Page:Emma Speed Sampson--The shorn lamb.djvu/271

Rh service the young man had rendered in bringing little Rebecca safe to Mill House.

It had been years since Robert Taylor had made a business call at The Hedges. Of course he had been told of the ravages time and carelessness and vandalism had made on the farm, once the show place of the county, and was prepared to find things in worse condition than they were. Already Philip's industry had righted sagging gates and fence posts. No longer were farming implements to be found rusting in the fields. Outhouses that had outlived their usefulness had been torn down and those that were left had been patched, propped up and whitewashed.

The negro quarters had undergone the greatest change. Philip had inaugurated a general cleaning up of their premises, which had been a disgrace to the neighborhood. This was the first improvement noted by Major Taylor as he left the main road and turned up the lane leading to the Bolling farm. The negro settlement known as The Quarters was on this lane and must be passed to reach The Hedges. This spot had been considered the most disreputable in the county. Few deviltries were committed that were not thought to have their origin at The Quarters. Rolfe Bolling owned the cabins, all