but she did what none of us dare do. She just
flew at him like a little cat last night, and stamped
her feet and ordered him to stop screaming, and
somehow she startled him so that he actually did
stop, and this afternoon -- well just come up and
see, sir. It's past crediting."

The scene which Dr. Craven beheld when he
entered his patient's room was indeed rather
astonishing to him. As Mrs. Medlock opened the
door he heard laughing and chattering. Colin
was on his sofa in his dressing-gown and he was
sitting up quite straight looking at a picture in one
of the garden books and talking to the plain child
who at that moment could scarcely be called plain
at all because her face was so glowing with enjoyment.

"Those long spires of blue ones -- we'll have a
lot of those," Colin was announcing. "They're
called Del-phin-iums."

"Dickon says they're larkspurs made big and
grand," cried Mistress Mary. "There are
clumps there already."

Then they saw Dr. Craven and stopped. Mary
became quite still and Colin looked fretful.

"I am sorry to hear you were ill last night, my
boy," Dr. Craven said a trifle nervously. He was
rather a nervous man.

"I'm better now -- much better," Colin answered,

[[240]]

p239 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p240w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p241

v?