CHAPTER FOURTEEN

AN INDIAN PRINCE

During the next week it was cold and rainy. Mary didn't like this at all, because there was no chance to see the secret garden or Dickon. However, she was able to spend time with Colin. She didn't enjoy this quite as much as being in the garden with Dickon. But she wanted to know her cousin better. Colin had many picture books, and they read them while having tea. Mary told Colin about Dickon and his animals, and about that family's life in the cottage. Colin liked hearing about these things; they were real life.

Mary was always careful when she spoke of the secret garden. She needed to know if Colin was the kind of boy who could keep a secret, like Dickon. She wasn't sure yet. And, if Colin could be trusted with the secret, what then? Was there a way to take Colin into the garden, without anyone else finding out?

Mrs Medlock, Martha, and Colin's doctor were shocked when they discovered Mary and Colin together the afternoon after they'd first met. "Well, my boy, I don't know if Miss Mary should be here. Too much excitement is not good for your health," said the doctor to Colin.

Colin began to look angry. "I will be very excited if she leaves," he said loudly. "She will stay. She makes me better. She will come and see me every day."

Mary thought to herself that Colin was like an Indian prince. He told people what to do, and they did it. The servants were afraid that if Colin got angry and became ill, they'd lose their jobs. But stubborn little Mary was not afraid of the Indian prince. "Ha! If Colin gets angry at me, I'll never go and see him again," she thought to herself.

Finally the rain stopped. Mary woke up very early. The sky was a soft pink and blue, and no one else was awake yet. Spring was here! The warm sun would make the flowers grow in the garden. "I can't wait! I am going to see the garden before breakfast!" thought Mary. She got dressed quickly and ran outside. When she entered the garden, she was surprised and happy to see that Dickon was there. And he'd brought some animals with him! There was a large black bird, a squirrel, and a little fox. They were sitting in the garden, watching Dickon, who was busy working.

"Dickon!" cried Mary. "How could you get here so early? Why, the sun has just come up!"

Dickon laughed. "How could I stay away?" he said. "The air was so fresh, and the fields looked so green and alive. I couldn't stay in bed. I ran over here shouting and singing. The garden was waiting!"

"Dickon, I'm so happy I can hardly breathe!" said Mary. All around her small flower shoots were beginning to come up. Little green plants were poking out of the ground. Soon, they'd become flowers. Dickon showed her some flowers that had already bloomed. They were called crocuses, and they were purple and gold. The crocuses looked so little and pretty that Mary wanted to kiss them.

Mary and Dickon worked for hours that morning. Dickon showed her the rose bushes and the vines. They were looking much better. Mary could see the wonderful green bumps in the wood, which meant that the plant was alive and would grow roses. They dug and pulled weeds and laughed so much that Mary's cheeks were almost as red as Dickon's.

They discovered something wonderful. Ben Weatherstaff's robin was building a nest in the garden. "We mustn't bother him," whispered Dickon. "He's found some lady robin. He's very busy now, and won't want to talk to us. We've got to be quiet and pretend we don't notice him, or he'll leave."

"Let's not talk about him, or I'll look at him," whispered Mary. "I wanted to tell you something. Do you know about Colin?"

Dickon looked at her. "What do you know about him?" he said quietly.

"I've seen him. I've talked to him every day this week," said Mary. "He says it makes him feel better. He doesn't think about being sick and dying when I'm there."

"I'm happy about that," said Dickon seriously. "It makes me feel better. I knew I couldn't say anything about that poor boy, and I didn't like it."

"How did you know about Colin?" asked Mary.

"Well, everyone around here knew Master Craven had a little boy, who would probably die young, or be a cripple. We knew Master Craven didn't want us to talk about him. Every one's so sorry for Master Craven, because poor Mrs Craven was such a beautiful young lady and they loved each other. Mrs Medlock's friends with mother, and she visits our house whenever she's nearby. She's talked to mother about Master Colin before. Mrs Medlock doesn't mind us children knowing about him. We wouldn't ever tell."

Mary told Dickon the story of the night she'd met Colin. "His eyes are so big, Dickon! They're so large and gray. And his face is so white; I thought he was a ghost at first."

"Those eyes are just like his mother's, they say," Dickon said. "They say Master Craven doesn't want to see Master Colin when he's awake, because his eyes are so like his mother's. But they look so different in the boy's miserable face."

"Do you think he wants to die?" whispered Mary.

"No, but he wishes he'd never been born," said Dickon sadly. "Mother says that's the worst feeling in the world. Children who aren't wanted don't really live. Master Craven would buy the boy anything in the world, but he wants to forget he exists. Master Craven's afraid that one day, Colin will be a hunchback."

"Colin's afraid of that himself. He won't even sit up," said Mary. "He says that if he feels a lump growing on his back, he'll go crazy and scream himself to death."

"Oh, he shouldn't think things like that. No one could get well who thought that way!" said Dickon, looking scared.

He bent down and stroked the little fox, who was sitting next to them. After a moment he said, "Do you see anything different about the garden? It's looking greener. It looks more alive, now that we're taking care of it."

Mary saw that it was true. The rose vines didn't look so brown and dry. They looked alive. "It will be greener and greener, until the brown is gone!"

"That's right. Do you know, I wonder if Master Colin would like to be out here? If he was with us, watching the flowers grow, he wouldn't have time to think about dying. He'd be healthier. It would be better than any doctor's medicine!" said Dickon.

"I've been thinking the same thing," said Mary. "If Colin could keep the garden a secret, maybe you could push his chair and we could bring him here. The doctor said he should have fresh air, after all. Colin doesn't want people to see him. He could order the gardeners to stay away from us. Then no one would see where we went."

"He loves to hear me talk about the garden, because it's a secret," said Mary. "I don't tell him much, but he said he wanted to see it some day."

"We'll bring him out soon," said Dickon. "Now look! The robin and his lady are building their nest."

They had a lot of work to do that morning. Mary was a little late for lunch. She was in such a hurry to return to the garden that she'd forgotten about Colin.

"Martha, tell Colin I can't come and see him yet. Dickon and I are very busy working on our garden," said Mary.

Martha looked frightened. "Ah, Miss Mary! It may make him angry when I tell him that."

But Mary wasn't afraid of Colin, like everyone else. She also wasn't a very sensitive little girl. Now, it is true that she was becoming kinder and nicer. But she was still similar to the old Mary Lennox.

"I can't stay," she said. "Dickon's waiting for me."

The afternoon was even better than the morning. Already, almost all the weeds had been removed. Most of the roses and the trees had been taken care of. Dickon had taught Mary to use all her tools. It was clear that before spring time was through, the garden would be filled with beautiful growing things. There would be apple and cherry trees, and the grass would have hundreds of flowers. The robin and his mate flew through the air singing. The sun was setting when Mary and Dickon said goodbye.

"I'll be at work by dawn," said Dickon.

"So will I!" said Mary.

Mary ran back to the house. She wanted to tell Colin all about Dickon's animals, and about the spring time. She thought he would enjoy this. So it wasn't very pleasant when Mary found Martha waiting for her. She had a serious face.

"What's wrong?" asked Mary. "How's Colin?"

"Oh, Miss Mary, I wish you'd gone to him. He was really angry. It's been hard to keep him quiet all afternoon. He's been watching the clock and waiting for you!"

Mary's little face looked sour. Just like Colin, she wasn't used to thinking of other people. She saw no reason why Colin should prevent her from doing what she wanted to do. Mary had done the same thing in India, however. There, when she'd been sick she had made everyone around her miserable just because she was. At the time, Mary felt she was right, but now, of course, she felt Colin was wrong!

When Mary went into Colin's room he was lying in his bed. He didn't turn and look at her when she came in. She went over to him.

"Why didn't you get up?" she asked.

"I did get up this morning, when I thought you were coming. My back hurt and my head hurt and I was tired. Why didn't you come?"

"I was working with Dickon in the garden," said Mary.

"I won't let that boy come here, if you go and stay with him instead of me," said Colin.

Mary really got angry then. She could get angry without shouting, or speaking. She just got quiet and stubborn and didn't care about anything.

"If you send Dickon away from here, I'll not come to see you again!" she said.

"I'll have you when I want you!" said Colin.

"Oh, is that so, little Indian prince!" said Mary angrily. "Well, you can make me come in here, but you can't make me speak. I'll sit here and won't say a word. I'll look at the floor!"

They looked at each other angrily. "You're mean!" cried Colin.

"You're just saying that because I won't do what you want. You're meaner than I am!" said Mary.

"I'm not! I'm sick, and I'm sure there is a lump growing on my back," Colin said. He was feeling very sorry for himself. "And I'm going to die!"

"No, you are not!" said Mary angrily.

Colin was extremely angry, but also a little bit pleased. No one had ever told him he would live before.

"Yes, I am! You know I am! That's why you're mean. I'm going to die and you go outside all day, instead of coming to talk to me," he said.

"I don't believe it," said Mary in a hard little voice. "You just say that so people will feel sorry for you. Well, I don't!"

"Get out of this room!" shouted Colin. He tried to throw a pillow at Mary, but he wasn't strong enough.

"I'm going," said Mary. "And I won't come back. I was going to tell you about all the things I did today. But now I won't!"

(end of section)