As soon as the little girls had had their supper, they set out for the
quarters. Dilsey and Chris and Riar, of course, accompanied them,
though Chris had had some difficulty in joining the party. She had
come to grief about her quilt patching, having sewed the squares
together in such a way that the corners wouldn't hit, and Mammy had
made her rip it all out and sew it over again, and had boxed her
soundly, and now said she shouldn't go with the others to the
quarters; but here Dumps interfered, and said Mammy shouldn't be "all
time 'posin' on Chris," and she went down to see her father about it,
who interceded with Mammy so effectually that, when the little folks
started off, Chris was with them. When they got to the open space back
of Aunt Nancy's cabin, and which was called "de play-groun'," they
found that a bright fire of light-wood knots had been kindled to give
a light, and a large pile of pine-knots and dried branches of trees
was lying near for the purpose of keeping it up. Aunt Nancy had a
bench moved out of her cabin for "Marster's chil'en" to sit on, while
all of the little negroes squatted around on the ground to look on.
These games were confined to the young men and women, and the negro
children were not allowed to participate.
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