Escape to the World's Fair Read Online Free PDF Page B

nodded, the way Daniel had taught him. As he could see that the boys—there were four of them—were only a year or two older than he was. One of them, who seemed to be about Alexander’s age, had an unlit cigar stub clamped between his teeth. His eyes had narrowed suddenly, and Jack realized the boy was squinting at Eli.
    Some people aren’t going to look too kindly on a black boy traveling with you,
Eli had said when Jack had invited him to leave the Careys’ farm with them. Now Jack understood what Eli meant by “some people”—he could see by the look on this strange boy’s face that he was one of those.
    Jack met the boy’s look with a cold and defiant glare, one that he hoped said,
We don’t care what you think.
    Harold, though, was friendlier. “Ahoy!” he called happily to the boys.
    The tallest boy in the group grinned. “Whatever you say, kid.”
    The line at the ticket window had gotten longer. Alexander lined up first since he was holding the money for their fare. Frances and Harold stood behind him, followed by Eli and Jack.
    They had been waiting only a few minutes when the man at the ticket window caught sight of them. He scowled, then stood up from his seat and leaned out his window.
    â€œBlasted kids!” he barked at them. “What are you doing?”
    Jack froze. He glanced over at the others. They hadn’t been doing anything—just standing in line.
    â€œThis line is for
first-class
transport!” the man shouted. “Not the likes of you urchins.”
    The grown-ups ahead of them in line had turned to glare at them. Jack could see that they were certainly dressed first-class—the men in suits and straw boaters, the women in fresh white dresses. Jack looked down at his grubby shirt and dirty fingernails. He and his friends all wore the same things they’d worn for the orphan-train journey, along with a few secondhand items from the Careys, and everything had become dull with dust.
    A burly man from the steamboat crew came up next to them. “You heard him,” he said, nodding toward the ticket window. “These folks in line are the
paying
passengers.”
    Alexander was indignant. “Is that so?” he snapped. He began to reach for his pocket. “Well it just so happens that
we’ve
got mo—”
    Frances grabbed Alexander’s hand, stopping him mid-sentence. Jack realized she was trying to keep him from pulling out the money Zogby had given them. She shot Alexander an insistent look that to anyone else might have seemed flirtatious, but, Jack knew, really meant
be quiet.
    â€œUh . . .” Alexander said, turning red as Frances kept his hand clasped with hers.
    â€œIt just so happens that we’ve got
no idea
where to board!” Jack said to the burly man. “Is there another line?”
    The man pointed toward the end of the dock. “You’ll board there, with the rest of the river rats.”
    He was pointing toward the gangplank where the four older boys waited. Jack realized just then that the rough boys’ clothes were at least as worn and dirty as his own—if not more so. To the man, Jack and his friends probably looked just like those boys.
    â€œâ€˜River rats’?” Alexander repeated.
    â€œThat’s what we call you charity cases,” the man replied.
    Jack’s mind raced.
Charity cases—
that must mean those boys were riding for no charge.
    â€œThank you, sir,” Jack told the man. He stepped out of the line and motioned for the others to follow him as he walked down the dock.
    â€œWhat’s going on?” Eli whispered.
    â€œHe thinks we’re with those other boys and says we should get on the boat with them.”
    â€œBut Zogby gave us money for first-class tickets,” Alexander said.
    â€œWhich we can
keep
now!” Frances pointed out. “Who knows when we’ll need