Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-06-07
lam alb? Wen, read that then

that paragraph announcing her decease
with which the reader has already been
made acquainted.
s'What a silly blunderI'' the girl
cried. elbow could they make such
mistake?''
''Ah s'pose thah names been put in
by mistake for somebody else's,'' Bob
explained.
The bonnie lass laughed again and
went across the bottom of Mitigate to-
wards the Star. The mistake gave her
no uneasiness, for she never dreamt of
the fearful, almost tragic results which
were to flow from the false notice of her
death.
And she went into the tavern in her
usually gay manner, telling Nancy of
what she had just seen in the Guardian,
and of course they laughed in concert
over the stupid blunder of some foolish
compositor.
They never suspected that the error
was the first step in diabolical, cum
ningly devised scheme to keep Nellie and
| her lover apart, and that copy of the
| paper was even then on its way to Johns
town, Pa. with letter from Dan an
nouncing the girls decease.
The incident of the false paragraph in
| the Guardian caused some little talk in
the town, it WAS so circumstantial and |
matter of fact in appearance. But |
everybody set it down 10 mistake, save !
Dan and Mayhem, who were alone cog |
INFANT Of the motive which induced them /
to send it to an unsuspecting editor just |
at the moment when his journal was
going to press, and when there was no
time to make inquiries as to its truth.
When this happened Nellie was daily
expecting O letter from Mark. More
than six weeks ago she had written to
him, and, for the first time since they
had been separated, his reply had not ar
rived with its wonted punotuality.
Another week or two spent themselves,
and the wondering lassie waited with I'M
concealed eagerness and anxiety for the
letter which was fated never to come.
And while she waited for her lovers re-
ply that cruel, lying epistle Dan Ashton
had written was speeding across the At
lantic to stun-almost kill Mark Eliot
with its Internal falsehood.
And waiting thus, n.ver suspeeting
that her own communications and those
of her sweetheart had been intercepted,
she tortured herself by thinking all man
ner OF thoughts, just as Mark was doing.
As Mark had been compelled to inter-
pref her silence as an irrefutable evil
dence of her lessening regard for him,
so now was she forced to conclude that If
he had not forgotten her entirely he Ger
taInly loved her much less than he had
professed.
At that moment Mark Eliot was living
at DEATHS door, smitten down by the
false intelligence Dan Ashton had con-
veyed to him. But Nellie knew nothing
of that. She could only wonder at his
and having written last, and
received no reply, her pride would not
permit her to write again-at least not
at present.
If he had forgotten-was forgetting her
no word of hers should recall her to
his vagrant memory. If from any cause &C
mis- affection for her was dying, neither W
complaint nor remonstrance on her part
Ihould ever leave her lips to again
quicken his expiring passion. to
With some such thoughts as these the
,oor lovelorn lassie filled her mind as the
ong weeks slipped away one by one, and
he long looked for letter from Mark
eliot never came.
And while she waited she suffered all
he agonies of suspense, all the fortunes
f doubt and fear Mark had endured.
he did not dream that while she was
ccusing her sweetheart of all manner of
vii and uncharitable things he was al
lost dying because he believed her .
cad.
At length, when she had been waiting
or over Two months, the girls great
we and over mastering anxiety con-
uered her pride and she wrote again to
or lover-wrote to him such a letter as
had penned when his loving heart was
INT and pierced by hundred uncer-
mites, breads, and horrors.
Dan Ashton was aware of the writing
that letter, and when 1t was con-
uded he offered to post it for her, but
his chagrin, even apprehension, Nell
, persisted in her resolve to post the
issive with her own hands; and when
10 girl dropped the little packet into 81
70 wide mouth of the post box, she felt of
at her strongly-wrltten, passionately Hir
1rded epistle would move her sweet our
art to speech-would impel him tc
eak his incomprehensible silence and
plain it also.
But despite this precaution of NellIe's
r letter never reached its destination.
1t crossed the Atlantic in safety il
lst have been swept away by the flood
itch destroyed the mail tram at Johns
wn.
J st fortnight after she had for
ded this letter, the whole of the
'ilized world was startled by the intel
ence of the frightful accident in the
LEY of the Conemaugh.
" nat terrible blow the news of that
aster was to the sorely tried factory
8 may be imagined. With white face
l bated breath she devoured the long
Tspaper accounts of the flood, feastiug
The full at the banquet of horrors thew
Vlded, and mastering every detail of
great tragedy.
ne bought many newspapers and read
m all, hoping with that strange hope
len nils those who despair, that some
ling OF Mark IS fate might be disclosed
Ter In the interminabls accounts of
flood. %.
tut after all it was not much that the gar-i
7spapers had to say of the dreadful q.
ma which had been enacted in the 10
emaugh Valley. The tale of calami-
vas too wide, too great, to be told in
all, and the most the greatest daily
mails could do was to sketch the ca
rophe in the faintest outline. &C.
nd all that Nellie could gather was a.
!; Johnstown, wherein Mark lived
been utterly annIhilated, aud thous.
OF its hapless inhabitants saorifcad