Whenever he had the opportunity he bullied Jeremy, pinching his arms, putting pins into his legs, and shouting suddenly into his ears.
Jeremy, who had feared Johnny Bain, had always "felt" the stout youth's arrival before he appeared.

The sky had seemed to darken, the air to thicken, the birds to gather in the "rooky" wood.
He had trembled and shaken, his teeth had chattered and his throat grown dry for no reason at all.

As he had once felt about Johnny Bain so now he felt about life in general.

Something horrible was going to happen....

Something to do with Mother....