L ucy Amanda Griggs squirmed between the two large boxes she had found in the alley. Even though she was very tired, she couldnât sleep. The ground was hard and lumpy, and the bright morning sunlight forced Lucy to open her eyes.
She tugged her ragged shawl up to cover her head. Her hair felt damp and greasy. How long had it been since sheâd had a bath? Lucy couldnât remember.
She smiled at Baby, cradling the doll in her arms. One side of Babyâs face was covered with a spiderweb of cracks. And there was a hole inher cloth body, where Lucy had to keep poking the stuffing back inside. Lucy didnât care. She had found Baby in a trash bin. She knew that Baby needed her, and she needed Baby. The cracks, the faded dress, and the hole didnât matter. From the moment Lucy saw Baby she loved her.
Lucy rocked Baby and sang to her. It was a soft, sleepy song that Lucyâs mother had always sung to her. âRock, rock, my baby-o. Rock, rock, my baby.â
But Lucyâs song melted into tears as memories of her mother swept over her.
She angrily brushed the tears away. Crying didnât help. Lucy remembered the time when Mum had told her that Father had been killed in an accident. It was four years ago. Lucy and Mum had clung to each other and sobbed, but their tears hadnât brought Father back.
Lucy shivered and hugged Baby tightly. She thought about the terrible day when Mum had died of cholera. That was fourâor was itfive?âweeks ago. Inspectors from the Metropolitan Board of Health had hurried into Lucy and Mumâs room. The inspectors were afraid that the disease would spread. Cholera had already killed more than two thousand New Yorkers. Even before the inspectors left, the landlord, Mr. Beam, had ordered Lucy to leave the building.
He had clutched her shoulder as he pushed her toward the doorway. âItâs a matter of business. Iâve got to clean up that room and rent it to someone who can pay,â heâd said. His eyes were not on Lucy, but on the inspectors.
Lucy had been so frightened that her heart had pounded. Sheâd clenched her hands to keep them from shaking. âBut, sir, Iâve got nowhere to go,â she had pleaded.
Mr. Beam had glanced nervously at the inspectors. He had lowered his voice and answered, âI canât worry about your problems. Iâve got enough of my own. The Board of Health like to have ruined me last February.They blame the landlords for the cholera that swept through this city.â
He had cleared his throat with an angry
harumph!
and added, âMeeting their demands to clean up and make repairs cost me a great deal of money. Iâve nothing to spare, so donât be coming to me for help.â
Weak from fear, but with no choice, Lucy had wandered out to the street. She had plopped down on a curb, heedless of the hooves of the horses and the heavy wagon wheels that rumbled near her toes. She had wept in sorrow, but her tears hadnât brought Mum back. They hadnât helped at all.
As Lucyâs sobs became dry shudders, she had looked up and seen the Olneysâ butcher shop across the street.
Sometimes Mum, with Lucy in hand, had stopped by the shop. Sometimes she had managed to come up with enough coins to buy a small piece of meat or a soup bone. And sometimesMum had played with and talked to the Olneysâ son, Henry.
Mrs. Olney looked unhappy whenever anyone asked her about Henry. âNever been right in the head since he was born,â she said. âCanât nothinâ be done about it.â
Mum had treated Henry the way she treated everybody else. Henry tried to talk to Mum, and Mum seemed to understand. When she paid attention to Henry, he smiled and laughed.
Once Lucy overheard another neighbor say, âIâm always kind to the lad. I tell myself, âThere but for the grace of God go I.â â
Under her breath, so that only Lucy could hear, Mum had