"Hundred papes," Jack said, slapping down fifty cents. He sniffed as he stepped off the platform with his papers. "Heya, Dave," Jack sniffed again. He turned to his side and sneezed.

"Jack, are you ok?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," Jack replied, still sniffing. David looked at him skeptically but didn't comment. The two boys headed out into the New York streets for another day of selling under a light snowfall.

"So," David said, smiling at the fresh snow, "do you celebrate Christmas at the Lodging House?"

"AHH-CHOO!" Jack sniffed as he recovered from the sneeze. "Uh, yeah, yeah we do. We take up a collection and Kloppy buys a tree an' some candy fer everyone. So, uh," Jack paused to sniff again, "how's um, Hanukkah?"

"It's been good. My dad found a new job so we've been able to afford some presents and Les is going back to school now."

"Really? Wow. Dat's gre-" Jack's words were lost as he lapsed into a bout of coughing and hacking.

"Geez, Jack, are you sure you're all right?" David asked, looking at Jack worriedly.

"I'm fine," Jack stated. "I'm jus' fine," he repeated under his breath as he began to sell his newspapers.