The moor was hidden in mist when the morning came,and the rain had not stopped pouring down. There couldbe no going out of doors. Martha was so busy that Maryhad no opportunity of talking to her, but in the afternoonshe asked her to come and sit with her in the nursery.

　　She came bringing the stocking she was always knittingwhen she was doing nothing else.

　　"What's the matter with thee?" she asked as soon as theysat down. "Tha' looks as if tha'd somethin' to say.""I have. I have found out what the crying was,"said Mary.

　　Martha let her knitting drop on her knee and gazedat her with startled eyes.

　　"Tha' hasn't!" she exclaimed. "Never!""I heard it in the night," Mary went on. "And I gotup and went to see where it came from. It was Colin.

　　I found him."Martha's face became red with fright.

　　"Eh! Miss Mary!" she said half crying. "Tha' shouldn'thave done it--tha' shouldn't! Tha'll get me in trouble.

　　I never told thee nothin' about him--but tha'll get mein trouble. I shall lose my place and what'll mother do!""You won't lose your place," said Mary. "He was glad I came.

　　We talked and talked and he said he was glad I came.""Was he?" cried Martha. "Art tha' sure? Tha'

　　doesn't know what he's like when anything vexes him.

　　He's a big lad to cry like a baby, but when he'sin a passion he'll fair scream just to frighten us.

　　He knows us daren't call our souls our own.""He wasn't vexed," said Mary. "I asked him if I should goaway and he made me stay. He asked me questions and Isat on a big footstool and talked to him about Indiaand about the robin and gardens. He wouldn't let me go.

　　He let me see his mother's picture. Before I left him Isang him to sleep."Martha fairly gasped with amazement.

　　"I can scarcely believe thee!" she protested.

　　"It's as if tha'd walked straight into a lion's den.

　　If he'd been like he is most times he'd have throwed himselfinto one of his tantrums and roused th' house. He won'tlet strangers look at him.""He let me look at him. I looked at him all the timeand he looked at me. We stared!" said Mary.

　　"I don't know what to do!" cried agitated Martha.

　　"If Mrs. Medlock finds out, she'll think I broke ordersand told thee and I shall be packed back to mother.""He is not going to tell Mrs. Medlock anything about it yet.

　　It's to be a sort of secret just at first," said Mary firmly.

　　"And he says everybody is obliged to do as he pleases.""Aye, that's true enough--th' bad lad!" sighed Martha,wiping her forehead with her apron.

　　"He says Mrs. Medlock must. And he wants me to come and talkto him every day. And you are to tell me when he wants me.""Me!" said Martha; "I shall lose my place--I shall for sure!""You can't if you are doing what he wants you to doand everybody is ordered to obey him," Mary argued.

　　"Does tha' mean to say," cried Martha with wide open eyes,"that he was nice to thee!""I think he almost liked me," Mary answered.

　　"Then tha' must have bewitched him!" decided Martha,drawing a long breath.

　　"Do you mean Magic?" inquired Mary. "I've heard about Magicin India, but I can't make it. I just went into his roomand I was so surprised to see him I stood and stared.

　　And then he turned round and stared at me. And he thoughtI was a ghost or a dream and I thought perhaps he was.

　　And it was so queer being there alone together in themiddle of the night and not knowing about each other.

　　And we began to ask each other questions. And when I askedhim if I must go away he said I must not.""Th' world's comin' to a end!" gasped Martha.

　　"What is the matter with him?" asked Mary.

　　"Nobody knows for sure and certain," said Martha.

　　"Mr. Craven went off his head like when he was born.

　　Th' doctors thought he'd have to be put in a 'sylum.

　　It was because Mrs. Craven died like I told you.

　　He wouldn't set eyes on th' baby. He just raved and saidit'd be another hunchback like him and it'd better die.""Is Colin a hunchback?" Mary asked. "He didn't looklike one.""He isn't yet," said Martha. "But he began all wrong.

　　Mother said that there was enough trouble and raging in th'

　　house to set any child wrong. They was afraid his backwas weak an' they've always been takin' care of it--keepin'

　　him lyin' down and not lettin' him walk. Once they madehim wear a brace but he fretted so he was downright ill.

　　Then a big doctor came to see him an' made them take it off.

　　He talked to th' other doctor quite rough--in a polite way.

　　He said there'd been too much medicine and too much lettin'

　　him have his own way.""I think he's a very spoiled boy," said Mary.

　　"He's th' worst young nowt as ever was!" said Martha.

　　"I won't say as he hasn't been ill a good bit.

　　He's had coughs an' colds that's nearly killed him twoor three times. Once he had rheumatic fever an' once hehad typhoid. Eh! Mrs. Medlock did get a fright then.

　　He'd been out of his head an' she was talkin' to th'

　　nurse, thinkin' he didn't know nothin', an' she said,`He'll die this time sure enough, an' best thing for him an'

　　for everybody.' An' she looked at him an' there hewas with his big eyes open, starin' at her as sensibleas she was herself. She didn't know wha'd happen but hejust stared at her an' says, `You give me some water an'

　　stop talkin'.'""Do you think he will die?" asked Mary.

　　"Mother says there's no reason why any child should livethat gets no fresh air an' doesn't do nothin' but lieon his back an' read picture-books an' take medicine.

　　He's weak and hates th' trouble o' bein' taken out o'

　　doors, an' he gets cold so easy he says it makes him ill."Mary sat and looked at the fire. "I wonder," she said slowly,"if it would not do him good to go out into a gardenand watch things growing. It did me good.""One of th' worst fits he ever had," said Martha, "was onetime they took him out where the roses is by the fountain.

　　He'd been readin' in a paper about people gettin'

　　somethin' he called `rose cold' an' he began to sneeze an'

　　said he'd got it an' then a new gardener as didn'tknow th' rules passed by an' looked at him curious.

　　He threw himself into a passion an' he said he'dlooked at him because he was going to be a hunchback.

　　He cried himself into a fever an' was ill all night.""If he ever gets angry at me, I'll never go and seehim again," said Mary.

　　"He'll have thee if he wants thee," said Martha.

　　"Tha' may as well know that at th' start."Very soon afterward a bell rang and she rolled upher knitting.

　　"I dare say th' nurse wants me to stay with him a bit,"she said. "I hope he's in a good temper."She was out of the room about ten minutes and then shecame back with a puzzled expression.

　　"Well, tha' has bewitched him," she said. "He's up on hissofa with his picture-books. He's told the nurse to stayaway until six o'clock. I'm to wait in the next room.

　　Th' minute she was gone he called me to him an' says, `I wantMary Lennox to come and talk to me, and remember you'renot to tell any one.' You'd better go as quick as you can."Mary was quite willing to go quickly. She did not wantto see Colin as much as she wanted to see Dickon;but she wanted to see him very much.

　　There was a bright fire on the hearth when she enteredhis room, and in the daylight she saw it was a verybeautiful room indeed. There were rich colors in therugs and hangings and pictures and books on the wallswhich made it look glowing and comfortable even in spiteof the gray sky and falling rain. Colin looked ratherlike a picture himself. He was wrapped in a velvetdressing-gown and sat against a big brocaded cushion.

　　He had a red spot on each cheek.

　　"Come in," he said. "I've been thinking about youall morning.""I've been thinking about you, too," answered Mary.

　　"You don't know how frightened Martha is. She saysMrs. Medlock will think she told me about you and then shewill be sent away."He frowned.

　　"Go and tell her to come here," he said. "She isin the next room."Mary went and brought her back. Poor Martha was shakingin her shoes. Colin was still frowning.

　　"Have you to do what I please or have you not?" he demanded.

　　"I have to do what you please, sir," Martha faltered,turning quite red.

　　"Has Medlock to do what I please?""Everybody has, sir," said Martha.

　　"Well, then, if I order you to bring Miss Mary to me,how can Medlock send you away if she finds it out?""Please don't let her, sir," pleaded Martha.

　　"I'll send her away if she dares to say a word about sucha thing," said Master Craven grandly. "She wouldn'tlike that, I can tell you.""Thank you, sir," bobbing a curtsy, "I want to do my duty, sir.""What I want is your duty" said Colin more grandly still.

　　"I'll take care of you. Now go away."When the door closed behind Martha, Colin found MistressMary gazing at him as if he had set her wondering.

　　"Why do you look at me like that?" he asked her.

　　"What are you thinking about?""I am thinking about two things.""What are they? Sit down and tell me.""This is the first one," said Mary, seating herself on thebig stool. "Once in India I saw a boy who was a Rajah.

　　He had rubies and emeralds and diamonds stuck all over him.

　　He spoke to his people just as you spoke to Martha.

　　Everybody had to do everything he told them--in a minute.

　　I think they would have been killed if they hadn't.""I shall make you tell me about Rajahs presently," he said,"but first tell me what the second thing was.""I was thinking," said Mary, "how different you arefrom Dickon.""Who is Dickon?" he said. "What a queer name!"She might as well tell him, she thought she could talkabout Di............