Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-03-22
For tile Gazette.
SYNOPSIS OF PREVIOUS CHAPTERS.

Pemberton, who is about to be married Dan
Ashton, one of the mill hands, who comes up at
the time searches the pockets of the dead woman
and discovers some papers. In an interview he
has that night with his employer, Mr.. Richard
HaTwood, the mill owner, he informs him that
the dead woman was the widow of his brother,
Mr.. George Bentham HARDWOOD, who had died in
America, and the baby is Mr.. Richard HARDWOOD
niece. Dan, who had been in America, was
present at the wedding, and the papers he had
secured were the certificates of the wedding, and
the baptism OF the child. Mr.. Harwood, Whois
afraid of being dispossessed of his wealth, buys
Dams silence with cheque OF &lOO down and Il
per week for life.
THE SToRY-CHAPTERs I. AND u.-Eighteen
years have rolled on since the prologue, and
Nellie Pemberton, the infant, has grown into
line, handsome young woman. She is beloved
by many, but. at present she is heart-whole.
Mark Elliot, mechanic employed at the same
mill, at last meets her, and case of love at
first sight ensues. As he is mending her loom,
which had just broken down, q fire occurred in a
neighboring mill belonging to Mr.. HarWood,
and something like panic ensues.
CHAPTER IH.-THE STRUGGLE ON THE
STAIRS
The scene Of confusion and. fright
which the weaving shed presented when
the alarm of fire was raised therein was
sufficiently vivid aud striking to deserve
description, and yet, in comparison with
the tumultuous and dangerous panic
which seized upon those who worked in
and near the room where the fire broke
out, it was comparatively a very tame
affair.
In the shed, which was of course on
the ground floor, the women and girls
had only to rush across the level flags
and out into the open air, and in this
there was really no danger, save to those
the feet of those behind.
But in the six stored mill in which
the fire originated and still ragged it was
both difficult and dangerous for the
operatives to effect an escape, for there
were long flights of narrow stone stair
ways to descend in order to reach the
actory yard, and the peril attendant
upon some hundreds of frenzied women
running for dear life down those steep
steps is only too obvious.
The fire had broken out in the fourth
story Of the mill, which was set apart for
the purpose of mule spinning, and the
innocent author of the confiagration was
little fellow OF twelve or thirteen, who
acted as "scavenger to one of the
mule spinners.
That corner Of the fourth story in which
this lad and his miuder worked, was con-
siderably darker than the other portions
Of the room, owing to the nearness of
another Of the mills, which, rearing 1t
self into the air only about a score of
yards away, robbed it of its due share of
daylight.
Here, therefore, it had always been
necessary to ''let up" half an hour be-
fore the same thing was requisite else
where, and on this particular evening
the gas had only just been lighted when
that incident transpired which was des-
tined to set the whole Of this great build
ing in flames, to endanger the lives of
many of its inmates, and to produce such
q conflagration as the oldest town Of
Warringham had never before witnessed,
A few minutes after five of the clock
Jimmy Davies, the little scaVenger in
question, was carrying away a basket
filled with cotton waste to stow it IN bags
beside the "'wheelhouse, when the
top of the heaped-up refuse came into
contact with the gas jet, and in a mo-
ment there was a sudden fash of light,
and the basket, with Its oily contents,
was a mass of flames.
"Waste' s on fire, Jimmy, waste g on
f1rei" G woman cried out in loud and
affrighted voice, and the next instant the
startled lad had hurled the blazing bun
die OF cotton TO the floor and bounded
away from it.
The result of the soaYenger's act may
easily be imagined when the infiammable
nature of the material used in the mule
rooms is considered. In its descent the
burning mass of waste struck against one
of the frames, and in another instant a
great tongue of white flames was travel
ing along the carriages Of the mules with
a marvellous rapidity.
The loud cry of the woman who had
been the first to see the fire attracted the
attention Of all the other spinners ,piecers,
doffers and sosvengers in the room,
and they rushed forward to see what was
amiss, but being all women and small
lads and wenches, they could only stare
helplessly at the increasing flames and
rent the air with their EXPLANATIONS of
alright.
The next moment two men-Harry
J Johnson, the overIooker, and his assist
ant-rushed forward, with buckets of
water in their hands, crying:
"Out 9TH way, women! out 9th
way! An some o yo' fotoh thoose
buckets O. wayter fro o 'er theer!''
StTiding up to the very edge of the
blazing mule carriage, the two men cast
the water they carried upon the flames.
There was loud hiss as the fire and
water met, a cloud of steam arose in the
air, there was a temporary cessation Of
fire in one spot, and then the flames
rushed back again and relit whatever the
water had extinguished.
By this time some of the women and
lads had fetched the other buckets, and
the contents of these were also scattered |
over the blazing material, but with no |
better result than before
The water in the buckets beng now
exhausted, Johnson and his mate ran TO |
the north aide OF the room where the |
water pipes stood, and hastily affixing to |
these hose pipes provided for such con-
tingeucies, they commenced to play upon |
the still gathering fire.
By this time the whole Of the mules at /
one end of the room were sblaze, and |
the thin jets of water from the hose fell |
Intellectually on the flames, which still |
continued TO spread swiftly from one |
jenny to another.
''This is no use, Tom?'' johnson |
cried to his companion. ''GI' me that |
hose, an thee run off for help. Be |
quick. These here things are no moor |
use nor spittin on t. -
The man tore away to seek help, and |
his hasty departure was the signal for |