Swifty felt a little hurt when he saw Seven running toward East Side. He loved her dearly, but he was also happy that she was going to be happy. He sighed and went back into the lodging house.
�Where�s Seven?� Crutchy asked.
�She went back to East Side.�
�Why�d she do that?�
�Cuz she loves Tony.�
Swifty went over to Jack, who was playing poker with Race, Mush and Dutchy.
�Hey Jack. Can I play?�
Jack nodded. �Sure. Pull up a chair.�
Swifty pulled a chair up and Jack dealt him his cards. He played for twenty minutes, then he heard something.
Chase.
�Huh?� he asked.
�What?� Mush asked. �Did ya say something?�
Swifty shook his head. �No, I jus� thought I heard somethin�, that�s all.�
He threw a penny into the center of the table.
Chase.
Swifty looked around the room. The voice he heard didn�t belong to any of the Manhattan newsies, so he was extremely confused.
Chase. Trouble.
Swifty looked up from his cards. Trouble? He thought. He put his cards on the table and pulled his coat on.
�Guys, I gotta go.� He said.
�Go where?� Race asked.
�I jus� gotta go.�
He ran to the window and slipped through to the fire escape.
�Swifty, there�s a bathroom up here!� Jack shouted.
Swifty ignored what he said and took off for East Side. He ran the three miles and favored his fast running. When he arrived, he ran down the alleys, looking for Seven. Down one alley, he found a body with Seven�s coat covering its head. Swifty ran to the body and looked under the coat. It was Tony, and he was dead.
Swifty now knew why Seven was in trouble. He got up and ran down the rest of the alleys, looking for Seven. The cold, harsh wind chilled his body, and the rain only made it worse.
When he found her, she was pointing a gun at Felix, and he heard her say that she would kill him then kill herself. When he saw her finger about to pull the trigger, he knew she wasn�t going to hesitate to pull it on herself.
�CHASE! NO!� Swifty shouted.
He ran toward her and tackled her. The gun went off, but the bullet hit a box in the alley. Swifty grabbed Seven�s wrists and pinned her down. He knocked the hand with the gun in it against the ground until she released the gun. When she released it, Swifty looked at Felix, who stared at them in disbelief.
�Get outa here! Now!� Swifty shouted.
Felix just stared at him, but he didn�t move.
�Now!� Swifty shouted.
The cold rain turned to sleet. Felix shook his head, then turned and ran. He didn�t stop running until he reached a bridge. He grabbed onto the rail and cried. He couldn�t believe what he had just done. Without hesitation, he climbed onto the railing and held onto a pole not too far away.
He stared down at the freezing waters below him. He breathed, then he let go of the pole and dropped into the water. He tried to pop up for air, but his feet were caught under the water. His oxygen supply ran out, and everything went black.
* * *
Seven struggled to get out from underneath Swifty, but he had such a good hold on her that it was useless.
�Lemme go!� she screamed. �Felix killed Tony! He killed Tony!�
�I know yer upset!� Swifty said calmly. �But I can�t let you go! You�ll only tear yourself apart!�
�He killed Tony! I�m gonna kill �im, so lemme go!�
�I�m not gonna let you, Chase!�
Seven kicked her legs wildly, but she didn�t kick anything. As Swifty looked into her eyes, he saw anger and hate, and it was intense.
�Lemme go now!� Seven shouted.
�No!�
�Lemme go or I�ll kill you!�
Seven struggled violently. Her hate was taking over her body. She calmed down a little bit when Swifty lips met hers. When he kissed her, her anger turned to sadness and pain. Tears began to flow from her eyes again. When Swifty pulled away, his grip on her loosened.
�Tony.� Seven said sadly.
�I�m sorry Chase.�
�Tony.� Seven�s voice choked with tears.
�Calm down! He�s in a better place now!�
Seven cried even harder. �I loved him, Derek! I loved him and Felix took that away from me!�
�I know yer upset but you can�t kill yerself because he died!�
�He told me that he didn�t want to kiss anyone except me.�
Swifty fell silent. He could almost feel her pain. He let her cry for a few minutes, then he released her and stood up.
�I�m gonna let you make a choice, Chase.� He pointed to the gun, which wasn�t too far away from Seven. �Either you take that gun and kill yourself, or you come back with me to Manhattan and start over.�
Seven stood up and looked at Swifty. Then she turned and looked at the gun. She stood there for a few brief minutes, then she threw herself into Swifty�s arms and cried harder than she had ever cried in her life. Swifty held her close and tried to calm her down.
�Derek?� she asked.
�Yes?�
�Tony�he said he wanted you to take care of me.�
�And I�ll do what he said.�
Seven cried again. As she cried, a sudden drowsiness took over her body. Her eyes closed heavily and her legs gave out. Swifty caught her, but noticed that she was unconscious. At that moment, the sleet turned to snow, and a colder and more harsh wind blew.
Swifty pulled his hat and coat off and put them on Seven. She needed them more than he did. When she was all bundled up, Swifty lifted her up and started to head back toward Manhattan. The harsh wind chilled his body, especially since he didn�t have a coat on. The water on his body and in his hair was now turning to ice since the snow was falling faster now.
Swifty walked a mile and a half before he began to feel tired. He was growing weaker, and he stepped into a large puddle. Icy water soaked through his shoes and socks, only making him colder. He needed to get back to Manhattan soon.
* * *
It was getting late, and Swifty still hadn�t returned. Kloppman and all the newsies were still up, waiting for him. Tweetheart was getting worried because he was Seven�s special friend. Crutchy told her what Swifty had told him about Seven going back to East Side, but she couldn�t help but worry about her too. Growing impatient, she paced around the room. Jack walked up to her and stopped her pacing.
�Stop pacing, Devin. Let�s go downstairs an� Kloppman�ll make ya a nice cup of tea.�
Tweetheart nodded and Jack led her down the stairs. Kid Blink, Mush and Race were down there, warming themselves by the fireplace and helping themselves to a hot cup of tea. Tweetheart went to the fireplace and joined the boys� conversation.
Jack returned a few minutes later with her tea. She sipped it lightly, then the door opened. She looked and saw Swifty standing there with Seven in his arms. Swifty looked like a ghost and small icicles were hanging from his hair. Jack and Kid Blink rushed to him as soon as they saw him.
Tweetheart almost dropped her tea, but caught it before it slipped. The hot liquid sloshed over her hands, but she didn�t care. She set it on the ground and ran to Swifty.
�What happened?� she demanded.
Swifty�s teeth chattered. He was too cold to answer her question. Jack and Tweetheart took Seven up the stairs to the girls� room. Jack returned down the stairs to check on Swifty.
Race and Mush were peeling his shoes and socks off and Kloppman brought a large bowl of hot water to put Swifty�s feet in. Kid Blink draped a blanket around him and set him in front of the fireplace. Kloppman stuck Swifty�s feet into the bowl of hot water and returned with some tea. Swifty�s hands shook as he drank the hot fluid, and he warmed up in a few minutes.
�Thanks.� He said, his voice trembling.
Jack sat down in front of him. �What happened to Seven?�
�She went back to East Side to give Tony a second chance. Felix, that boy that came to see Seven earlier shot and killed Tony. He died in Seven�s arms. She went after Felix and threatened to kill him and then turn the gun on herself, but I stopped her. I don�t know what happened to Felix, but once Seven calmed down she passed out.�
�Tony�s dead?�
�Uh huh. Seven took it pretty hard too.�
Swifty let out a harsh cough that shook his cold body. He sipped his tea again and was still shivering a little.
�Swifty, I think ya need ta see a doctor.� Mush said.
Swifty shook his head. �I ain�t seein� no doctor, I�m jus� fine. A little cold, that�s all.�
Jack sighed. �I dunno. You�d better change out those wet clothes or you�ll freeze ta death.� He turned to Kloppman. �Hey Kloppman! Got an extra change a clothes?�
�Yep. Been savin� �em just in case somethin� like this happened. I�ll go get �em.�
Kloppman went into the next room and brought back a clean pair of clothes which he handed to Swifty. He took them upstairs and changed into them as soon as he could. He handed his wet clothes to Kloppman, who hung them by the fireplace for them to dry out.
Swifty climbed up his bunk and crawled under his covers. He was still very cold, and he let out another cough. When the lights went out, Jack rolled over and looked at Swifty. He was still shivering, and Jack still believed that he needed to see a doctor.
* * *
That night was long. The bunkroom was quiet until the early morning hours when Swifty began to cough harshly. He woke Jack up with his coughing, and Jack did his best to ignore it and tried to get back to sleep. Swifty�s coughing got worse, and Jack was getting a little worried about him. He opened his eyes and watched Swifty as he coughed.
Finally, he sat up and coughed harder than he had before. Jack finally got tired of his coughing and handed him his bandana. Swifty took it and coughed in it. When he pulled it from his face, Jack thought he could see a darker red splotch on it. Soon, he noticed it was blood.
When Swifty stopped coughing, he gripped his stomach as if in harsh pain. Jack suddenly felt a little queasy, for he had the feeling he knew what was going to happen next. He got out of his bed, helped Swifty out of his and helped him to the bathroom.
He opened up a bathroom stall and got Swifty there just in time. He leaned over the toilet and vomited. Jack knew he needed to get Kloppman, but he couldn�t leave Swifty by himself for that long. He ran to the girls� room and walked in. He ran up to Tweetheart and woke her up.
�Devin! Get up!�
Tweetheart rolled over. �What? What�s wrong Jack?�
�It�s Swifty. He�s vomiting an� �e won�t stop!�
Tweetheart jumped out of her bed and ran to help Swifty. Jack ran down the stairs and to Kloppman�s room.
�Kloppman! Wake up!�
Kloppman opened the door. �What�s wrong, Jack?�
�It�s Swifty. �E needs a doctor!�
Kloppman nodded and walked over to his desk and telephoned the doctor. When he hung up, he turned to Jack.
�Get Swifty down here and put him in the spare room. The doctor�ll be here shortly.�
Jack ran up the stairs to the bunkroom. Luckily, most of the newsies were still sleeping and didn�t know what was going on. Jack ran to the bathroom and checked on Swifty. He had stopped vomiting for the moment, so he and Tweetheart helped him down the stairs. When they were halfway down, Swifty�s legs gave out. Jack and Tweetheart caught him just before he fell down the stairs.
�Chase.� He said weakly.
�She�s okay, Swifty. She�s okay.� Tweetheart coaxed.
�Chase.�
Swifty breathed heavily and passed out. Jack and Tweetheart heaved him to the spare room and placed him on the bed inside. His body was trembling and his head twitched. Jack and Tweetheart could only hope that he would be all right. When the doctor came, Tweetheart went back upstairs to get a little more rest before it was time for them to get up.
