The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1896-01-31
TWO IN THE DESERT

Dragging itself westward across the
dreary plains of Utah.. the overland
train, from a vantage point III the sky,
looked like small horse hair snake
crawling over the earth's surface. The
earth-almost the air--was white with
the heat Of the summer sun All was
vastness, immensity. silence. loneliness:
above. the tlawless blue; below, those
seemingly illimitahle plains of reddish
yellow. streakel with alkali white, that
SWAIN back and forth before the eyes in
parallel lines until far off they melted
into Il long, low stretch of shivering
light, the mocking water mirage ut the
base of the mountain range hundreds of
horizon there was nothing of life except
within that desultory moving train.
Stocked III .he cmigrant or third-claSs
car of the train was Il crowd of tired,
miserable and dirty people, They looked
out listleSSly at the passing landscape,
or stuoidly at each other. or twisted
themselves into all sorts of uncomforta-
Bile positions on the hard. wooden seats
IN vain efforts to secure Il little sleep.
Perhaps the most unprepOSsesSing Of
them all was dark euture,. roughly
dressed man. Beside him was Il very lit.
tie girl in IL blue dress. His lowering,
rcpellant face had Il scowl upon it which
SuSSeStct tile cOuElct nF tne uCSlefauO.
but he VAS neither. The scowl and the
unconscious sneer about his ugly mouth
were born simply of long and thor
oughly fruitless struggle with misfor-
tune.
Although pretty. it was easily to be
seen that the little girl was his child.
She was the solitary ray of sunshine in
that railway steera.ge::, Even the dull
faces of the people in the car took on an
expression of tenderness when they
looked at her, for she had cheered them
during the last three weary days with
her joyous laughter and merry play.
Just now. she was lying ASLEEP OH the
breast Of the il-favored looking man,
one chubby hand pressed aginst his
essary to ask if the child had a mother.
She was Il momentous factor in Il
mighty problem to the man whose arm
was about her. and whose knit brow
and troubled face showed how hard it
was he studied it. 4 crazy letter had
come to him across the continent, and
he had left the tenements of New York
to try and reach the golden land Of Cali
fornia. He had started with hardly sutii-
cient money to take himself and child
more than half the distance. but he had
Il confused sort of an idea that he would
in some way reach his destination. Ret
ter it was, at all events. than to remain
in the noisome Hester street den. where.
without work, or the prospect of any.
his little sum of money would soon be
gone.
The station to which his scanty purse
had enabled him to buy ticket for him
self and child had been passed hours be-
fore, and he was wondering how soon
the conductor of the train would dis
cover the shameless imposition he was
practicing upon the railway company.
IL hoI To fop
presently the autocrat of the train, in IL
hurried passage through the car, stopped
suddenly before him and glanced at the
check in his hat. - :
Hello! Where are you going?"
The man looked up in what was in
tended as an humble, respectful and pit
eous appeal, but his lip curled up over
could not help it. His voice was mild
enough, though, as he said:
Il am going to California. sir. with
my little girl"
The mans looks seemed to irritatc the
not too even temper of the railway Off
Ger.
You are, eh? Well, where's your tick
1T for the rest of the way?
IF YOU would please let me go through
the train with my little girl" replied the
unfortunate one, falteringly. Il think l
could raise the money"
Go through the train? Not much.
lhlrd-class passengers stay in this car.
You get off at the next station" said
the conductor in a voice of fierce warn-
ing as he passed on.
=
IN the rear of the sentry-box it's pro-
jecting roof had cast little shade. and
here the man sat down upon the ground
with bis child still in his arms. Strange
things for him came to his eyes-tears.
The little one looked no at him in puz-
zled way, and he hastily brushed his
hand across his face and left broad
She clapped her hands and laughed with
glee at his sunny face.
Then thirst came to them-that awful,
torturing, unreasoning thirst which the
desert alone can give. The child cried
for water, and the father left her in the
scaDty shade and stepped out into the
glaring sun. Neither in the sky nor in
the parched ground was there a drop of
moisture, and he knew it. He returned
and tried to comofrt her, and then he sat
down again, buried his face in his hands
coming on when he rose to his feet with
Il new resolve.
Away far off in the west thin, al
most imperceptible streak of smoke told
him that the eastbornd train was ap-
preaching. Near tine track he found Il
dirty shred of Il flag hanging to stick
and he placed it in tho locket of the up
right post standing in front of the house.
Nervously his fingers fumbled III his
pockets until he produced the stump OF Il
lead pencil. Picking up piece. of paste
board, he wrote u JON it. in great letters:
Observation-Disclosures. ......'