughing and joking and not noticing him - reminded him painfully of his last time at Tibby's, when he had still been an outcast. He could not bring himself to sit down with them.
Suddenly, Mush spotted him standing there.
"Hey Race!" he shouted. "Come over here, we've got space!" Race smiled at Mush gratefully, and sat down between him and Jack.
"Hi," he said. "I've got all the stuff you wanted me to buy." Jack smiled.
"Fine. And how do you feel? You're still pale."
"A bit tired, but okay. Just hungry."
At this moment, the waiter appeared to take Race's order. Race asked for mashed potatoes and a glass of sarsaparilla.
After the waiter had left, Jack whispered, "Race, you got money to pay or you want me to spot you?"
Race smiled at the offer, but shook his head. "I've got some. Remember, I sold fifty papes the day I...ran away, and with all that happened since then I never gave you any of it."
"Yeah, right. You'd better keep it anyway, you haven't worked for two days and you won't work tomorrow, but you still have to eat and pay Kloppman, and if you feel well enough to work on the 26th you'll have to buy papes - tell me if it's not enough, I WILL lend you."
Race understood that Jack emphasized this because he knew Race would never dare to ask him for money otherwise. He nodded, but secretly vowed not to take Jack up on the offer if he could possibly avoid it. When his meal came, he dug into the plate, gulping down the whole portion in just a few minutes, while the others watched him amusedly.
When he was finished, Mush asked, with mock-surprise, "What, won't you eat the plate, too?"
Race grinned. "Of course I won't eat the plate - not without ketchup, anyway."
Mush cracked up. He patted Race on the back and yelled "You hear that, fellows?"
Race just leaned back and smiled. It felt so right.

After lunch Jack insisted that Race go back to the Lodging House and rest. When he got there, he found the house smelling like forest, and there were some fir-tree leaves on the floor of the lobby. Kloppman was just coming out of his office, locking the door. Race smiled knowingly, quickly greeting the old man, and head upstairs. He hid the book under his bunk and wrapped the gloves in an old newspaper. After attaching the tag to it, he went downstairs again. "Here's my present and these are the sweets." He handed both over.
"Very good," Kloppman nodded. "Tomorrow morning everything will be ready."
Race smiled at him. "It's really great of you to do this, you know. It means a lot of us, especially to the little ones."
The old man just shrugged.
"You kids have it hard enough as it is, at least Christmas should be something special for you."
He said it matter-of-factly, but Race knew that a deep care for the newsies hid behind the old man's words. He smiled at him gratefully.
"And shouldn't you be in bed, young man?" Kloppman asked. "If I remember correctly, Cowboy said you should go shopping for a few hours today and then come back and rest."
Race chuckled. "He told you to put me to bed?" he asked.
"Yes. He said he didn't want you to get ill and that you should sleep this afternoon. And he was right for once, so you either go to bed on your own now, or..." he grinned.
Race laughed. "All right, all right, I'm off!" He went up the stairs and lay down on his bunk. Race had to confess that he was tired indeed, yet he lay awake for a while, thinking about the day's events. He knew now that everything would be all right again, just as Jack had promised. Smiling, he fell asleep.

He awoke in the evening to the sound of two pairs of feet running up the stairs. Opening his eyes, he saw Skittery, closely followed by Mush, running through the door and frantically trying to hide between the bunks.
"Wait till I catch you!" Mush shouted, I'll soak you, you bum!" His wide grin told Race he was kidding.
"Race, help me!" Skittery begged, trying to hide behind Race's bunk.
Race grinned. "Excuse me, Mush, why exactly do you want to soak Skit?" he asked.
"He said I was stupid!"
Race blinked blankly in mock-confusion. "Your point?"
Mush laughed. "Just wait, I'll get you both!" He lunged at Race's bunk. As quickly as he could, Race got out of the way. Mush sailed right across the bed and directly into Skittery's surprised face. Watching the knot of arms and legs on the floor trying to untangle, Race burst out laughing.

Just at that moment, Jack walked in, accompanied by David and Les. He surveyed the scene before him confused. "Err...what is going on?" he asked Race.
"Nothing!" Race was still chuckling. "Nothing at all."
Jack shrugged and turned around to Dave and Les. "Kids!" he sighed, feigning annoyance.
His friends merely grinned.
"Well, okay, have you given your presents to Kloppman?" Jack asked them.
"Yes," David nodded.
"Me, too," Les added. "I think it's a shame one can't tell people that one bought them their present. I would like to see the reaction."
"Well, you can. We all open the presents together, so you'll have no problem watching the guy you drew unpacking yours. Tomorrow morning, six o'clock. Sharp."
"Six?" David gasped. "The one day you could sleep in, and you rise so early?"
Jack laughed. "Necessity. The little ones are always so eager to see their presents that they wake up early, and it's impossible to hold them back for long."
"No wonder they're excited, considering how seldom they get any presents." Race interjected.
"I'm excited, too!" Les piped in. "I want to know what I get, I LOVE presents!"
Jack grinned and ruffled his hair. "You'll see tomorrow. And one thing: Please be on time, I don't think I could hold the young ones back for long, but we can't start before everyone is there."
"Sure, " Dave nodded, "We'll do our best."
At that moment, Snipeshooter and Boots came in. "Hey Les, want to play marbles with us?" they asked.
"Sure!" Les said, but David stopped him. "Sorry little brother, but you know what Mama said. We have to be home early today to prepare...you know what."
Les grinned. "Oh, sure! Let's go!" He grabbed David's hand and drew him out of the door, waving only a short goodbye at the newsies. Before Jack had a chance to ask them what they had to prepare, they were gone.

He shrugged and turned around towards Race. "How do you feel?"
"Fine, I'm fine," Race answered.
Jack smiled. "You sure look better. I guess you'll be able to work the day after tomorrow."
"Of course I will!" Race said, "And I WILL work, no matter what!"
"IF you are up to it," Jack warned.
"I WILL be. Period!" His voice was stubborn.
Jack laughed. "Okay, okay, fine then." He was happy to see Race being his old self again.

Blink and Specs entered, closely followed by Dutchy and Snitch. They walked over to Race.
Specs smiled at him and asked, "Mind if we borrow your cards again?"
"Not at all," Race said and tossed him the deck.
Blink whispered, an encouraging tone in his voice "You know Race, I believe Jack would let you play if you asked."
Race smiled, but shook his head. "I'm sure he would, but I won't ask him. He had a good reason to forbid me, and I accept this. It wouldn't feel honest to ask him now, just because I know he'd give in."
Blink clasped his shoulder. "You're right! So, got the time to help a hopeless case?" He grinned.
Race laughed. "Sure, why not. Must hinder you from loosing your last shirt, right?"
Blink chuckled and punched Race's arm playfully. Laughing, the two boys joined the others in their circle on the floor.

The next morning Jack woke up to the voices of Snipeshooter, Squab and several other young newsies, shouting "Merry Christmas" and trying to rouse the older boys. Jack groaned and turned around slowly.
"Go to bed again, guys, some of us want to sleep," he mumbled.
"But Jack," Snipeshooter said. "You promised six o'clock, and it's already a quarter to!"
Jack looked at him, then over at Race, who was slowly sitting up on his bunk.
"Race?" he asked.
Race pulled out his watch and looked at it.
"He's right," he nodded.
"Okay," Jack sighed and sat up. "Get moving, boys."
The newsies slowly complied, while the younger ones still ran around between the bunks excitedly.
"I don't understand how you can sleep so long on Christmas Morning!" Squab yelled.
Jack sighed, grinning. "You know, it's not that we don't want our presents. We just know they'd still be there in one or two hours," he answered.
Blink laughed. "Oh, come on, Jack. When I was their age, I wasn't any better. And can you honestly say you were?" "No," Jack confessed. "But I never was such a nuisance!"
Blink just looked at him, raising an eyebrow. Jack laughed "Okay, okay, so I was!" He jumped off his bunk and headed for the washroom.
Smiling, he watched the youngest boys washing, combing and dressing in less than a minute.
'Gee, I hope Dave and Les will be on time. I don't want any of the little ones to die of suspense.' He chuckled.

When everyone was ready, the newsies headed downstairs. In the lobby, they saw a fir tree, about six feet tall and decorated with cheap paper ornaments and popcorn. Under it lay lots of parcels wrapped in old newspapers, some of them decorated with colored ribbons. The tree-trunk was far from straight, and there were big gaps between the branches, but for the newsies, it was the perfect Christmas tree. Upon seeing it, the little ones squealed with delight, and the older boys smiled and sent Kloppman, who was leaning against his desk grinning, grateful glances.
Snipeshooter was literally jumping up and down with excitement.
"May we open the presents, Cowboy?" he begged.
Jack laughed. "Not before David and Les are here." He looked at the clock. "They should arrive any minute now." "Okay...", Snipeshooter agreed reluctantly.

Fifteen minutes later, there was still no sign of David and Les. The newsies were getting more and more impatient, and the older boys had a hard time holding the little ones back from opening the gifts. They tried singing Christmas songs and telling stories, but the youngest newsies were unable to concentrate on anything.
"If Dave and Les don't turn up soon, we'll simply start without them!" Jack said to Crutchy.
"Oh, come on, give them a chance. They certainly have a good reason to be late."
Jack just sighed. "I give them ten minutes."

Ten minutes later, they still were not there. Nor ten minutes after that. Jack did not have the heart to disappoint Les by starting without them, but he was very annoyed by their delay. The youngest newsies were complaining and begging and generally getting on everyone's nerves.
Another quarter of an hour later, at ten to seven, Jack seriously considered sending someone to the Jacobs' place. Just when he turned to Swifty to ask him to go, the Lodging House's door was opened halfway and David and Les came in, smiling.
"DIDN'T I ask you to be on time?" Jack snapped. "You better have a really good reason for being late!" He was really annoyed by now.
Les grinned. "Well, Jack, we are really sorry to be late, but we had to pick up a special present for you!"
That did not calm Jack at all. "I thought I'd made it clear that presents are ONLY given to the person whose name you drew?"
"Err...yes," David had to bite back a laugh, "But in this case, I really don't think you'd like me to give it to another guy." Jack just frowned and fixed them both. "Explain?"
Grinning, they opened the door totally to reveal...
"Sarah!" Jack stared at his girl incredulously.
"Jack!" Laughing, she flew towards him and into his arms.
"I...I thought you couldn't come back before the New Year."
"Aunt Martha took pity on me as I missed you all so much, and sent me home. She said she'll manage."
Smiling broadly, Jack embraced Sarah. They sank into a deep kiss, not minding or noticing the howling and whistling of the other newsies.

When they parted, Jack smiled at David and Les apologetically.
"I'm sorry for shouting, it's just that it was so unnerving having to hold the little ones back all that time."
David grinned. "Oh, don't worry, I understand. I experienced the same problems with Les during this hour you two spent on cloud nine!"
Jack laughed, looking first at Les and then at the other young boys.
"Well, go to it," he said. With a shout, the little newsies lunged for the parcels, frantically searching for their own.
Sarah kissed Jack on the cheek and whispered, "Really sorry you had to wait. We had planned to be on time, but the train ran late." Jack just smiled and kissed her again.
"That's okay. I still can't believe you're here." He frowned. "I have no present for you."
Sarah just laughed. "Oh, I'll settle for another of those kisses."
"THAT shouldn't be a problem," Jack grinned, before drawing her into his arms again.

In the meantime, most of the younger newsies had found their presents. Snipeshooter was overjoyed by the gloves. He put them on at once and showed them to everyone proudly.
Les was delighted to find a little wooden horse in his parcel.
After the little newsies had their presents, the older ones started to look for theirs. When Mush found and opened his parcel, he laughed out loud.
"What is it, Mush?" Bumlets asked curiously.
"Matching laces," Mush grinned. "Do you remember during the strike when I said I wanted a pair of new shoes with matching laces? Well, new shoes were a little out of price range I guess, but at least if got matching laces for my old ones now. And dark green, my favorite color!" He grinned broadly.

"Looks like someone had a good idea!" Sarah giggled, smiling at Jack. "Now, won't you go and get your present?"
Jack kissed her on the cheek. "I already have everything I could wish for."
"Tsk tsk tsk, what shall the guy who bought your present think?" Sarah asked.
Jack smiled sheepishly. "You're right. Excuse me." He went to the tree and found his present. Opening it, he smiled. "Hey, that's great," he said. "My favorite!"
"Favorite what?" Sarah asked.
"Raspberry drops. They're really great and quite expensive," Jack explained, already chewing.
"Here, have one."
Sarah took the offered drop smiling and tasted it. "Very good," she said. "Very sweet."
Jack smiled. "But not as sweet as you."
They sank into another kiss.

Jack and Sarah were sitting on the stairs to the first floor together. She was leaning on him while he had his arm around her. They were talking and watching the other newsies who were chatting and showing each other their presents. Everyone seemed happy and smiled.
But then Jack spotted Race sitting in the corner by the door, staring at a little longish box in his hand and turning it around again and again.
"Sarah, I'll be back in a minute," Jack said and crossed the room. He sat down besides Race. Throwing a glance at the box, he commented, "Looks like a good cigar."
"It is."
"Well, won't you smoke it?"
Race looked at Jack uncertainly. "Would that be all right with you?"
Jack was puzzled. "Sure, why not?"
"Well, I thought..." Race was obviously getting nervous. "You might expect me to sell it? You know, it's a good brand, I'm sure it cost the full fifteen cents, and certainly one of the guys would give me ten for it, and I'd understand if you..."
Jack interrupted him. "Race, ease up, will you?" He put an arm around his friend's shoulders. "Listen, it's from me."
Race stared at him. "What?"
Jack laughed. "Yeah, I know it's against the rules to tell you that, but I drew you, and I bought the cigar, and of course I want you to smoke it." He hugged him. "Come on, don't be so nervous about the money. You don't have to feel bad about it anymore. It's all right. Just think about it as if I lent it to you and now you have to pay it back bit by bit. Nothing more, okay?"
Race nodded gratefully. "Nothing more."
"Very good."
Race stood up. "Okay, then I'll see if anyone can give me a light now." He headed towards the group and joined the conversation.
Jack observed this with a smile before he went back to Sarah.
"Is anything wrong?" she asked him. She obviously had observed his talk with Race and was puzzled by this.
"Nothing at all. Everything is all right."
Feeling his girl huddling close to him and seeing Race chatting and laughing with the newsies as usual, he smiled silently to himself.
"Yes, everything IS all right."

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