It was then that Bim felt what was, for him, a very rare sensation. He was irritated. "I don't bovver," he said, with a cross look in the direction of his brother and sister Rochesters. "No, but, Lucy, s'pose some one--nurse, s'pose--_did_ fall down into the street and broke all her legs and arms, she wouldn't be dead, would she?" "You silly little boy, of course not." He looked at Lucy, saw the frown upon her forehead, and felt suddenly that all his devotion to her was wasted, that she didn't want him, that nobody wanted him--now when the sun was making the garden glitter like a jewel and the fountain to shine like a sword. He felt in his throat a hard, choking lump. He came closer to his sister. "You might pay 'tention, Lucy," he said plaintively. Lucy broke a daffodil stalk viciously. "Go and talk to the others," she said. "I haven't time for you." The tears were hot in his eyes and anger was in his heart--anger bred of the rain, of the noise, of the confusion. "You _are_ howwid," he said slowly. "Well, go away, then, if I'm horrid," she pushed with her hand at his knee. "I didn't ask you to come here." Her touch infuriated him; he kicked and caught a very tender part of her calf. "Oh! You little beast!" She came to him, leant for a moment across him, then slapped his cheek. The pain, the indignity, and, above all, a strange confused love for his sister that was near to passionate rage, let loose all the devils that owned Bim for their habitation. He did three things: He screamed aloud, he bent forward and bit Lucy's hand hard, he seized Lucy's wonderful Russian mug and dashed it to the ground. He then stood staring at the shattered fragments. III There followed, of course, confusion. Nurse started up. "The Shadow of Ashlydyat" descended into the ashes, the children rushed eagerly from beneath the table to the centre of hostilities. But there were no hostilities. Lucy and Bim were, both of them, utterly astonished, Lucy, as she looked at the scattered mug, was, indeed, sobbing, but absent-mindedly--her thoughts were elsewhere. Her thoughts, in fact, were with Bim. She realised suddenly that never before had he lost his temper with her; she was aware that his affection had been all this time of value to her, of much more value, indeed, than the stupid old mug. She bent down--still absent-mindedly sobbing--and began to pick up the pieces. She was really astonished--being a dry and rather hard little girl--at her affection for Bim.