When his head was out of sight Colin turned to Mary.

　　"Go and meet him," he said; and Mary flew across the grassto the door under the ivy.

　　Dickon was watching him with sharp eyes. There werescarlet spots on his cheeks and he looked amazing,but he showed no signs of falling.

　　"I can stand," he said, and his head was still held upand he said it quite grandly.

　　"I told thee tha' could as soon as tha' stopped bein'

　　afraid," answered Dickon. "An' tha's stopped.""Yes, I've stopped," said Colin.

　　Then suddenly he remembered something Mary had said.

　　"Are you making Magic?" he asked sharply.

　　Dickon's curly mouth spread in a cheerful grin.

　　"Tha's doin' Magic thysel'," he said. "It's same Magicas made these 'ere work out o' th' earth," and he touchedwith his thick boot a clump of crocuses in the grass.

　　Colin looked down at them.

　　"Aye," he said slowly, "there couldna' be bigger Magicthan that there--there couldna' be."He drew himself up straighter than ever.

　　"I'm going to walk to that tree," he said, pointing toone a few feet away from him. "I'm going to be standingwhen Weatherstaff comes here. I can rest against the treeif I like. When I want to sit down I will sit down,but not before. Bring a rug from the chair."He walked to the tree and though Dickon held his arm he waswonderfully steady. When he stood against the tree trunkit was not too plain that he supported himself against it,and he still held himself so straight that he looked tall.

　　When Ben Weatherstaff came through the door in the wallhe saw him standing there and he heard Mary mutteringsomething under her breath.

　　"What art sayin'?" he asked rather testily because hedid not want his attention distracted from the long thinstraight boy figure and proud face.

　　But she did not tell him. What she was saying was this:

　　"You can do it! You can do it! I told you you could!

　　You can do it! You can do it! You can!" She was sayingit to Colin because she wanted to make Magic and keephim on his feet looking like that. She could not bearthat he should give in before Ben Weatherstaff.

　　He did not give in. She was uplifted by a sudden feelingthat he looked quite beautiful in spite of his thinness.

　　He fixed his eyes on Ben Weatherstaff in his funnyimperious way.

　　"Look at me!" he commanded. "Look at me all over! Am Ia hunchback? Have I got crooked legs?"Ben Weatherstaff had not quite got over his emotion,but he had recovered a little and answered almost in hisusual way.

　　"Not tha'," he said. "Nowt o' th' sort. What's tha'

　　been doin' with thysel'--hidin' out o' sight an' lettin'

　　folk think tha' was cripple an' half-witted?""Half-witted!" said Colin angrily. "Who thought that?""Lots o' fools," said Ben. "Th' world's full o'

　　jackasses brayin' an' they never bray nowt but lies.

　　What did tha' shut thysel' up for?""Everyone thought I was going to die," said Colin shortly.

　　"I'm not!"And he said it with such decision Ben Weatherstaff lookedhim over, up and down, down and up.

　　"Tha' die!" he said with dry exultation. "Nowt o' th'

　　sort! Tha's got too much pluck in thee. When I seed theeput tha' legs on th' ground in such a hurry I knowed tha'

　　was all right. Sit thee down on th' rug a bit youngMester an' give me thy orders."There was a queer mixture of crabbed tenderness and shrewdunderstanding in his manner. Mary had poured out speechas rapidly as she could as they had come down the Long Walk.

　　The chief thing to be remembered, she had told him,was that Colin was getting well--getting well. The gardenwas doing it. No one must let him remember about havinghumps and dying.

　　The Rajah condescended to seat himself on a rug underthe tree.

　　"What work do you do in the gardens, Weatherstaff?"he inquired.

　　"Anythin' I'm told to do," answered old Ben. "I'm kep'

　　on by favor--because she liked me.""She?" said Colin.

　　"Tha' mother," answered Ben Weatherstaff.

　　"My mother?" said Colin, and he looked about him quietly.

　　"This was her garden, wasn't it?""Aye, it was that!" and Ben Weatherstaff looked abouthim too. "She were main fond of it.""It is my garden now. I am fond of it. I shall come hereevery day," announced Colin. "But it is to be a secret.

　　My orders are that no one is to know that we come ............