It was into the second week of the newsboy strike and tensions were high. Formerly misguided and unsupervised youth now had a purpose; to hit Pulitzer and Hearst where it mattered, their checkbooks. And while they had a unified goal, hundreds of young boys rioting in the street did lead to some chaos that was not in favor of their objective and instead distracted them. That’s where Annie Kelly came in. Annie Kelly was one of the only newswomen that joined their movement and she certainly did not suffer fools, or bickering newsboys, gladly.
“What is this all about?” She chided as she pulled the fighting pair off of each other rumbling on the ground. Benjamin and Josiah continued to scowl as Annie brushed the dirt off their clothes. They were brothers and since their parents died of cholera, they had been roaming the streets and making ends meet as newsies. Benjamin, the older, had a chip on his shoulder the size of the new state of Wyoming. He was in charge and had to look after Josiah, but his temper always got the best of him. And Josiah just couldn’t stand watching his brother act like he was his Pa. They got into fisticuffs regularly.
Annie discouraged violence between all the newsies. It wasted energy that could be used toward the effort. Once she joined the strike, there had been a definite change in the behavior of all of them. The first fight she saw was met with cheers by everyone around her. She was appalled and made quick work of taking each fighting newsboy over her knee and baring their bottom for a hard spanking right there in front of everyone. Their acts shaped up real quick to save their dignity. Some of them even took off their hat in respect as she walked by and they all called her “ma’am”.
Annie looked at the brothers with a scathing glance. All their fight was out of them already. “You know how I feel about fighting” she scolded. “Yes ma’am” Benjamin answered, trying for brownie points before the inevitable. Josiah just looked down at his muddy shoes. “Now I don’t care about an explanation. It won’t help your case. So we might as well get on with it. Josiah, you first.” Annie took Josiah’s hand and led him to a nearby milk crate where she sat down and looked him over. Her tone softened at his terrified face. “Josiah, I’m going to spank you, not skin you alive.” Josiah nodded, eyelashes heavy from tears already. It would break any mother’s heart. Luckily, Annie was not a mother. She made quick work of pulling down his trousers and put him over her knee to get to work. Her hand was firm and precise and wasted no time. Before long, Josiah was kicking and pleading over her knee. She needn’t say much to this one. He had learned his lesson the moment she gave him a stern look. This was simply to make sure he didn’t forget it. Annie scooped the crying boy into her arms and shushed him and spoke words of comfort into his curly locks until he had calmed down.
“Ethan?” She called out to one of the newsboys that was around and pretending to not listen in out of some morbid curiosity. “Yes ma’am?” Ethan stepped forward. “Please take Josiah to get a drink of water.” Benjamin stood there, panicked as his younger brother disappeared and Annie’s lap was suddenly empty. He knew it wouldn’t be soon. “Benjamin, come here please” she said curtly. Benjamin quickly shuffled over, afraid to go, but not daring to make her wait.
“Do you see what happens when you get your brother into trouble? How’s that for protecting him, hm?” Benjamin thought of how upset Josiah was during his spanking and started to feel very, very, guilty. “He can make his own choices, but you’re the oldest and he looks up to you.” Benjamin nodded. “What was that?” “Yes ma’am!” He blurted out. Annie eyed him up and decided, “I think the rest of this conversation will be best had over my knee.” She made quick work of baring his bottom and tossing him over her knee. The spanking started hard and he knew it was only going to get worse. He grit his teeth. He couldn’t cry, not in front of the boys. “Now you know I don’t like fighting. Do you know why, young man?” How someone can answer questions while being spanked was beyond Benjamin, but he still squeaked out, “it distracts from the strike!” “Very good.” She praised as she continued to spank him. “There’s another reason too, Benjamin.” At this point, Benjamin was barely holding on. He knew his friends were there and he couldn’t stand to cry in front of them. He was getting his bare bottom spanked in front of them, but for some reason, crying was even more embarrassing. “What reason?” He choked out. Annie stopped spanking for a moment. She got close to him and softly said, “If we stick together, we’ll win.” Benjamin thought of all they were fighting for, all he hoped for his future, his friends, and for his brother… and he began to cry. “Let’s finish this up.” Annie said as she began a flurry of hard and fast smacks, each one biting more than the last, until finally, she was satisfied with her work.
Benjamin, who thought it would never end, quickly stood up and restored his dignity. He wiped his eyes and felt very awkward now that it was over. Annie patted the boy on the shoulder and said, “You’re doing good, kid.” Benjamin leapt forward into her arms, giving her maybe the first hug he’d initiated since his parents had passed on. He enjoyed the comfort and let himself sink into it. He smiled to himself. They were going to win.
The Night Light 