The Huntington argus. [volume] (Huntington, W. Va.) 1872-1905, 1873-07-12

whether she preferred young Mr. Gordon !
or Martin Great the Young man who wa.
learning the carpenters trade, and had !
been building himselfa little home by the
mill
Christie Gordon had leh suddenly the
day before the fire-that terrible FIRE that
Oldville remembers to this day-burned
down the great Gordon mansion, and the
little house belonging to H;da Hydes
mother, and the doctors house, and in
deed half the village 1t was a fire
| that is not forgotten now, because there
WAS loss Of life IA well rs loss OF property
II only Mrs. Gordon's son had been at
home, all might have been saved; for
Mrs Gordon and the servants were all 30
bewildered nj the beginning that they took
no means to put ont the fire, and by the
time lolp could get to them it was too
late. Ii spread to the out-houses, then
TO Mrs. liydes house; she was i'll at the
time, and the shock made her worse. and
they took her straight to the almshOuse
for the night But Elilda staid round 10
see what she could do to help the Cor
dons. There WAS Martin Great working
harder than any one. First he had help.
ed the iIydes. doing all he could then he
tried TO make IIilda go to one OF the neigh
bors TO rest, for this vas in the middle Of
the night
SO when he found she was not leaving
the fire while he was working there, he
set her down on the broad stone fence a
lutte way opposite, in full sight, and gave
her a bundle to hold, done up in bright
col 1red handkerchief This grandmother
saw: and she remembers it so plainly as
one of the things that happened that ter
rible night, and how IIilia's yellow hair
wns streaming down over her shoulder
But just then there was a crash and
scream, and some one said Ms Gordon
had gone back into the house TO save an
Old picture she had thought of and her
daughters were for rushing back into the
flames after her. But Martin called to
them not to go. lie took ladder and
mounted it to one Of the windows in the
room to which Madame Gordon was gonc.
And there was stiffness Tor n while: and
| then he wa seen TO come to the window.
and then a burst OF flames. and the root
tell, and all was in a blaze: and that was
the terrible end for these two were burned
~ the flames
Nobody paid any attention to Ulda-
Martins mother was the first to Toe thought
OF. and Mrs.. Go don's poor daughters Bnt
they went away from the town directly
they could moi stay I'M place so fall of
sadness to them; they joined their brother
WHO wns % sail it seemed, for Europe. so
they went with him
But the next Sunday HiiIa was seen
coming mp TO the meeting house. walking
slowly. with a bundle in her hand, loo,inc
20 grandmother SAYS, like an old woman
changed all at once from q vonnc girl 49,
And just at that moment some of the
loun-ers on the publishing board said that
Mart Grant aud TTilda Hyde proposed
marriage. And llilia looked neither one
way or the other, hnt went 10 her old seat
IN the Gordons pew. and placed her bun
! dl"ily her side; and that she dill every Sun
! day aierwari- that she conH get ont
} aud 80 every boiy understood why it was
! that Christie Gordon had gone away so
suddenly, because Hilda had settled TO
marry her POOR lover rather than her rich