Dr. Craven waited in Colin's room for a long time that afternoon.
Finally the children returned to the house, and he looked Colin over very seriously.
"You shouldn't have stayed out so long," Dr. Craven said.
"You must not get over tired."
"I'm not tired at all. Going outside has made me well.
Tomorrow I'm going out in the morning, as well as the afternoon."
The doctor frowned. "I'm not sure I can allow that.
I'm afraid it would not be wise."
"It would not be wise to try and stop me."
Mary had noticed that Colin had a way of ordering others about.
She had been that way too before she came to Misselthwaite.
But now she knew better, and she felt that she must speak to Colin about his own manners.
After the doctor left, she said, "I feel rather sorry for Dr. Craven."
"So do I. He won't inherit Misselthwaite now that I'm getting well."
"It must be hard to be polite to a boy who's always rude."
Colin looked up. "Am I rude?"
"Yes. Nobody has ever dared to do anything you don't like.
Always having your way has made you rude and difficult."
Colin frowned at her. He didn't like hearing bad things about himself.
"Ben Weatherstaff and I are difficult too." Mary smiled at him.
"But I'm not as bad as I was before I found the garden."
"I don't want to be difficult, and I won't be."
Now Colin was frowning with determination. Suddenly he smiled.
"I'll stop being difficult if I go to the secret garden every day.
There's magic in there. I'm sure of it."
"So am I!" said Mary.
In the months that followed, it did seem like magic was at work in the garden.
Flowers pushed their way out of the earth and burst into bloom.
The roses were flowering everywhere.
Colin spent hours "watching things growing," as he liked to say.
He watched the insects carrying tiny scraps of straw or food.
Dickon introduced him to the ways of frogs and badgers and fish.
There were so many things to look at in the secret garden.
Colin began to believe there was magic not only in the garden but also in him.
"Come, everyone," he said one day. "Stand here in a line."
Mary, Dickon, and Ben stopped working in the garden and stood in front of Colin.
"When I grow up, I am going to make great scientific discoveries," announced Colin.
"I am going to begin now with this experiment.
The magic in this garden has made me stand up and know that I'm going to live.
Now I'm going to try to put more magic into myself so that I will grow strong.
I don't know how to do this for sure.
But perhaps if I keep thinking about it and calling it, the magic will come."
"How will you do that?" asked Mary.
"Every day, as often as I can, I'm going to say:
'Magic is in me! Magic is making me well!
I am going to be as strong as Dickon!'
And you must say it too. Will you help me, Ben Weatherstaff?"
"Yes," said the old gardener. "And now I'd like to see you walk."
Colin set off with Dickon at his side.
Mary and Ben followed along behind, as if they were in a parade.
It was a parade that moved slowly but with dignity.
Every few yards it stopped to rest.
Colin leaned on Dickon's arm, but sometimes he walked by himself.
"The magic is in me!" he kept saying. "The magic is making me strong!"
They walked all around the garden.
"I did it! The magic worked!" Colin exclaimed at the end.
"What will Dr. Craven say?" asked Mary.
"He won't say anything," said Colin, "because he won't be told.
This will be the biggest secret of all.
Every day I will go to and from the garden in my wheelchair.
I won't have the servants whispering about me.
I won't let my father hear about it until the experiment has succeeded.
Then one day I will walk into his study and show him that I'm just like any other boy."
"He'll think he's dreaming," said Mary. "He won't believe his eyes."
"You'll grow so strong that you'll soon be boxing," said Ben.
"You'll end up being the champion prizefighter of all England."
Colin frowned at him. "No, Weatherstaff, that's not true.
No matter how well the magic works, I will not be a prizefighter.
I will be a scientific discoverer."
"Oh, pardon, sir," said Ben. "I should have known it wasn't a joking matter."
But his eyes twinkled.
He could tell that Colin was already gaining strength and spirit.