The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-12-06

~ Ill the settlers VIII
SA constituted what wa
<lM 500 locally called tn!
-~VE| "Lumley Pass folks
N1% hard working ant
INK unimsginative. The.
~ Y - were much given t.
*/eJ staying at home ant
minding their own business, in tn,
sense which conveys totar1ssk Of IN
terest in. anybody else yAA44
Long reaches Of rough mountain
roads; frequent torrents, which rnshet
rudely wherever resistance was mos
readily overcome, combined with som
Der stretches of dense forest to dis
courage sociability.
Nevertheless, when itbecame known
in a general way, thss the olda tiI
tilted log house-a house hSary witt
age-sbout which the;halo Of Romance
had eve chung, wastotbs the seat Q
q wedding, interest initBecame vivid
and visitors multiplied miraeulously'
The house, stood 1t The bead Of III ktht
Pass, and gave it ifs name. 1t wa
Peter LumleysdaughtszbtwFho was tt
be married. "
! That piece OF information percola'
ted through Peter himself, n even
ing when he had fingered at the store
in Hogsn's Gulch long enough to Tor
get his usual taciturnity and wax con
fdential with other late stayers.
- On that occasion MI. Peter L1pleea
remarked, in a general way that "wo'
men folks was q cussed lot Of trouble
when they got marryin' intheir heads
an, he .xas capsidahlest thankful that hs
didn't have but one gal to turn the
world upside down just because a tel
low had asked her to change bel
name"
This amiable allusion to his only
daughter, coupled with the fact that,
earlier in the evening, MIR. Lumley
had openly invested in ten yards Of
white "cross bar" muslin and Q ''scal'
ioped" 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 pillow 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 hel
name with q possible lover. She was
accounted rather q spiritless creature,
totally lacking in grit. Grit is q moral
quality in high repute with your
molntaineer.
Being m~otherless and sisterlessrSpe
had grown UP with even fewer fefhi.
nine accomplishments thahrfell &6the
lot of other Lumley Pass girls.
avoiding presupposes a man. II
was q long time before local gossip
fastened upon the right man for sSue
Lumley's beau" When it did, euri.
osity was merged fntoamazgment bor'
dering on indignation.
"Was Brad Martin bent on THROWN
hisseIf clean away? Had Brad Martin
turned plum idiot?" were questions
which everybody was asking bnt no
body answered.liS@ EgSh VS.
Bradley Martin was what might be
called a newcomer, having oniy lived
inthe neighborhood Of Iumley'sPa Pas
four or five years. None of his for
bears had ever titled the rocky acres
he called his own. 81 . e IS g.
He was a handsome fellow, with
broad shoulders and STRONG, swift legs,
which carried him over the STEEP
mountain path-wish Observation-Disclosures
of the goat. .
There wasn't a. girl within -tRelxf
miles of Peter Lumley's old gray house
that would not have lent a willing ear
to Bradley Martin if he had come a.
counting. But Sue Lumley, of all the
Pass girls!
Martin and Sue alone knew the
very beginning of the love affair whose
imminent elimination was agitatine
the scattered settlers OF Lumley't
Pass.
They had first seen each other when
the Pass lay in the shadows of even.
ing, which came early and fingered
long inthe mountained walled clear,
ing. , Nj IS
She was sitting aIone-on the rough
pine slab that did duty for front-dool
step. Her lap was,full ofeornand o.
corn cobs. A pile or unsheIled corr
was stacked on the slab within easy
reach.-With ~a'fne- drsregard~for he1
own cuticle, she rubbed the grains
free from the cob with the Redeemed
ball of her right thumb.
When all the corn should be shelled,
she would lift up her voice shrilly, ant
countless feathered pensioners would
make glad response. BOOSTERS. forget
ting to be stately, Guinea fowls grown
suddenly gregarious, pigeons swoop
ing from aloft to share in the iibera
largess, would all Gomez Aatteriag
flying, s~crambling, h~urrying, eact
filled with genuine human greed, striv
ing to get ahead of its fellows.
Sue rather liked 'sfeed time" tt
come. 1t broke up the dreadful mo
notony of her day, and introduced
cheerful clamor into profound silence
She was left very much alone during
the day. Her father ana her four un
couth brothers were always off as sool
as the breakfast of black coffee an:
greasy bacon she got up at dawn tt
prepare was disposed of.
What their bnsiness was. beyond th,