Democratic Sentinel, Volume 10, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 July 1886 — She Found Her Mamma. [ARTICLE]

She Found Her Mamma.

The north-bound train had left Austin, Tex., and Conductor Hughes was making his usual round collecting tickets. He stopped in front of a little girl who was crouched in a corner near the stove. Notwithstanding that a cold northwester was blowing, she was thinly clad in a torn calico dress, and her feet were destitute of shoes and stockings. As she appeared to be alone, the conductor asked: “ Have you got a ticket, little girl?” “ What is that?” “Didn’t whoever but you on the cars give you a ticket ?” “Nobody put us on the car. We came all by ourselves, didn’t we, dolly ?” she said, hugging a dilapidated doll. “ Didn’t your papa put you on the cars ?” “No; we didn’t tell him we were coming, did we, dolly ?” The conductor took the little girl’s hand in his. It was burning hot. Her thin features were flushed, and her eyes were glistening with fever. “ Your clothes are thin. Don’t you feel cold sometimes!” “ Yes, we feel so cold, but we hug up close together, don’t we, dolly ? When I find mamma she’ll give us some new clothes and some shoes.” “Where is your mamma?” “I don't know, but I’ll find her. She told me to come to her. She came into my room last night and put her hands on me and kissed me —just as she used to before she went to sleep in a long box and went off on the railroad. ” The conductor was puzzled. Had the fever affected the child’s head ? “I think you are lost, little girl. What is your name ?“ “My name is Fanny, but mamma used to call me ‘little pet.’ ” “I’ll send you back to your papa. You have got a papa, haven’t you, in Austin?” A look of terror was frozen on the little pinched features. Two thin arms were thrown around the conductor’s neck. “Please don’t send me back to pa,” she said in piteous accents. “AJy new mamma will whip me and lock me in the dark closet. Oh, please don’t send me back! I’ll be so good. I’ll give you dolly. No; I can’t give you dolly. Mamma gave me dolly, but I’ll let you play with her. Please, let me stay with you till I find mamma.” “This is a bad case of stepmother,” said the conductor to himself. “This is some poor, neglected little creature. I’ve a notion to take her home and leave her with my kids. One more won’t make much difference.” “I’ll not send you home. Just lie down here,” he said, fixing her up a place to lie on one of the seats. The little waif was contented and happy. She laid down and the conductor covered her up with his overcoat. Once or twice, as he passed by, he heard the little deadhead' passenger talking to her dolly about what they would do when they found mamma. At Taylor the north-bound and southbound trains met, aud the passengers got supper. As soon as Conductor Hughes stepped on the platform the operator called to him: “Here, Bill, here is a telegram for you. ” He opened the envelope and read: “Put runaway child in charge of conductor of south-bound train for Austin.” “Poor little creature,” he muttered, “she has a hard time of it in this world, but I’ll wake her up and give her some supper before I send her home to her folks. ” He turned back into the car and threw back the overcoat from the sleeping child. She was hugging her dol y to her breast. There were tears on her pale, thin cheeks, but a happy smile on her little pinched features. “Little pet” had found her mamma. — Alex. Sweet, in New York Mercury.