Chapter 2 : The boy in the tree
Patrick sat desperately trying to remember the details of his dream. There had been so much food on the large table. He had not eaten for three days. He thought about food all the time. Earlier, he had eaten roots and weeds which he dug with his bare hands.
A week ago, Patrick and his friend, Donnal had found a dead dog in the village. It had worms in it. It smelled terrible. The boys ate it because they haven't eaten meat for over a year. Later, they were sick for three days and nights. Donnal died but Patrick survived. It was a bad experience.
Patrick job on tree was to look out for Mr. Graystone and his men. As soon as he saw them, he must warn the villagers. Patrick chewed some leavefs to stop his hunger. They tasted horriblebut he swallowed them.
Patrick's village was on land owned by Lord Francis Egham. Lord Egham lived in London and had only been to Ireland once. Mr. Graystone was his manager. He collected rents, looked after the fields and organised everything. He ruled the estate like a king with an army of slaves under him. He was cruel and hard.
The people in the village of Skullgoraph had not paid their rent for two years. Lord Egham could not wait any longer. The people had to leave and the land be used to rear sheep. Sheep were cheap and gave both wool and meat. The people were not given any compensation.
Patrick heard a small sound. He saw a small nest a few feet away from his head. Inside were three little chicks with wide open mouths. A blackbird was feeding them with a big, fat, juicy worm. Patrick's mouth began to water and his stomach rumbled. He reached out his bony fingers towards the tiny nest.
The blackbird was startled by Patrick and flew away. Suddenly, Patrick heard another sound. He looked up and saw a large group of men coming around the hillside towards the village. They were British soldiers !
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