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Chapter 17

I WANTED to throw up

I stood ankle deep in theat the cloud ofas best I could behind a tangle of brarass, all alone and completely petrified

In no time at all, thethe rope over the middle fork of a sizable sycamore tree

The only sound in those woods was the awful grunting of the men, the steadyof my heart

“You knohy you being punished, boy?” shouted one of the men

There was no response fros orhis ear

“We don’t appreciate boasting We don’t appreciate it froer boy”

“Now, coh to throw a boy a rope party just for shootin’ off his stupid-ass mouth?” said another

“You got another suggestion, Earl?” Willy said “What other tonic would you recommend?”

I looked around for Jacob Surely he’d had tiet home and come back with his father

The round underneath the sycamore One of them held up his head while the others slid the rope around his neck

I didn’t knohat I could do I was just one boy I wasn’t strong enough to take on one of theseI couldn’t just hide like a jack-rabbit in the woods and watch thee Pearson

So I finally uess the slosh of my feet in sater turned their heads I stood revealed in the light of the moon and their torches

“Would you looka here,” said Willy