The guys all looked uncomfortably at one another. Mush stood there, wondering whether or not he should tell them about the Vikings - had it been a dream? 'Course it was a dream, stupid. Even if ya said anythin' about it, they'd think you was crazy. We don't sit around talkin' about our dreams, anyway.
Davey pulled himself up off the bunk. He figured he'd better not say anything to the guys about being sent to the tribe of the Wakkawakka Indians. It couldn't have been a dream...it was too real. Much too real.
Likewise, the rest of the boys were thinking that if they said a word about their experiences, whether they had been dreams or not, they would be picked at for a long while. So all made silent vows to themselves to keep their mouths shut and forget about it, as long as they remembered not to complain around Kloppman.
Just then, Kloppman burst through the door with an almost wicked grin on his face. "Good mornin' boys!" he exclaimed. "Gorgeous day!"
All seven of the boys present glanced out the window. It was raining. Jack opened his mouth to comment, but then he remembered the mud and muck that had covered him just hours before. At least the New York streets weren't mucky. Compared to Medieval England, 1899 New York City was heaven. A grin tugged at the corner of Jack's mouth, for he was happy to be home instead of being roasted by a dragon. "Yeah, Klopp, it is, isn't it?"
Kloppman cast a cynical glance at Jack. "You, eh, feelin' all right, Kelly?"
"Sure, why wouldn't I be?" Jack asked the old man.
Kloppman gazed hard at Jack, and all of a sudden Jack heard, I was figurin' with that near-death experience you'd be scared outta yer mind. Jack's eyes widened and Kloppman winked at him. No doubt the others were getting mental messages from the old sage as well, for all of them had similar looks on their faces. Before any of them could make up their minds to say anything about it, Mayer Jacobs burst through the door.
"David! There you are. Where's your brother?"
David looked around the bunkroom, but no Les. He fought to keep the wicked grin off his face. "Uh, he's not here, Papa."
"Then, he's missing? Gone for good?" Mayer asked the room. Everyone shrugged.
"I'd assume so, Mr. Jacobs," Kloppman said to him.
"YESSS!!!" Mayer all but screamed. He stopped himself. "I mean..."
David heard Kloppman's voice in his head. Your brother is quite happy on the pirate ship I sent him off to. Poor pirates. I pity them. But better them than us, eh? Davey lauged and ran up and hugged Mayer. "He's gone! He's gone!"
The two jumped up and down like a couple of little kids on Christmas morning before calming down. Jack, who was apparently the most overjoyed of all, announced, "Hey, let's have a party to celebrate!"
Crutchy looked up. "Celebrate what?"
The kid's a bit dense, Kloppman thought as he looked at the smiling boy listening to Jack patiently answer that Les was gone for good. Crutchy threw down his crutch, jumped up, and did a leg-pumping dance reminiscent of "Carryin' the Banner".
For the party, the group decided that they should hold it on the roof of the lodging house because of expenses. Esther and Sarah cooked the food and later that night the bash commenced.
David and Jack had been planning something evil all afternoon, and everyone was starting to wonder what was up. At the party, the two sat together, discussing something. Jack called Kloppman over and they conversed silently with him. Kloppman was grinning evilly and nodding. Then, the three parted ways and no one thought of the conspiracy for a long time.
Later that night, Jack sat with Sarah on the side of the roof, looking up at the stars. Suddenly, Jack stood up and pulled Sarah up with him. "What are you doing, Jack?" she asked, all bubbly and nauseating.
"The city is so much nicer to look at when you stand up on the roof," Jack answered.
"It's the same city and the same roof either way," she answered smartly. Jack rolled his eyes.
As Davey was walking past the couple, he tripped and knocked into Sarah, sending her flying over the side of the roof. Davey and Jack laughed and shook hands.
Mid-fall, a bolt of magenta lightning struck Sarah and she disappeared completely. Kloppman grinned at the two boys. David dropped to his knees and clasped his hands in thanks. "Thank you! I am now an only child!"
Esther and Mayer happily played "Ring Around The Rosie" in celebration of now having only one child, and a very talented, gifted child at that (unlike doily-sewing Sarah and wooden sword-slinging Les). All the guys cheered, because, frankly, Sarah just got on their nerves and they were tired of watching Jack sew doilies because Sarah had insisted that he learn if they were "going to be married someday".
Jack and David both clapped Kloppman on the back. "I love you, Kloppman!" Jack exclaimed, pulling the old man into a giant bear hug.
"Leggo! Klop can't breathe," Kloppman choked out before Jack let go.
The newsies spent the rest of the night partying and celebrating the disappearances of Les and Sarah, 'cause it's not every day two great things happen at once. And, as promised, the boys had learned their lessons and never complained in Kloppman's presence ever again.
Sarah Jacobs awakened in the snowy Antarctic. "OOH, snow!!" she exclaimed, lying down and making snow angels until she had spelled out "JACK" in huge letters. When she was done, she looked around and spotted a group of penguins watching her, likely wondering who this psycho was and what she was doing on their turf.
"Hello, penguins! Do you want Sarah to make you some nice snow doilies?"
The penguins squeaked with indifference, but Sarah took this as a yes. "All righty!"
She set about making snow doilies for the penguins. The poor, tortured little birds glanced at one another and waddled off away from Sarah, who remained happily in her doily-making position for hours before realizing that it was terribly cold and building herself and igloo.