At the end of the summer holidays, when Bobby is nine, Beth and the family invite Bobby’s entire class to Blakely Farm for an afternoon party. Bobby proudly leads the children around the farm, showing them the animals and the milking equipment with the ease of a child who belongs outdoors. Beth reflects that school does not suit Bobby, who longs to be outside, and remembers Frank once letting Bobby stay home after he escaped from school because Frank believed the farm already gave Bobby what he needed.

During the picnic under the old oak tree, Beth thinks about its personal importance because Frank proposed to her there in his own plain, heartfelt way. While the children eat, Beth notices William, a lonely, oddly dressed boy from Bobby’s class whose parents keep apart from everyone else. Beth senses his sadness and difference, but she does not yet grasp how badly he wants attention.

After tea, the adults begin the target shooting Bobby has planned. David carefully explains how to hold the air rifle and repeatedly stresses the safety rules, while Frank and Jimmy reload the guns between turns. The activity goes smoothly until William steps up to shoot. Instead of following instructions, William suddenly swings around toward the other children and jokingly aims the rifle at them, shouting as if it is a game.

Because William points the gun at his classmates with his finger on the trigger, David instantly knocks the rifle from his hands. The gun lands on William’s foot and bruises his toe, and William bursts into exaggerated tears while insisting it was only meant as a joke. Beth takes William back to the farmhouse, but when his mother Alison arrives, David bluntly explains that William’s behavior could have killed someone.

Alison ignores William’s distress and turns the blame onto Beth’s family instead. She criticizes them for letting children use air rifles at all and calls them reckless, despite the clear supervision and safety rules. The confrontation ends with Alison’s cold warning that something bad will happen to the family sooner or later, giving the chapter an ominous, accusatory close.