The Doctor

Seth Goldstien had been raised in Albany by his uncle, the town doctor. Even as a young boy, he loved helping out his uncle in his office. But when Seth was eleven, an outbreak of influenza swept through the town, taking not only many of the citizens but his uncle as well. He always felt that if he had known a little more about medicine, if he'd paid a little more attention when he'd watched his uncle work, he would have been able to save him. Seth was determined to be a doctor when he grew up, but now he was an orphan once more, not a penny to his name. For the past six years, he had been putting away about half of what he made each day selling papers, trying as hard as he could to get the money to get into medical school, all the while praying for a lucky break.

Finally able to take a small break, Specs looked up and saw Jack standing in the doorway. "Hey, Jack," he said with a smile. "Bet you're sorry you came back here."

"What'd you do t' these guys anyway?" Jack asked teasingly. "I know you wanna be a doctor, but it's really low to make them sick just so you can practice on 'em."

"Hey, I gotta take whatever practice I can," Specs jokingly replied. Taking off his glasses, he rubbed his eyes and leaned wearily against the wall.

Becoming worried about his friend, Jack observed, "You don't look too great yourself."

"I'm OK - I've just been here a while. I brought Bumlets back when he got sick this morning, and they kept coming in after that."

"I was just about t' meet Davey at th' café on th' corner. Wanna take a break and come with me?"

"Well…" Specs responded hesitantly.

Suddenly Kloppman appeared in the doorway and told them, "You guys go on. I can take care of these loafers."

Laughing, Jack and Specs thanked him and headed for the café. When they arrived, David was waiting impatiently by the lamppost.

"Jack, I can't stay. I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to be with Les most of the day."

"What's wrong?"

"He's really sick; Mama would stay with him but she's taking care of Papa and Sarah…"

"Mosta th' newsies're sick, too," Specs broke in.

The three boys looked at each other. "Looks like we got an outbreak on our hands, fellas," Jack said.

"That's the problem," David said. "We would have taken Papa and Sarah to the clinic that they've set up at the school, but it's already full, and the doctor doesn't have any help."

When Specs heard this, he immediately asked David, "Mind if I come with ya?"

"No problem."

"Hey, Dave, I'm goin' t' th' apartment."

David nodded his approval, and he and Specs headed for the clinic.