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VIII . A Bit of Earth When Mary ran back to the house , Martha was waiting for her . “ Mr Craven came back this morning , ” she said . “ He wants to see thee before he goes away again tomorrow . Mother met him on the road , and she spoke to him about thee . ” Mary’s heart jumped . What if he took the garden away from her ? Mrs Medlock put her in her best dress and took her to a part of the house where she had never been . A man was sitting in an armchair by the fire . His shoulders were high and a little crooked , and there was some white in his black hair . His face was not ugly , but it was very unhappy . “ Are you well ? ” he asked . “ Yes , ” said Mary . “ You are very thin . ” “ I am getting fatter , ” said Mary . His eyes did not seem to see her . They seemed to see something far away . “ I forgot you , ” he said . “ I meant to get you a teacher or a nurse , but I forgot . ” “ Please , ” said Mary , “ please don’t make me have a teacher yet . I’m too big for a nurse . ” “ That was what the Sowerby woman said , ” he answered . “ Martha’s mother . She thinks you need fresh air and freedom . ” “ She knows about children , ” said Mary . “ She has twelve . ” “ What do you want to do ? ” “ I want to play outside , ” said Mary . “ Then play outside as much as you like , ” he said . “ Is there anything you want ? Toys , books , dolls ? ” “ Might I , ” asked Mary in a shaking voice , “ might I have a bit of earth ? ” Mr Craven looked surprised . “ Earth ? What do you mean ? ” “ To plant seeds in , ” said Mary . “ To make things grow , and see them come alive . ” He looked at her for a moment . Then he put his hand over his eyes . “ A bit of earth , ” he said slowly . “ You make me think of someone else . She loved the earth and growing things too . ” Then he almost smiled . “ When you see a bit of earth you want , take it , child , and make it come alive . ” “ May I take it from anywhere , if nobody wants it ? ” “ Anywhere . Now go . I’m tired . ” Mary ran back to the garden , but Dickon was already gone . On a rose bush she found a piece of paper . Dickon had drawn a bird on its nest , and under it he had written in large letters : “ I will come back . ” That night the wind came back , and rain beat on the windows . Mary could not sleep . Then she heard the crying again . “ It isn’t the wind , ” she whispered . “ I’m going to find out what it is . ” She took her candle and went softly along the dark corridors . She went through the door behind the curtain . The crying was louder now . There was a light under a door , and she pushed it open . In a big room with a low fire there was a large bed , and in the bed there was a boy . He had a thin face the colour of ivory , and his grey eyes looked too big for it . He was crying , but he seemed more tired and cross than ill . The boy turned his head and stared at Mary and her candle . His eyes became very wide . “ Who are you ? ” he whispered . “ Are you a ghost ? ” “ No , I am not , ” Mary whispered back . “ Are you one ? ”
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