Dr. Chilton bringt Pollyanna zu Mr. Pendleton. Er hat sie ihm als eine Art Medizin verordnet, sie soll ihn aufheitern und auf andere Gedanken bringen. Mr. Pendleton freut sich auch über den Besuch und erzählt ihr nach einer Weile von seinem Leben und einer großen Weltreise, die er vor langer Zeit gemacht hat, um über eine schmerzhafte Enttäuschung hinwegzukommen. Was genau er damit aber meint, sagt er ihr nicht. Er hat aber begonnen, die fröhliche Pollyanna ins Herz zu schließen und bittet sie, ihn von jetzt ab jeden Tag zu besuchen.
Als Pollyanna mit Dr. Chilton wieder in die Stadt fährt, sieht sie sich noch dessen Praxis an und fragt ihn, was Mr. Pendleton wohl mit seiner Andeutung gemeint habe. Dr. Chilton ist froh, dass Pollyannas Besuch offenbar Erfolg zeigt und sein Jugendfreund John Pendleton beginnt, über etwas zu reden, was er seit Jahren verdrängt.
Little time has to pass before it is demonstrated that Thomas Chilton did not build his medical career through mere serendipity when he detects and inquires the deviant diagnostic that has Pollyanna so dejected before offering some counsel to avoid further inflaming matters; while Dr. Chilton and Pollyanna are prosecuting their journey in silence, poor Harold and poor Talim are having the dystopian epilogue of proximity to a very impatient John Pendleton visited unto them!!! Fortunately, Pollyanna's arrival sets aloft Mr. Pendleton's spirits enough for the miser to acknowledge his human fallibility for his conduct last engagement and commiserate the stormy family government that greeted Pollyanna at home; while the Miser leads Pollyanna through an exhibition of some mementos from his travels, Tom and Mrs. Durgin prosecute an analytical divergent concourse regarding Thomas Chilton's character and whether Polly is going to recover from the accidental exposure. Seeing Pollyanna admire the treasure trove of antiques gained from his globetrotting prompts Mr. Pendleton to explain Pollyanna his prologue of there being a time when everything in Beldingsville was too much for him which prompted four years of globetrotting and a decade of solitude from everyone save Thomas Chilton who realized that a catalyst was needed to prevent two lost decades from becoming three -- a role that Pollyanna gleefully fulfills once she agrees to visit the Miser on a regular basis. A visit to Clinic becomes the ultimate backdrop for Pollyanna to learn more about Thomas Chilton who has a patient waiting for him that has him thinking about the anguish he sees in his patients; an iconoclastic pep talk from Pollyanna later, Dr. Chilton's healthy professional and personal perspective is as potent as ever.
