Bates
the corn-merchant. It was one of the few stone houses of the district,
a compact snug-looking nucleus from which an irregular wing, rather
higher than the main building, advanced to the very edge of the
roadway. A much smaller wing, merely an excrescence, on the other
side, seemed as if it had gone as far as it could in the direction of
making a quadrangle and had then given over the task to a broad low
wall. The square piece of garden, though untidy and neglected, derived
a great air of dignity from its stone surrounding, and importance was
added to the house by the solid range of outbuildings, barns, and
stables. A rick yard with haystacks so big that they showed above the
tops of fruit trees and yews, three or four wagons and carts, half a
dozen busy men, made the whole Bates establishment seem quite like a
thriving little town all to itself.
"It's a funny name, Vine-Pits," said Mavis, still making conversation.
"I wonder why ever they called it that."
"There was formerly a quantity of old pits 'longside the
rick-bargan--same as you see forcing-pits at a market-gardener's--and
the tale goes that they were orig'nally placed there for the purpose
of growing grapes on the same principle as cucumbers or melons.
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