Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1897-08-05
5 Daniel'S Leetle GAL"
BY W. BERT FOSTER.
HNLD DANIEL, tended the switch


Old Daniels hair, which swept the
greasy collar of his faded coat, had
long since taken on that yellowish
white hue which tells of the tiaxen
hair of youth, and his blue eyes were
faded and watery. Daniel had grown
old in the service of the Iron Mountain
road, and was only fit now for his
present position. There was not much
for the switchman to do. There was
only side-track on the short level,
and the wood road branched Off here
and wound around the mountain
through the timber where the COM
pany's choppers were at work the year
round. Two or three times week,
perhaps, a freight train shunted few
cars off on to the side-track, and every
day or two a string of ''tiats," piled high
with ties or timbers, crawled out of the
forest behind the wheezy little yard
engine and slid down the main line to
Warmers mills at the foot of the long
incline. .,
Yes, Daniel had almost outlived his
usefulness, and had been shelvcd in this
out-of-the-way place by corporation
which, although "soulless," still had
some lingering compunctions against
discharging a man who had been in
its employ so many years. There was
a rough cabin beside the switch which
had been built when the branch road
old man the use of this, and his scanty
wage supplied his simple needs and
those of his granddaughter, Meg.
1t was when he thought or spoke of
Meg that Old Daniel became other than
the decrepit, dull-looking man he usual
ly appeared. His cheeks would flush,
his old eyes flash, and his broken ?oice
grow full and tender when he talked OF
any leetle gal" Whenever and wher-
ever he could gain an audience he would
dwell upon the PROJECTIONS of his grand
child, till Daniels leetle gall became
by-word among the rough railroad
men.
In Daniels eyes Meg was the fairest
flower ever plucked from Gods garden
and dropped upon earth to bless man
kind. His wife and children had all left
him, and the little girl, the orphan
daughter of his youngest child, was all
he had left to love and cherish.
From Old Daniels description, one
would expect to find little Meg vision
of loneliness; whereas, there was prob
ably no homelier young one in all the
Iron mountain district. Her hair was
red-not a pretty red, but deep brick
color-and she had freckles to match.
Her nose turned up, her mouth was wide,
and there was more than suspicion of
a squint in her eyes. But the eyes, il
one took the pains to look into them,
were deep and true; and when she
smiled, and she was nearly always smil-
ing, two beautiful, even rows of teeth
were revealed, and there was the glow
of BEAUTIFULLY flowing blood in the
freckled cheeks.
She was sunny tempered, happy
little girl, despite her lack of beauty.
1t was quite evident that it was the
child's soul Old Daniel worshiped, and
her outward imperfections could not
hide its beauty from his old eyes.
The train hands laughed at her cloth
ing, and called her 'Bricktop." She
didn't mind the last, but as she grew
older she was ashamed of her frocks.
They were fashioned so crudely, and of
such coarse material. She had never
seen other little girls-that is, no closer
than the car windows as the passenger
coaches passed the junction, but she
knew she was dressed differently from
them. Bill Thomas, who braked on the
wood train, had little sister down at
the Mills, and once he bought frock
for her in Pittsburgh, and showed it to
Meg while his train was waiting for
the down express to pass. Meg was
thirteen then, and out of the next bolt
of cheap calico that Old Daniel bought
of a travelling peddler, she tried to
fashion something that looked like the
frock Bill had shown her. But the re-
suit was sorry enough, and she had
never dared wear it before the train
men.
1t was only on Sunday that Meg felt
perfectly safe from the thoughtless
taunts and jokes of the train hands
On that day none but through trains
passed the little junction. But there
came time when even this weekly es.
cape from her tormentors was denied
her. The Iron Mountain road, in the
wisdom of a new set of directors, re.
vised the running time of the trains sc
as to get an extra trip each week out OF
the tie train. The flats were drawn uI
to the junction behind one of the Sun
day morning passenger trains, and the
first train load of ties was sent down
Monday morning instead of Tuesday
as heretofore. 1t was saving of time
and money to the corporation, but il
robbed the men who worked the flats
of their Sabbath rest.
The junction, which had ALWAYS
been quiet place on the Lords day
soon took on an entirely different an.
pearance. The long hours of the Sab.
bath hung idly on thu mems hands
Teasing Meg, and listening to Old
Daniels prosings about ''his leetle
gal'' soon became tiresome. Some OF
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