St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-03-17
a RAY OF SUNSHINE.
She Fits Into a Police Station and
Tells the Captain All About Her
rrponhIoc

Tells the Captain All About Her
Troubles.
Capt. Lewis was looking gloomy. He
had been down stairs talking with Bill
Scott, the wife murderer, and if there ever
was a face that would give man a fit of
the blues, that face belonged to Bill
Scott, says the Chicago Times. Then
the sky was smoky and the air was full
of drizzle, and every policeman who
came III brought boat load of DeS-
PLANES street mud. A woman down
stairs was wailing blOOd-curdling song
and couple of policemen were sitting
in the back shadows of the squad room
chatting in muffied tones. The captain
was disconnected with Bill Scott'S mug,
with the slaty skies, with the mud on
the floor, and the shadows and num-
bling patrolmen, and he had grave
thoughts of going to sleep, when ray
of sunshine came in timidly and stood
near the door.
The captain was surprised. He hadn't
seen ray of sunshine in DesplaineS
street station for long time, and he
braced up in his chair and looked as
pleasant as though he was going to have
his picture taken. The ray of sunshine
frightened up. 1t was little ray about
three feet high. with yellow streaming
hair and blue streaming eyes and
pretty nose and white face and the
dirtiest hands that were ever seen. The
ray wore a hood that was almost as
dirty as the hands and an old veil,
long cloak and big shoes. The rays
eyelidS were red, and so were her lips,
but for different reason, and the
mouth dropped at the corners before
the captain put on his grand-Stand
smile and treasured the ray.
"What is your name, little grip"
asked the captain.
''Gracie Edgell,'' said the ray.
''And what are you doing here?
81 came here because me mudder
don't treat me right. She's always lick
ing me. She works in restaurants and
she don't earn no mOre'n me little brud-
der does, and she comes home at 9
o'clock stead of Z, when she gets
through. n then she ticks me. told
somethin' that was true, AN she stomped
on me. can't live with her no more,
body to take care O. me-" and the ray of
sunshine began to cry and to dig her
grimy fists into her blue eyes and make
the eyelids redder than ever.
''Hem!" said the captain "a chicken
had escaped the coop in the Randolph
street market and had flown around and
rsOsted in the captains throat) ''Hem!
How old are you, my dear?'
Pm twelve"
'And where do you live?"
cat No. AZ North Carpenter. We've
got room there with some furniture in
1t, but faint much"
"And you came all the way down
here in the rain?''
Eyes, sir"
"Well, we'll see about this" and the
captain hustled around and said he
would look into the case. A few min
utes later the ray, with her pale face
and her little hands washed and her
yellow hair cOmbed and looking more
bright than ever, was sitting in the
heretofore rayless basement chatting
with the matrOn; and the ribald jokes
that one hears banded in station cell
room died away on the lips of the coarse
men and women. The desk-sergeant
braced up and hooked the operators
cigar, the patrolmen in the squad room
stopped mumbling and began to tell in
loud tones great many funny stories
about BallynOgue and Bavaria, the cap
tain polished up his star, the policemen
wiped their feet on the mat, and the ray
of sunshine never knew what good she
had done.