Where There's Smoke

When Rodney Rathbone bullies Nathaniel Graham in McAlister Park, Nick Mulligan intervenes. Nick’s old championship boxing ring and a frightening tale about his last opponent persuade Rodney to retreat without a fight. Nathaniel is impressed by his rescuer and follows him to Whit’s End, where Whit has just hired Nick.

Nathaniel eagerly tries to help with Nick’s new job, although his efforts cause spills and small accidents. Nick finally tells him that friendship does not require all that work; Nathaniel only has to ask. The two begin spending time together, and Nick encourages him through a difficult level of a video game. Nathaniel soon copies Nick’s expressions, attitude, and casual manner with Whit.

Whit notices how deeply Nathaniel admires Nick. He is glad that Nick’s friendship has strengthened the boy’s confidence, but he warns Nick that such influence carries a serious responsibility. Nick assumes he has everything under control. Then Nathaniel sees him smoking behind Whit’s End after closing and realizes that the person he considers cool has a dangerous habit.

The next day, Eugene tells Nick that Nathaniel has been taken to the emergency room. Knowing that the boy has severe asthma, Nick fears his cigarette smoke caused the crisis. At the hospital, however, he learns that Nathaniel has burned his hand while trying to light a cigarette of his own.

Nathaniel calls himself a loser, but Nick accepts the blame for setting a harmful example. He announces that he is quitting smoking immediately and assures Nathaniel that he is not a loser but a friend. Rather than leaving Nathaniel to face his parents alone, Nick goes with him and honestly explains his own part in what happened. By accepting responsibility, he begins becoming the kind of example Nathaniel believed him to be.