Queen of Brooklyn

Chapter 15

Bright and early the next mornin', we woke up to give out papes.

Jack handed us stacks and stacks of 'em. Everyone passed them out, even Sarah and I passed some out. We were gone all day!

Before everyone left for home, I asked Denton if he thought it would work.
"I sure hope so." He said.
I smiled and nodded. Please work!

The next day, we all waited by the statue. We waited for a while, but nobody came.
"Nobody's comin', are they?" I asked Jack.
He shrugged his shoulders,"Got me. We'll just wait a little longer, ok?"
I nodded and sat by Racetrack.
"Have ya seen Spot?" I asked him.
"Nah. I haven't seen him all day. Why? Ya miss him already?" He chuckled.
I punched him in the arm,"Maybe. What's it to ya?"

All of the sudden, we heard people yelling and singing. We stood up, lookin' for the source of the noise. A huge crowd of people were walking towards us with signs.

"Jack! They came!" I laughed.
I looked for Spot and saw him leading the crowd with the Brooklyn newsies at his side.
"Spot!" I ran over to him and jumped into his arms.
"Hey sweet cheeks!" He grinned and
walked towards the statue with me.

We began to yell with them. Spot and I sat by the statue, holding hands. David and Jack got down from the statue and marched towards Mr. Pulitzer's office.

With triple the number of people on our side, he had to listen. Race ran over to us,''Look! They made it to his office. Ha!"

We followed Race's gaze and say Jack and Mr. Pulitzer arguing. Shortly after, I say Jack and David burst out the doors. Jack hoisted Les on his shoulders and put a fist in the air.
"We beat 'em!" He yelled.

People started cheering and clapping.
I wrapped my arms around Spot's neck, "Things are gettin' better!"
"They sure are sweet cheeks!" He put his arm around me.

Shortly after, a police carriage pulled up in the center of the street. Jack began to run, but Denton stopped him.
"No Jack! You don't have to run anymore! Not from the likes of him."
He leaded Jack towards the carriage.
A police officer opened the door and the boys from the refuge started pouring out.
Then, Mr. Snyder was escorted into the carriage with handcuffs.
Crutchy walked up to the carriage.
"May I?" He asked. The officers stepped out of the way. "Oh and remember what I said. The first thing ya do, make friends with the rats. Share what ya have in common!"
Mr. Snyder gave Crutchy a dirty look and walked in.

He grabbed the latch and locked it. As the cart drove away, people began yelling and waving.

"Ah, you should've seen it Jack" Crutchy continued,"He comes stormin' in with an army of lawyers..."
"Who Crutchy?" Jack asked him.
"Ya friend, Teddy Roosevelt!"

I looked over at a carriage. There he was, Teddy Roosevelt. He was waving at people and smiling at the people around him.

"He's awful glad you brought this to his attention. He said he'll take you any where you want and this time inside the carriage." Denton smiled.

"Anywhere?" Jack asked.

"Yeah." Denton asked with confusion.

"Could he dropped me off at the train yards?" Jack stared at the carriage.

"If you want."

I pushed my way through the crowd, "Ya still want to leave?"

"Its my dream to go, Lexi."

"Ya sure you don't wanna go with me?" He asked.

"Nah. I got family here." I smiled.

"Alright, I'll send ya a postcard!" He said. He sat down in the carriage and they drove away.