ollyanna had never before heard from stern John Pendleton:

"Little girl, I want you to come to see me often. Will you? I'm
lonesome, and I need you. There's another reason--and I'm going to tell
you that, too. I thought, at first, after I found out who you were,
the other day, that I didn't want you to come any more. You reminded
me of--of something I have tried for long years to forget. So I said
to myself that I never wanted to see you again; and every day, when the
doctor asked if I wouldn't let him bring you to me, I said no.

"But after a time I found I was wanting to see you so much that--that
the fact that I WASN'T seeing you was making me remember all the more
vividly the thing I was so wanting to forget. So now I want you to come.
Will you--little girl?"

"Why, yes, Mr. Pendleton," breathed Pollyanna, her eyes luminous with
sympathy for the sad-faced man lying back on the pillow before her. "I'd
love to come!"

"Thank you," said John Pendleton, gently.

After supper that evening, Pollyanna, sitting on the back porch, told
Nancy all about Mr. John Pendleton's wonderful carved box, and the still
more wonderful things it contained.

"And ter think," sighed Nancy, "that he SHOWED ye all them things, and
told ye about 'em like that--him that's so cross he never talks ter no
one--no one!"

"Oh, but he isn't cross, Nancy, only outside," demurred Pollyanna, with
quick loyalty. "I don't see why everybody thinks he's so bad, either.
They wouldn't, if they knew him. But even Aunt Polly doesn't like him
very well. She wouldn't send the jelly to him, you know, and she was so
afraid he'd think she did send it!"

"Probably she didn't call him no duty," shrugged Nancy. "But what beats
me is how he happened ter take ter you so, Miss Pollyanna--meanin' no
offence ter you, of course--but he ain't the sort o' man what gen'rally
takes ter kids; he ain't, he ain't."

Pollyanna smiled happily.

"But he did, Nancy," she nodded, "only I reckon even he didn't want
to--ALL the time. Why, only to-day he owned up that one time he
just felt he never wanted to see me again, because I reminded him of
something he wanted to forget. But afterwards--"

"What's that?" interrupted Nancy, excitedly. "He said you reminded him
of something he wanted to forget?"

"Yes. But afterwards--"

"What was it?" Nancy was eagerly insistent.

"He didn't tell me. He just said it was something."

"THE MYSTERY!" breathed Nancy, in an awestruck