On The Docks | A Spot Conlon Love Story

Once And For All

It's the next day, we got about $2 yesterday, which is more than I've ever made in a week. Jackie and I are grabbing our papers fro today, when Oscar walks up to us.

"Come with us Cowboy. We're gonna go fix you're pal, Davey. Fix him so he can't walk," He says. I try to punch his, but am held back by Jackie.

"Ah! Lift one finger and it's right back to the Refuge. Next!" Weasel says. I've given up on calling him by his real name, as he's just been an ass to me.

As Jackie and I are walking down the streets, there's screaming coming from a girl in an alley.

"Stop it! Leave him alone!" The voice yells. I look at Jackie, he seems to have heard it too. We start running towards the alley and I see Davey, Les, and a girl about to be beat up by the Delancey Brothers.

Wait, I recognize that girl. She used to be in my school with me! Her name is... Sarah? Yeah, Sarah. Jackie and I run up to them, Jackie pulls Morris off of Davey, while I kick Oscar in his no-no square. While Oscar is down, I throw him against a wall.

"Get over here," Jackie says while running over to Oscar. He grabs him and lifts him up. "Remeber Crutchie?" Jackie asks and headbutts Oscar in the face. I turn to Sarah and help her up.

"Are you alright?" I ask her. Jackie walks over to us.

"Yeah," she says, then looks at me and I can see that she remembers me. "Hey, you're Ash! We went to school together!" I smile.

"Yup, that's me! And you're Sarah," I say. She nods and hugs me. She then lets go and hugs Jackie. "David!"

I look over to Davey, who's on the ground. I walk over to him and check him out, then help him up.

"You'd better run, Cowboy. We're gonna tell uncle Weas. You'll be back in the Refuge before suppertime! That means you too, Sweetheart," Morris says.

"Run, you lousy coward, run!" Oscar yells as they both run away. Jackie tries to run after him, but Sarah and I hold him back.

"Go one! Get outta here! Don't come back! You hear me?" Les yells after them.

"What? You couldn't stay away?" Davey asks us.

"Well, I guess I can't be something I ain't," Jackie says.

"A scab?" Davey asks, confused as to what he meant.

"No, smart," Jackie says. I chuckle at his response. Davey waits for a moment before waving his hands to tell us to follow him, so we do.

"Where are we going?" I ask. The people on the streets who are walking past are all behaving like they didn't hear children screaming just a minute ago.

"You'll see," Davey responds.

Sarah hands Jackie a letter, he reads it then shows it to me. 'The Dark Truth; Why Our City Really Fears The Newsies Strike' by Bryan Denton. 'Last night I saw naked force exercised against mere boys.' That's just the first few sentences. It's amazing and written so beautifully.

After about 10 minutes of walking, we arrive at an apartment building. We reach a door, which Jackie knocks on, and it seems like he knows where we are as well. The door opens and Denton is standing there.

"Did you mean what you wrote here? 'Bout all these sweat shop kids listenin' to me?" Jackie asks Denton, holding up the letter.

"I don't write anything I don't mean. Come on in. I'm just packing a few things," Denton says, opening the door for us to come in, which we do. He shuts the door behind us. "So, yes, I mean it. The city thrives on child labour. A lot of people make money that way. They're terrified that the newsies strike will spread."