noon
And , like the State , the colonel too was pitifully divided against himself . Already many Blue-grass farmers had pooled their crops against the great tobacco trust -- already they had decided that no tobacco at all should be raised that coming year just when the colonel was deepest in debt and could count only on his tobacco for relief . And so the great-hearted gentleman must now go against his neighbor , or go to destruction himself and carry with him his beloved son . Toward noon he reined in on a little knoll above the deserted house of the old general , the patriarchal head of the family -- who had passed not many years before -- the rambling old house , stuccoed with aged brown and still in the faithful clasp of ancient vines . The old landmark had passed to Morton Sanders , and on and about it the ruthless hand of progress was at work . The atmosphere of careless , magnificent luxury was gone . The servants ' quarters , the big hen-house , the old stables with gables and sunken roofs , the staggering fences , the old blacksmith-shop , the wheelless windmill -- all were rebuilt or torn away .