Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1896-04-23
The Wedding at Lumley's.

aginative. They We're much given to
staying at home and minding their
own business, in the sense which con-
veys total lack of interest in anybody
else.
Long reaches of rough mountain
roads frequent torrents, which rushed
rudely wherever resistance was most
readily overcome, combined with SOM
Der stretches of dense forest to dis
courage sociability.
Nevertheless, when it became known,
in general way, that the old tip
tilted log house-a house hoary with
age-about which the halo Of romance
had never chung, was to be the seat Of
a wedding, interest in it became vivid,
and visitors multiplied miraculously.
The house stood at the head Of the
Pass, and gave II Its name. 1t was
Peter Lumleys daughter who was to
be married.
That piece of information percola-
ted through Peter himself, one even
ing when he had fingered at the store
in Hogan's Gulch long enough to for
get his usual taciturnity and wax con-
fdential with other late stayers.
On that occasion Mr.. Peter Lumley
remarked, in a general way, that "wo-
men folks was cussed lot of trouble
when they got marryin in their heads,
an he was considerable thankful that
he didn't have but one gal to turn the
world upside down Just because a fell
low had asked her to change her
name
This amiable allusion to his only
daughter, coupled with the fact that,
earlier in the evening, Mr.. Lumley
had openly invested in ten yards Of
white "cross bar" muslin and seal
loped' handkerchief, fastened the i'm
pending change of name on Sue Lum-
ley.
Until that cross bar muslin and en-
broidered handkerchief were actually
transferred from Hogan's counter to
the gummy sack which already held
Peters supply of tobacco, seed pota-
toes and rope for plow lines, the gen
eral public had laid no particular stress
upon Peters outburst.
Never before had Sue Lumley been
an object of even passing local inter-
est. No one had ever associated her
name with a possible lover. She was
accounted rather spiritless creature,
totally lacking in grit. Grit is moral
quality in high repute with your
mountaineer.
Being motherless and sisterless, Sue
had grown up with even fewer femi-
nine accomplishments than fell to the
lot of other Lumley Pass girls.
a wedding presupposes man. It
was long time before local gossip
fastened upon the right man for "Sue
Lumley's beau" When it did, curl
osity was merged into amazement bor-
dering on indignation.
"Was Brad Martin bent on THROWN
hisself clean away? Had Brad Mar
tin turned plum idiot? p were questions
which everybody was asking but no.
body answered.
Bradley Martin was what might be
called a newcomer, having only lived
in the neighborhood Of Lumley' Pass
four or five years. None of his for
bears had ever titled the rocky acres
he called his own.
He was a handsome fellow, with
broad shoulders and strong, swift legs,
which carried him over the steep
mountain path with the surefootedness
of the goat.
There wasn't a girl within twelve
miles of Peter Lumley's old gray house
that would not have lent willing ear
to Bradley Martin if he had come
accounting. But Sue Lumley, of all
the Pass girls
Martin and Sue alone knew the
very beginning of the love affair whose
imminent elimination was agitating
the scattered settlers of Lumley s Pass.
They had first seen each other when
the Pass lay in the shadows of even
ing, which came early and fingered
long in the mountained-walled clear
ing.
She was sitting alone on the rough
pine slab that did duty for front-door
step. Her lap was full of corn and Of
corn cobs. A pile of unshelled corn
was stacked on the slab within easy
reach. With fine disregard for her
own cuticle, she rubbed the grains
free from the cob with the reddened
ball of her right thumb.