Lucifer picked up the bottle, moved slowly into the corridor.
The child appeared confused. Its eyes screwed up tightly, and its face reddened. Then it jerked its head toward the new position of the bottle and repeated the sucking motion.
Nina, who had followed Lucifer, squeezed his arm in excitement. He gave her the bottle, and she hurried into the nursery to reward the child. Its lips groped eagerly for the nipple.
By this time, the second child was stirring. Its reactions were much slower, and more uncertain, than those of the first baby, but they followed the same pattern.
Nina went on to the third child, which had been left playing on the floor of the nursery.
"Lucifer! Come quickly!" she called.
The child had crept over to the wall nearest the room in which its bottle had been placed. It was pawing, bewildered, at the rough surface.
Ducking below the window edge, Lucifer picked up the bottle and moved it to the other side of the room.
For a moment the child looked like it was about to cry. But it hitched around on its knees, sprawled flat, raised up again and crawled across the floor. When it was midway to the other side of the nursery, Lucifer switched the bottle back to its original position.
The child continued its forward progress for a few feet, faltered and stopped. Its red button of a nose wrinkled, and two big tears squeezed down its round cheeks.