Tha knows us won t trouble thee, he said to the robin. Us is near
bein wild things ourselves. Us is nest-buildin too, bless thee. Look
out tha doesn t tell on us.
And though the robin did not answer, because his beak was occupied,
Mary knew that when he flew away with his twig to his own corner of the
garden the darkness of his dew-bright eye meant that he would not tell
their secret for the world.
CHAPTER XVI.
I WON T! SAID MARY
They found a great deal to do that morning and Mary was late in
returning to the house and was also in such a hurry to get back to her
work that she quite forgot Colin until the last moment.
Tell Colin that I can t come and see him yet, she said to Martha.
I m very busy in the garden.
Martha looked rather frightened.
Eh! Miss Mary, she said, it may put him all out of humor when I tell
him that.
But Mary was not as afraid of him as other people were and she was not
a self-sacrificing person.
I can t stay, she answered. Dickon s waiting for me; and she ran
away.
The afternoon was even lovelier and busier than the morning had been.
Already nearly all the weeds were cleared out of the garden and most of
the roses and trees had been pruned or dug about. Dickon had brought a
spade of his own and he had taught Mary to use all her tools, so that
by this time it was plain that though the lovely wild place was not
likely to become a gardener s garden it would be a wilderness of
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