Tommy hesitated and said, “I want to give Deb… Miss Roberts a gift. She’s really nice to me!”
“You’re sweet on her!” said Tubby. “I knew it! Well, that’s OK. Don’t let it get to you. She is very pretty. You know, she reminds me of that singer/actress Julie Gumm from the Ralph Andrews movies and The Magician of An!”
Tommy grinned and said, “Yeah, she does look like her, but Debbie’s even prettier!”
“That necklace would be nice, but how can you afford it?” asked Tubby, pointing to the displayed price and shaking his head.
Tommy nodded and lowered his eyes in dismay. ”I couldn’t pay that if I had eight weeks, much less just two,” he said.
They continued on to the Rogers house, and in the nearby vacant lot, they entered the wooden shack that they called their headquarters.
Toughy was snoring loudly from inside, and as they entered he jumped up abruptly and cried, “Keep ‘em flyin’!”
Tubby laughed and said, “Calm down, Toughy. It’s us!”
“Right,” said Tommy. “You must have been having a whale of a nightmare!”
Toughy shrugged defensively and said, “I was catching some shuteye so I’ll be all ready for tonight. We may be going into action, huh? While you schoolboys was polishing apples and all that, I was snooping around town. The rats struck a third time today! They robbed old man Johnson! He’s even offering a reward! The old miser is as mad as a wet hen!”
“Mr. Johnson’s the wealthiest man in town!” said Tommy. “How’d it happen?”
“Johnson’s on the draft board,” Toughy explained, “and he had to go up state for some kinda meeting. Well, he was too tight to let his staff get vacations when he might need them, so he up and told them to clear out for their vacations this week while he was gone!”
“So, the mansion was empty,” Tubby said, thinking about it, “but once again even the staff didn’t know they were going to be gone! How’d the gang find out?”
“They seem to know when folks come and go even at the smallest amount of notice!” added Tommy.
“How can we know where the gang will strike?” asked Tubby. “They hit Mrs. Rutherford’s right after she went to the doctor! I mean, they must have, since my Ma talked to her at three, and she was coughing something fierce.”
“Right,” said Tommy. “I was there around four o’clock or so. The gang hit and cleaned her out within one hour!”
“Yeah, but with Kelly it was different,” added Toughy. “She works a swing shift from ten to seven, so that bunch of mugs could have robbed her anytime after she left but before the cab brought her home.”
“Hold it — you said a cab brought her home?” said Tommy.
“Well, sure,” said Toughy. “She’s a doll and all that, but after working all night, she didn’t feel like hoofing it. Who could blame her?”
“Nobody,” said Tommy. “It just makes me curious about something. Mrs. Rutherford doesn’t drive, either. We don’t have a bus or anything like that. How did she get to the hospital? Maybe she took a cab, too!”
“I didn’t think a taxi company could make it in such a tiny town,” said Tubby, “but the Ace Cab service has been doing big business, according to something my Pop said over supper last night!”
Toughy grinned and elbowed the plump boy. ”Knowing how much yer ol’ man likes his grub, I’m surprised to learn he says anything between mouthfuls!”
“Ah, knock it off, Toughy,” said Tubby. “Seriously, that new cab stand is doing pretty well! With so many men in the service and many women not knowing how to drive, cabs are becoming real popular across the nation, even in our town!”
“That gives me an idea!” said Tommy. “We know Johnson took his limo to the meeting, so he didn’t use a cab, but just maybe one of his maids or the butler took a cab to go on their own vacation! Cabs may be the key that links all the crimes!”
“Say, maybe we can catch the gang and win that reward from Johnson,” said Tubby. “He came back real fast after he heard his place had been hit.”
Tommy smiled as he realized that reward could enable him to buy Debbie the perfect Christmas gift, if he could just solve the crimes and catch the crooks before school let out for the holidays.
Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys: 1942: A (Little Boy) Blue Christmas, Chapter 3: The Reward
by Libbylawrence
The next day, Tommy Rogers’ usual plan to get to Debbie Roberts’ classroom hit a sudden snag when Dinford the bully blocked his path as he headed for the door of typing class, and the bell sounded.
“What’s the rush, Rogers? You got an appointment?” said the pasty-faced, doughy bully.
“Lay off, Dinford!” said Tommy as he tried to step around the grinning boy.
“Make me, punk!” said Dinford as he grinned broadly, noticing Mrs. Woofentweeter had her back to the scene.
Tommy clinched his fists but then lowered them. I can’t come on like somebody in a Kent Goble picture, although I’d like to wipe that smirk off his face and show him up like Earl Errol in his swashbucklers! he thought. But it would be cheating for a mystery-man to beat up a normal kid! Instead, he frowned and said, “We’re going to be late for class!”
Dinford said, “I knew you were yellow!” He laughed and walked off.
Tommy hurried out into the now-crowded hallway, scanning the hall. He felt dejected as he saw Debbie Roberts walking to her next class with Mike Harrington trailing along by her side. I just have to win the reward and buy her that necklace, thought Tommy.
***
That evening as he sipped a glass of Ovaltine, he looked up at his father who was reading the paper. ”Say, Pop, could I stay over at Tubby’s house Friday night?” he asked. “His folks are going to be away, and you know he gets a bit jumpy.”
“Certainly, if his folks don’t mind,” said Dan Rogers. “He’s stayed here often enough. I know I can count on you boys not to get into any trouble! Act like young men!”
“Thanks!” said Tommy. “We’ll be good!” He grinned as he thought, This could be the break we need!
***
When Friday came, after his parents had departed, Tubby Watts called a cab and carried an empty suitcase out when it pulled up.
“Hi, young fellow. Where you headed?” asked the rough-looking driver as Tubby climbed inside the back.
“I’m going to stay at my pal’s house — 315 Elm Street,” he said. “My folks are out of town, and I’m sleeping over with my best friend!” His fingers were crossed as he told the fib, which was for a good cause.
As the cab pulled away from the curb, the driver picked up his radio. ”Car 4 to base,” he said. “Picked up on 124 Pearl Avenue. Heading to Elm. Will be empty soon and ready for the next trip. Should be a busy night!”
The dispatcher replied via the radio, “Right. We’ll be right on it!”
Tubby smiled as he watched the house pass by. Good thing I’ve got my costume on underneath! he thought. If Tommy’s theory is right, we’ll be fighting the gang tonight at my own house!
At Elm Street, Tubby got out and paid the driver before walking toward the house. When the cab was out of sight, he turned and ran across the yard in the direction of his own house. Got to get back in time to help the guys! he thought.
***
Meanwhile, within Tubby’s house, Tommy Rogers and Toughy Simms had changed into their blue costumes, and as Little Boy Blue and Blue Boy, they prepared for the possible robbery.
“When I heard Tub’s folks were going to be away,” said Tommy, “I knew we could try to lure the gang here by having Tubby get a cab and let the driver know his place was going to be empty. That is, if the cab company is really a front for robbers. It makes sense, since cab drivers get to know their regular passengers and their routines. They know when they go to work, they know when they get off. They even know things from talking with their customers about details like when their houses are empty. I can guess Mrs. Rutherford’s hospital tr
ip tipped off the cabby to the fact that her place would be empty. The same could be said for the other houses!”
“Boy, it makes sense to me,” said Toughy. “All the folks hit had a cab ride in some way. Plus, the cab company is new in town! No robberies happened before dese mugs showed up!”
Tubby then rushed inside breathlessly, joining the two in the darkened house. ”I did it!” he said. “Now, let’s see what happens!”
They concealed themselves as night fell, and after a few hours they heard a vehicle pull up to the back of the house.
“A van — that’s owned by the cab company!” said Toughy. “I saw it parked at the cab stand!”
“Gosh, I’m nervous!” said Tubby. “I never figured to fight crooks in my own house!”
Tommy placed his hand on his pal’s shoulder. ”Don’t worry, we’ll take them down!” he said.
Toughy whispered, “Don’t fret, chum! We got dem losers coming and going! All we gotta do is get dem to the back door!”
The back door swung open slowly as four men slipped inside. ”That lock was a snap!” whispered the first man.
The Blue Boys looked to Tommy, and he nodded. He and Toughy had previously rolled a handful of marbles across the floor, and as they planned, the first man stepped directly on them and fell flat. He cried out, and his three allies drew closer.
“Some punk kid left his toys out!” laughed the second man. He was tall, and like his pals he wore all black.
Tommy carefully hurled a baseball with precise aim, and it smacked the second thief in the head.
At that moment, all three boys let out loud war whoops and charged into battle. Tubby flopped into the first thief as he regained his feet, and his impact dropped the man again. Little Boy Blue jumped off a chair to land on the tall man’s back. He broke an egg over the man’s eyes and hung on tightly.
“We’re being hit by some kind of dwarves!” cried a bald man. Tubby recognized his voice from the cab radio; he was the dispatcher.
Toughy fired repeatedly with his slingshot, laughing wildly as his rocks knocked out the fourth man.
“Don’t use your gun! We can’t attract the cops!” warned the dispatcher as he struggled futilely with Little Boy Blue, who had knocked the crook blinded by eggs to the ground and had used his back to spring at the leader.
Tubby smeared ink into the eyes of his own foe and grinned as he saw Toughy tackle the remaining man. They were winning. The thieves had been blinded and surprised, and now they were subdued as the three boys drove them back toward the rear door.
“Now!” yelled Tommy as he and his pals reached down to pull a hidden rope they had tied to the rear door. The rope released a net made of a bizarre assortment of wires, blankets, and cloth. The gang was covered, and the three boys rushed forward to tie them up with another rope.
Toughy grabbed two guns from the gang members as they fought against the covering that nearly smothered them. ”Now we call the cops and get the reward!” he said.
Little Boy Blue placed the call and gave his pals a salute of victory. ”That was Chief O’Connell! He’s thrilled!”
“He’s a swell guy,” said Tubby. “Most adults wouldn’t give us the respect he does!”
Soon afterward, the police arrived and led the gang off to the patrol cars.
Chief O’Connell, a benign-looking fat man with white hair and a heavy mustache, said, “Excellent work, boys! I have already had my boys pick up the rest of the gang back at the cab stand, and inside the back we found almost all of the loot!”
Little Boy Blue smiled and thought, Great! That means Mrs. Rutherford will get her stuff back before she gets out of the hospital! Pop and I can help her put everything back in place!
Chief O’Connell said, “Oh, and boys, I have a reward for you from Mr. Johnson. You fellas can divide it up as you like!” He handed Little Boy Blue a fifty-dollar bill, and the three pals grinned gleefully.
***
Later, back in their normal clothes, the three lads sat in their clubhouse and planned for the future.
“I’ll tell my folks that we decided to camp out in the clubhouse,” said Tubby. “After all, they thought I was going to your place for the night, anyway!”
“Right!” said Tommy. “I’d say the excitement about the attempted robbery will help us make them ignore certain fibs.”
“Boy, is this swell or what?” said Toughy. “We can live it up like kings!”
Tommy said, “I know what I’m going to do with my share!”
***
The next few days passed in a blur of holiday excitement until a nervous Tommy Rogers swallowed hard and approached Debbie Roberts’ classroom after final exams concluded. She was as pretty as ever in a pink turtleneck sweater and matching makeup. She sat behind a desk and graded a few papers as Tommy stepped closer and rather hurriedly held out a wrapped gift.
“Oh, Tommy, how nice to see you! Are you all set for a Merry Christmas?” she asked.
“Yes, and I come bringing gifts!” he said.
“Oh, how sweet!” she said. “You didn’t have to do this. Shall I open it now?”
Tommy nodded and wiped his sweaty palms together as he felt a flushed feeling wash over him.
Debbie opened the box and said, “How pretty this wrapping paper is, too!” She looked down at the necklace and said, “This is lovely! Thank you so much! It will be just perfect for church and special occasions!”
Tommy beamed and waited as he hoped for a hug or some more physical sign of her appreciation. He had played the scene out in his imagination more than once.
“Well, this is wonderful!” said Debbie. “You’ve made it a nice holiday already.”
“I’m glad,” said Tommy. “I’m really glad.”
He stood at her desk hesitantly for a moment, and then she said, “You have a great holiday, Tommy!”
Nodding, he walked out slowly with his mind in a daze. She liked it, but she didn’t hug me or anything! Maybe she couldn’t at school and all! Well, she might send me a thank you note, and maybe she’ll write something swell in it.
He left the classroom with mixed emotions and continual hope. That was the normal state for a young man like Tommy, and that fact in and of itself spoke well for him and all boys like him. He didn’t know what the future would hold, but it was Christmas. It was Christmas, and that wonderful sensation of the anticipated and unknown filled him with good cheer.
Tommy spotted Dinford the bully leaning against a locker, and he yelled, “Merry Christmas, Dinford!”
The other boy frowned and then said, “Yeah, same to you!”
Tommy continued down the hall and slowly stepped out into the chilly air that was so alive with the sounds, smells, and sights of the season.
“Merry Christmas!” he yelled as he glanced back at the school and then turned to head for home.
The End
Secret Files: Batman
Times Past, 1924
Christmas Memories
by Drivtaan
It is Bruce Wayne’s first Christmas since the death of his parents earlier that year, and he feels utterly lost. Jarvis Beagle, the Wayne family butler, takes him to visit England in the hopes that a different environment might help cheer up the boy. But will it be the butler’s son, an actor named Alfred, who leaves young Bruce with this year’s best Christmas memories?
***
December 23rd, 1924:
A biting evening wind carried the icy spray of the North Atlantic over the railing of the S.S. Metropolitan and into the face of a small boy. Pulling a hand sheathed in a black lambskin glove from his pocket, he wiped the stinging salt from his tear-filled eyes. He never noticed the approach of his English traveling companion.
“Have you seen their faces among the waves, Master Bruce?”
Bruce Wayne wiped more tears from his red-rimmed eyes and nodded. “The dark waves look like her hair, and the small chunks of ice make me think of the pearls she was wearing that ni
ght.”
The Englishman, a portly gentleman who had served as faithful butler to the Wayne family since shortly after the end of the Big One, put his arm around the boy’s shoulder. Bruce leaned against him and began to cry.
“I miss them, Jarvis.” Bruce’s little body shook as much with anguish as it did with cold. “I really, really do.”
Jarvis Beagle knelt down and pulled his young master into his arms. He held the child close and let him cry as he had so often since that fateful June evening. As he cried, Jarvis picked him up and carried him back to their stateroom.
***
December 24th, 1924:
Steel-gray clouds filled the late afternoon Liverpool skies as the passengers of the S.S. Metropolitan disembarked.
Bruce held tight to Jarvis’ hand as they walked down the gangplank toward the throng of people waiting for family and friends. They were only a few yards into the crowd when a young man in his mid-twenties caught Jarvis’ attention.
“Master Bruce,” Jarvis said with a smile, “allow me to introduce Alfred Beagle, my son.”
Alfred, who for all the world looked to be a younger version of his father, smiled at the boy and bowed at the waist. ”Young Master Wayne.”
“H’lo,” Bruce said sheepishly.
The younger Beagle turned his attention back to his father. “Your luggage has been collected and placed in the motorcar.”
Jarvis raised his eyebrow and smiled at his son. “A motorcar?”
“You will love it, Father,” Alfred said as he led them through the crowd. “It’s a 1922 Austin 7 Box Tourer.”
By the sound of his son’s voice, Jarvis knew that his son had worked hard to get the money to purchase the motorcar. Having long ago decided not to become a butler like his father and his father’s father before him, Alfred had been plying his trade as an actor in the music halls for only a few years now, and most stage actors did not make much money. Jarvis didn’t try to hide his pride.
Bruce noticed the widening smile on the man’s face; it was the first time he had seen that smile since before the death of his parents.
Twenty minutes later, Alfred was pulling away from the docks and heading toward home.
***
December 25th, 1924:
Dawn was still a few hours away when Alfred was awakened by an unfamiliar sound. It only took a few seconds for him to realize the source of the sound. Without using the lamp by his bed, he pulled on his robe and stepped over to his brother Wilfred’s bed, now being used by Bruce.