Page:Emma Speed Sampson--The shorn lamb.djvu/282



Philip and his mother met Major Taylor near The Quarters. Philip turned his horse from the clay road to give his neighbor room to pass. To the young man's cordial bow and cheery "Good afternoon, sir!" the Major gave only a formal bend of the head and a perfunctory touching of his hat. He did not stop, but drove rapidly by.

"Now what is the matter?" asked Philip. "Major Taylor has been so cordial and kind to me when I have met him lately; I can't see why he is so stiff and formal now."

"Oh, my dear, I am afraid it is something to do with your father and that old paper he found about the hub factory. He and Aunt Peachy have been whispering about it a lot lately, and when Mr. Spottswood Taylor was over here that time they were both so under the influence of that mountain whisky she said terrible things. You thought she was not responsible and did not know what she was talking about, but I believed all the time she did."