- Back to Maggie, a pretty young girl in a dilapidated tenement. What hope does she have growing up on Rum Alley? Her delicate beauty is lost on her co-workers at the sweatshop, where she sews collars and cuffs.
- Jimmie's in charge of the house now. Drunken Mary is still around, getting into scraps and developing her own relationship with police justices. Let's just say she's on a first-name basis with the local Bowery cops.
- Then along comes Pete—he's that guy who saved Jimmie's tail when he was getting into it with those Devil's Row urchins oh so many years ago.
- Through Maggie's eyes, Pete is a hunk and a savior. His contempt for the world and air of superiority floats her boat; she's all in.
- As she stares Pete down, Maggie becomes hyper-aware of the filth and disarray of her home. Compared to this noble gentleman (her thoughts), her surroundings are an embarrassment.
- She decides that he is the "ideal man" (5.25).