The Widow's Mail Order Husband (Mail Order Brides) Read Free Page B

leave, she went to the cemetery where her parents were buried to say goodbye. Her late husband, Joshua was buried in the National Cemetery in Gettysburg so there were no goodbyes to him. She did say a short prayer, asking for His blessing for what she was about to do..
     
    The day arrived; she hired a carriage to take her, along with her baggage to the train station. When the conductor called, “All aboard”, she stepped onto the train steps, turned and looked back, and then stepped onto the train. Her car was the third from the engine, and when the engineer advanced his throttle, there was a loud hiss, then a cloud of steam floated past her window, her view was obscured by the black smoke from the smoke stack on the engine, so she could see little outside the car until they had gained enough speed for the wind to blow the smoke away. She could hear the clackety clack of the rails as the train passed over the joints of the rails. Almost before she knew it, the train was pulling into Washington. She transferred to the Richmond and Danville Railroad for their train to New Orleans, a trip of slightly less than two and one half days. It was to be a great adventure for Mary, who had never before been even fifty miles from Hagerstown. Now she was going halfway across the country.
     
    Traveling through Richmond and Atlanta, she could see some of the ravages of the war that ended ten years earlier. She had a Pullman berth for the balance of her trip and took her meals in the dining car. With short stops in both Richmond and Atlanta, she was able to leave the train and walk around on the platform. She had to transfer trains again in New Orleans, but this would be the last time. She would be in Fort Worth the next morning.

Chapter 4:  Arriv al In Fort Worth
     
    “Fort Worth, next stop is Fort Worth,” called the conductor in a loud voice that carried to the end of the Pullman Car. Mary began gathering the various items she had brought in her carpet bag. Her trunk was in the baggage car and would be unloaded by the railroad people. Nervous, she stood and peered out the window as she made her way down the aisle toward the exit. She didn’t see anything or anyone she recognized, never having been in Texas before, let alone Fort Worth.
     
    She stepped from the train along with six other passengers leaving the train. Looking around, she saw a man, who appeared to be in his early thirties headed in her direction. He looked to be almost six feet tall, about the right height. As he neared, she could see he was deeply tanned, the result of many hours in the sun. He removed his Stetson hat, and she saw his blond hair and blue eyes.
     
    “Mrs. Cartwright?” he asked in a deep, pleasant voice.
     
    “Yes, I’m Mary Cartwright,” she replied.
     
    “I’m Tom Hartness,” he said. “Welcome to Fort Worth. I’ve been looking forward to your arrival. It’s nice to meet you. Do you mind if I call you Mary?” To himself, he thought, “She is a fine looking woman, a pleasant face and a nice friendly voice.” He smiled as he introduced himself, revealing straight, white teeth.
     
    “Mary is fine. I’m pleased to meet you also. I’m glad to be able to put a face to the person in the letters. It has been a long trip, but interesting. I had never been out of Maryland prior to this.”
     
    “I’m sure you’re tired of traveling and it’s about twenty miles to the Lazy H,” he said. It will take half a day to make the trip, stopping to rest and water the horses. If we leave now, it will be just about dark when we get there.”
     
    “Is Emily with you?” she asked.
     
    “I thought the round trip would be too tiring for her, so she’s with Rosa. Ken Blake, one of the ranch hands is with me, in case we run into any trouble.”
     
    “What type of trouble could we run into?” she asked.
     
    “Oh anything, a broken wheel, or one of the horses comes up lame, things like that,” he said.
     
    “I have the feeling you’re