Ellen was thin and preoccupied now and on her feet from morning until long after the plantation was asleep. The demands of the Confederate commissary were growing heavier by the month, and hers was the task of making Tara produce.

• 好像有满腔的心事，母亲瘦了，而且从清早开始，一直要到全农场的人都入睡以后许久才得休息，南部联盟物资供销部的需求一月比一月高，她的任务便是设法让塔拉农场拼命生产。