Next

Back                Easter Lovat   cont...
 

During Robbie's excited chatter about the newcomer. Jimmy tenderly wrapped the kitten in a green shroud of dock leaves
     "Jimmy, are you listening to me? I met him, this prisoner just now in the tool shed He spoke to me. He seems quite friendly but he speaks English in a queer way, so I hope the animals understand him because he's to help Joe with the horses and Mack with the sheep Pa says he's not letting him near his prize Shorthorns until he knows whether he's any good or not"
    Still no response from Jimmy, his mind was elsewhere and he hated having to meet new people Robbie kept digging and Jimmy laid the tiny bundle in its grave and hastily covered it over with earth. They placed a small stone over the mound and in the absence of any flowers in late October, broke off a small sprig of rowan berries and laid it on the stone Then they bowed their heads and Jimmy prayed out loud the words he remembered from their weekly visit to church. "Dear Heavenly Father, please accept this kitten into heaven and grant him everlasting life Amen "
    Robbie left a respectful silence before proffering more information about the stranger
"Oh yes, and he's called Antonio. I think I remember Pa saying that he was captured in the desert in Africa. We'll have to look on the globe at school. I thought Africa was all jungle. Shall we tell Miss Grant about him?""
    "I'm not bothered, Robbie I'm not letting him near my cats or Molly and I'm away to milk her now. Thanks for helping with the kitten "
    Jimmy began to walk away, shoulders hunched, hands buried deep in the pockets of his too big overcoat. Robbie stared after him, deflated by his brother's complete indifference to the arrival of the prisoner
    Although Robbie was the younger of the two, he worried about his older brother whom he considered to be too soft about animals and didn't seem to be interested in anything else. Why Jimmy loved cats so much was quite beyond Robbie. They were nice when they were purring and playing but he had seen the way they killed rats and mice, how they tormented and terrified their victims before they, finally, finished them off.  Dogs now, were better. For a start you could train them and they would be loyal and love you without question, like Mack's sheep dogs. Horses were the best of all, though, and Robbie decided to visit the stables and check on Jura, a lame Clydesdale who was excused from work until her feet healed
    In all the excitement of Antonio arriving and the kitten's death and burial, he had quite forgotten that there would be a birthday tea and presents later that day. More excitement
    Signor Fraser took me to my room, which will be my home for how long, I do not know. After the prison ship and then the prison camp, this place feels like a palazzo. It is in a corner of the big barn they use for storing grain but it is private. It has its own door and four walls and even a window looking out onto the fields. All this I take in very quickly but after signor Fraser has left, I can look around more. Underneath the window are a table and two chairs painted white . . . two chairs. I could have visitors On the table is a plate with some bread, a Jug and a cup I sit at the table and pour milk from the jug. It is cool and tastes very good after the long journey in the lorry. The bread tastes good too, it is soft and filled with the sweetness they call jam. As I eat and drink I look at my window and see curtains - blue and white held up with string. Then I turn and see a bright red and green blanket on my bed and a picture of a shepherd and his dog on the wall above my bed. Next to the bed is an upturned box painted white and on this there is a candle in a holder and a box of matches and some

Next