Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15 EIGHT DAYS LATER, OCTOBER 18, 5:30 P.M. MR, MORROW'S HOUSE, BELDEN AVENUE, CHICAGO, The day was bright and clear. Oscar stood in Mr. Morrow's studio. Mr. Morrow had been right — this was Oscar's favorite room in the house. He liked the view of the lake in the distance. But best of all were Mr. Morrow's paintings that lined the walls and crowded the shelves. Oscar's favorites, of course, were four paintings that Mr. Morrow had created of their farm in Castle. Oscar came up here every day to look at them.

Voices drifted from the kitchen, along with the scent of baking cookies. Oscar breathed deep, wanting to take in the sweet smells. Finally he could take a breath without doubling over into a coughing fit. His lungs were healing, now, his burns and cuts scabbing over. But he couldn't shake the nightmares that haunted him every night. It was always the same, how he'd wake up shouting two words over and over: "Jennie! Bruno!" Oscar would sit in bed, his heart hammering, tears streaming down his cheeks, as he thought of them lost and alone in the burning city. The search for Jennie and Bruno had started the morning after Oscar and Mr. Morrow got back to the house. Dozens of Mr. Morrow's friends helped them. They scoured the lakefront, where thousands of people were living in makeshift tents. They searched Lincoln Park, which was packed with thousands more. Day after day they all searched, but there was no sign of Jennie and Bruno. And there were

moments when Oscar feared the worst. "Have hope," Mr. Morrow kept saying. But it was hard to have hope when all Oscar could see in any direction was smoldering ruins. Hundreds of people were dead, and four miles of the city had burned to the ground. As they walked through the streets, Mr. Morrow kept his arm around Oscar's shoulders. He'd point to men carting away wagonloads of wreckage, at the new shacks popping up on still-smoldering lots. Mr. Morrow reminded Oscar of Papa, that day in the ruined forest. Just as Papa had seen those little green shoots popping through the ash, Mr. Morrow already saw signs that Chicago would be rebuilt. And then Mr. Morrow had the idea of drawing Jennie and Bruno's picture and having it printed in the newspaper. Oscar described their faces, and Mr. Morrow's pencil brought them to life. The picture was printed in the Chicago Tribune, along with an ad:

Mr. Charles Morrow and the Chicago police seek information about two missing children, Jennie, approximately 9, and Bruno, approximately 3. Oscar had insisted that Mr. Morrow add one more detail to the picture: the battered purple lady's hat on Bruno's head. The very next day, the police received a tip from a woman on the city's west side, in a neighborhood that hadn't been burned. The woman had always been suspicious of one of her neighbors. The man lived alone, but roughlooking boys were always showing up at odd hours, often carrying large sacks and suitcases through the back door of the house. The woman was reading the newspaper, and Mr. Morrow's drawing caught her eye. She'd seen two kids in front of the neighbor's house just that morning. She wouldn't have looked twice, except for something very strange about the boy — the purple lady's hat on his head. Oscar had been up here in the studio, standing in this exact spot, when he'd heard the clatter of

hooves outside. He'd looked out the window, and there was Joseph's cab, pulled by his faithful old nag. Oscar figured it was more of Mr. Morrow's friends coming to stay. Mr. Morrow and Mama kept the door wide open to anyone who needed a bed or a meal, and the house was overflowing. Oscar had turned away from the window, but then he'd heard a croaking voice shouting up to him. "Occar!" He'd looked out the window and his heart just about burst apart — it was Jennie and Bruno. They were ragged and dusty but all in one piece. Oscar's knees momentarily went weak, and then he'd practically flown down the stairs. Oscar had scooped Bruno up and held him tight. He grabbed Jennie's hand. He could hardly believe it. He still couldn't. They were back together — for good now. Mama and Mr. Morrow made sure they all understood that. Oscar had to wait until later that night, after Bruno was asleep, for Jennie to tell Oscar and Mama and Mr. Morrow the whole incredible story

— how they'd escaped the fire, how Otis had brought them to the house of a man he obviously knew very well. It turned out this man was the gang's real leader. "What was he like?" Mama asked. "Believe it or not, he didn't act like a wicked criminal," Jennie said. "He gave us plenty to eat, and he had a very friendly smile." But there was one thing about the man Jennie said she'd never forget. "The man had only one ear." Oscar and Mama had stared at each other in disbelief. But it turned out to be true: The man was Earless Max Kildair. And Papa had been right about the gangster still being up to no good. Now Earless was in jail, where he belonged. Otis Webber and his gang had disappeared, but Jennie and Bruno wouldn't have to worry about them anymore. The police recovered thousands of dollars of silver and paintings from Kildair's house. They also found three suitcases.