日落时分
当科林的脑袋消失在视线外时，他转向玛丽。
“去迎他，”他说。玛丽便飞跑过草地，奔向常春藤下的那扇门。
狄肯正用锐利的眼睛望着他。科林双颊泛着猩红，样子惊人，却没有丝毫要倒下的迹象。
“我能站，”他说，头依旧高昂着，说得十分傲气。
“俺早说过，你一不害怕就能成，”狄肯答道，“如今你是不怕了。”
“是啊，我不怕了，”科林说。
忽然，他记起玛丽说过的话。
“你在施魔法吗？”他尖锐地问。
狄肯卷曲的嘴角绽开快活的笑。
“是你在自个儿施魔法，”他说，“这魔法跟让这些玩意儿从土里冒出来的是一样的，”他用厚靴子点了点草丛里一簇藏红花。
科林低头看着它们。
“嗯，”他慢吞吞地说，“再没有比这更大的魔法了——再没有。”
他比先前挺得更直。
“我要走到那棵树去，”他说，指着几尺外的一棵，“等韦瑟斯塔夫来的时候，我要站着。要是乐意，我可以靠着树歇。想坐下时我再坐，在那之前不坐。把椅子上的毯子拿来。”
他走向那棵树，虽说狄肯扶着他的胳膊，他却稳得出奇。靠上树干时，并不显眼地撑着它，且仍挺得笔直，看着竟显高了。
本·韦瑟斯塔夫从墙上的门进来时，见他立在那儿，又听见玛丽在嗓子眼里咕哝着什么。
“你说啥？”他颇不耐地问，因他不愿把注意力从那瘦长笔直的少年身形和骄傲的面容上移开。
她却没告诉他。她念的是：
“你能行！你能行！我早说你能！你能行！你能行！你真能！”
她是对科林说的，因她想施魔法，让他那样站着不倒。她受不了他在韦瑟斯塔夫面前服输。他没有服输。她忽觉一阵振奋——他虽瘦，那样子却极好看。他用那滑稽又专横的眼神盯住本·韦瑟斯塔夫。
“看着我！”他命令道，“浑身上下看个遍！我是驼背吗？我腿弯了吗？”
本·韦瑟斯塔夫情绪还没全平，却已缓过些，几乎用平日的口气答：
“不是你，”他说，“没那回事。你自个儿搞啥名堂——躲着不见人，让人当你是瘸子加傻子？”
“傻子！”科林怒道，“谁这么想？”
“一堆蠢货，”本说，“世上尽是瞎叫的驴，叫不出真话。你把自己关起来干啥？”
“人都当我快死了，”科林简短地说，“我没死！”
他说得斩钉截铁，本·韦瑟斯塔夫把他上下打量、下上打量。
“你死！”他干巴巴地得意道，“没那回事！你胆子大着呢。俺见你急慌慌把腿放地上，就知道你没事。小少爷，到毯子上坐会儿，给俺下命令吧。”
他神气里混着别扭的慈软和精明的领会。方才走长道时，玛丽已拼命把话倒给他。她告诉他，顶要紧记着：科林在好起来——好起来。是花园的功。谁也不许让他记起驼背和要死的事。
小 Raja 屈尊在树下毯子上坐了。
“韦瑟斯塔夫，你在园子里做啥活？”他问。
“叫干啥就干啥，”老本答，“是看情面留俺的——因她喜欢俺。”
“她？”科林说。
“你娘，”本·韦瑟斯塔夫答。
“我娘？”科林说，静静四下看，“这是她的园子，对吧？”
“哎，正是！”本·韦瑟斯塔夫也四下看，“她可稀罕这园子。”
“如今是我的园子了，我也稀罕。我天天来，”科林宣告，“可要保密。我命令，谁也不许知道我们来这。狄肯和我表姐收拾过，让它活了。我有时叫你来帮忙——但你得来时没人瞧见。”
本·韦瑟斯塔夫脸扭出干瘪老笑。
“俺早没人瞧见时来过，”他说。
“什么！”科林叫，“何时？”
“上回俺来，”他搓下巴四看，“约莫两年前。”
“可十年没人进来了！”科林喊，“连门都没有！”
“俺不是人，”老本干干地说，“且俺不是穿门进的。俺翻墙。这两年风湿绊住了俺。”
“你翻来修过枝！”狄肯叫，“俺还纳闷咋修的。”
“她那么稀罕——她稀罕哪！”本·韦瑟斯塔夫慢吞吞说，“她又是那么俊的姑娘。有一回她说，‘本，’她笑说，‘哪天我病了或走了，你可得照看我的玫瑰。’她真走了后，命令是谁也不许近。可俺来，”他执拗地咕哝，“翻墙来——直到风湿拦了俺——一年俺还修一回。她头先下过令。”
“没你修，它长不了这么旺，”狄肯说，“俺还奇怪来着。”
“你做得好，韦瑟斯塔夫，”科林说，“你懂怎么保密。”
“哎，俺懂，少爷，”本答，“对风湿的老汉，走门进来倒省事。”
树下草上，玛丽落了小铲。科林伸手拾起。脸上浮出怪神气，他开始扒土。瘦手弱得很，可看着看着——玛丽屏息瞧得紧——他把铲尖插进土，翻了些过来。
“你能行！你能行！”玛丽对自己说，“我告诉你，你能！”
狄肯圆眼满是渴切的好奇，却一声不吭。本·韦瑟斯塔夫也看得有味。
科林坚持着。翻了几铲土后，他用顶道的约克郡话对狄肯得意地说：
“你说俺能在这儿像旁人一样走——还说俺能挖。俺当你是哄俺。这才头一天，俺走了——俺这不正挖着。”
本·韦瑟斯塔夫听他说话，嘴又张了，末了却咯咯笑起来。
“哎！”他说，“听这声，你脑子够用。你准是约克郡娃。你还真挖。想栽点啥不？俺给你拿盆玫瑰。”
“去拿！”科林挖得兴奋，“快！快！”
真够快的。本·韦瑟斯塔夫忘了风湿，自去了。狄肯拿铲把坑挖得比瘦白手的新手能挖的更深更宽。玛丽溜去提来喷壶。坑挖深后，科林继续把软土一翻再翻。他抬头望天，因这陌生新运动（虽轻）而泛红发亮。
“我要太阳全落前——全落前栽好，”他说。
玛丽想，太阳许是故意迟了几分。本·韦瑟斯塔夫从暖房拿来盆玫瑰。他尽量快挪过草。他也兴奋起来。他跪坑边，把土脱了盆。
“给，娃，”他把苗递科林，“自个儿栽进土里，像国王到新地那样。”
瘦白手微颤，科林脸更红了，他把玫瑰栽进土，扶着，老本把土按实。填好、压平、稳住。玛丽手膝撑地往前探。煤烟飞下，迈步来看。坚果和贝壳在樱桃树上吱喳。
“栽好了！”科林终说，“太阳正溜边儿。扶我起，狄肯。我要它落时站着。那是魔法一环。”
狄肯扶他，那魔法——或啥——竟给他力，等太阳溜过边、替他们结束这奇异可爱的午后时，他真用两脚踏地——笑着站住了。
WHEN THE SUN WENT DOWN
When his head was out of sight Colin turned to Mary.
"Go and meet him," he said; and Mary flew across the grass to the door
under the ivy.
Dickon was watching him with sharp eyes. There were scarlet 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 up and 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 Magic as made these
'ere work out o' th' earth," and he touched with his thick boot a clump
of crocuses in the grass.
Colin looked down at them.
"Aye," he said slowly, "there couldna' be bigger Magic then that
there--there couldna' be."
He drew himself up straighter than ever.
"I'm going to walk to that tree," he said, pointing to one a few feet
away from him. "I'm going to be standing when Weatherstaff comes here. I
can rest against the tree if 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 was wonderfully
steady. When he stood against the tree trunk it 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 wall he saw him
standing there and he heard Mary muttering something under her breath.
"What art sayin'?" he asked rather testily because he did not want his
attention distracted from the long thin straight 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 saying it to Colin because she wanted to make Magic and keep him
on his feet looking like that. She could not bear that he should give in
before Ben Weatherstaff. He did not give in. She was uplifted by a
sudden feeling that he looked quite beautiful in spite of his thinness.
He fixed his eyes on Ben Weatherstaff in his funny imperious way.
"Look at me!" he commanded. "Look at me all over! Am I a 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 his usual 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?"
