She ran to them, looking all round the place, but there was no Dickon to be seen.
He had gone away and the secret garden was empty--except for the robin who had just flown across the wall and sat on a standard rose-bush watching her.

"He's gone," she said woefully.

"Oh! was he--was he--was he only a wood fairy ?" Something white fastened to the standard rose-bush caught her eye.

It was a piece of paper, in fact, it was a piece of the letter she had printed for Martha to send to Dickon.

It was fastened on the bush with a long thorn, and in a minute she knew Dickon had left it there.