CUMBERLAND VALLEY Chapter 5

All This and More If - -
courtesy photobucket.com

Decision time   

It was Jake's time to speak and he told Walter that he was pleased with the way he handled himself, and would be proud to have him as a son-in-law and as a dowry for marrying Sarah he was willing to give them fifty acres of land which included ten acres of bottom land.  In addition there was more bottom land available if he would clear it.  He would help them build a house and buy some furniture. That was the deal he made if he choose Sarah.

If Walt wanted the next youngest who was named Margie, and was eighteen years old, Jake would give them twenty five acres and five acres of bottom land. He would also give him some help in building their house. They would have to get their own furniture.

If he wanted the third youngest who was fifteen he would give them ten acres and he would need to build his own house.

If he wanted the youngest girl who was thirteen he would let them have a lot big enough to build a lean-to on.  Along with that he could help themselves to the garden and the smoke house.

Jake's final pitch to Walt was to make him realize that he would be a land owner and be independent of his father.  

 

Walt said he was overwhelmed by the generous offer and was going to take him up on it.  He just needed to figure which offer to take and would tell him after breakfast tomorrow.

Needlessly to say no one slept much that night but there was a lot of thinking going on.

 
Jake was glad that one of his girls was going to be spoken for and he was hoping it would be one of the older ones. He had sweetened the pot some for Sarah by offering a larger dowry for her due to her age.  Margie was two years younger and her dowry wasn't small so she was a possible choice. The younger ones dowry was smaller and probably wouldn't be chosen.  

Jake wondered if he should stay up all night just in case Walt decided to leave during the night but he thought better of it.   These and other thoughts went round and round in his head until he drifted off into a restless sleep.

Mama was thinking about making a wedding dress, quilts and curtains for the new house.  She had bought some material for a dress several years ago but until now hadn't had a need for it. The girls were in a quandary wondering if they were going to become a wife very soon. The very idea seemed unreal for they didn't know how it would feel being married.

The youngest was sure she wasn't ready for marriage because she was only thirteen and was happy in her home.

Then Walt was struggling trying to come to a decision, he would make up his mind and a few minutes later he would settle on another.  While it felt strange to have four girls to choose from it wasn't unusual due to the large size of families.  He tried to remember each girls face and their knees he saw while they were wading. The girls did their chores equally well so that didn't help him.

 

He was finally wore out from all this thinking and drifted off to sleep. The next morning everyone was up early though still sleepy. No one talked during breakfast except about passing the food around.

After each had a private moment Jake called Walt into the parlor along with mama and after a time of silence Jake asked Walter what he had decided.

To be Continued

Be sure to enter your e-mail address in the follow by e-mail box so as not to miss any of the next chapters.

 

This post has been linked to Michelle’s Thought Provoking Thursday