The secret garden

A TANTRUM 223sour and old-fashioned that the nurse turned herhead aside to hide the twitching of her mouth.There was just a minute's silence, for even Colintried to hold his breath while Mary looked upand down his spine, and down and up, as intentlyas if she had been the great doctor from London." There's not a single lump there 1" she saidat last. There's not a lump as big as a pinexcept backbone lumps, and you can only feel thembecause you're thin. I've got backbone lumps myself,and they used to stick out as much as yoursdo, until I began to get fatter, and I am not fatenough yet to hide them. There's not a lump asbig as a pin! If you ever say there is again, Ishall laugh!"No one but Colin himself knew what effectthose crossly spoken childish words had on Kim.If he had ever had any one to talk to about hissecret terrors if he had ever dared to let himselfask questions if he had had childish companionsand had not lain on his back in the hugeclosed house, breathing an atmosphere heavy withthe fears of people who were most of them ignorantand tired of him, he would have found out thatmost of his fright and illness was created by himself.But he had lain and thought of himself andhis aches and weariness for hours and days and