everyone was in position.
The battle was on.
And it looked like I was the commander- in-chief .
So why did I feel so scared?
The men climbed out of the jeep and walked slowly towards us. They must have been surprised to see a crowd of people standing holding hands around a tree, like we were doing some crazy kind of dance.
Miley let go of Dad’s hand, and waved his stick in the air.
‘One more step, and I’ll brain the lot of you,’ he said.
Great.
Looked like I’d invited the local psychopath to join our peaceful protest.
The men stopped walking. Chainsaw Man stepped towards Mum.
‘You look like a reasonable woman,’ he said.
(Hah. Clearly he’s never seen her when I leavemy clothes on the floor of my bedroom.)
Mum smiled, like being a reasonable woman was what she’d always dreamed of becoming.
The man continued, ‘Can’t you talk some sense into these people? The tree has to go, and delaying it isn’t going to help anyone.’
Mum smiled again. ‘I understand your position, really I do,’ she said. ‘The thing is, I agree with everyone else here. This is the only proper tree for miles around, and I don’t think it should be cut down. So, basically … We’re. Not. Moving.’
The man stepped backwards.
‘OK,’ he said. ‘Looks like the gloves are off. I’m phoning the police.’
As he spoke, he pulled his mobile phone from his pocket. Before he could dial the number, Joey ran over and tapped him on the arm.
‘Hey, Mister,’ he said. ‘Have you got free calls on that phone?’
‘What’s that got to do with anything?’ asked the man.
‘Just, if you haven’t, you’ll be wasting your money, because there’s a big soccer match on in the next village, and all the policemen have gone there. So no one’s going to be available to come here.’
‘Unless there’s a murder,’ continued Miley, who looked like he’d be happy to arrange that, no problem.
Chainsaw Man put his phone back into his pocket and scratched his head.
I grabbed Joey as he ran back to his friends.
‘Well done, kid,’ I said. ‘How did you know about the match?’
He grinned. ‘There isn’t one. I just made it up so he wouldn’t phone the police.’
Once again I had to resist the urge to hug him
When had this boy become so clever and useful?
Maybe miracles were possible after all.
Chapter Eighteen
A n hour later, not much had changed.
Chainsaw Man had made a few phone calls, and now he and his buddies were sitting in their jeep, staring into the field at the rest of us.
Joey and his friends were playing soccer.
A farmer had parked his tractor in the lane and had come in to see what was going on. Mum was chatting to him about chickens.
‘That’s really interesting,’ I heard her say. ‘I think I might start to keep chickens in the autumn.’
I giggled. Not long ago, Mum thought of chickens as things that caterers delivered when she was having a fancy dinner party.
How did she get to the stage where she was thinking of them as things she’d like to have running around her back garden?
Hans and Friedrich were speaking to each other in German. They were probably wondering how their holiday had turned into some crazy escapade with a bunch of mad Irish people.
Miley was sitting propped up against Jeremy. His eyes were closed and he was snoring loudly.
Kate and I were sitting on the rug. I was starting to feel a bit stupid. We were all hanging around ready for a fight, and yet nothing was happening.
We all jumped at the sudden sound of an engine. It was the jeep starting up, and seconds later it had vanished down the road with the three men inside it.
Joey raced over.
‘Result,’ he cried. ‘They’re gone. We’ve won.’
Mum smiled at him.
‘I don’t think it’s that simple, Joey,’ she said.‘They’ve gone for now. But no doubt they’ll be back.’
‘Not today,’ said Dad. ‘It’s past their finishing up time. I don’t think anything else is going to happen here
The battle was on.
And it looked like I was the commander- in-chief .
So why did I feel so scared?
The men climbed out of the jeep and walked slowly towards us. They must have been surprised to see a crowd of people standing holding hands around a tree, like we were doing some crazy kind of dance.
Miley let go of Dad’s hand, and waved his stick in the air.
‘One more step, and I’ll brain the lot of you,’ he said.
Great.
Looked like I’d invited the local psychopath to join our peaceful protest.
The men stopped walking. Chainsaw Man stepped towards Mum.
‘You look like a reasonable woman,’ he said.
(Hah. Clearly he’s never seen her when I leavemy clothes on the floor of my bedroom.)
Mum smiled, like being a reasonable woman was what she’d always dreamed of becoming.
The man continued, ‘Can’t you talk some sense into these people? The tree has to go, and delaying it isn’t going to help anyone.’
Mum smiled again. ‘I understand your position, really I do,’ she said. ‘The thing is, I agree with everyone else here. This is the only proper tree for miles around, and I don’t think it should be cut down. So, basically … We’re. Not. Moving.’
The man stepped backwards.
‘OK,’ he said. ‘Looks like the gloves are off. I’m phoning the police.’
As he spoke, he pulled his mobile phone from his pocket. Before he could dial the number, Joey ran over and tapped him on the arm.
‘Hey, Mister,’ he said. ‘Have you got free calls on that phone?’
‘What’s that got to do with anything?’ asked the man.
‘Just, if you haven’t, you’ll be wasting your money, because there’s a big soccer match on in the next village, and all the policemen have gone there. So no one’s going to be available to come here.’
‘Unless there’s a murder,’ continued Miley, who looked like he’d be happy to arrange that, no problem.
Chainsaw Man put his phone back into his pocket and scratched his head.
I grabbed Joey as he ran back to his friends.
‘Well done, kid,’ I said. ‘How did you know about the match?’
He grinned. ‘There isn’t one. I just made it up so he wouldn’t phone the police.’
Once again I had to resist the urge to hug him
When had this boy become so clever and useful?
Maybe miracles were possible after all.
Chapter Eighteen
A n hour later, not much had changed.
Chainsaw Man had made a few phone calls, and now he and his buddies were sitting in their jeep, staring into the field at the rest of us.
Joey and his friends were playing soccer.
A farmer had parked his tractor in the lane and had come in to see what was going on. Mum was chatting to him about chickens.
‘That’s really interesting,’ I heard her say. ‘I think I might start to keep chickens in the autumn.’
I giggled. Not long ago, Mum thought of chickens as things that caterers delivered when she was having a fancy dinner party.
How did she get to the stage where she was thinking of them as things she’d like to have running around her back garden?
Hans and Friedrich were speaking to each other in German. They were probably wondering how their holiday had turned into some crazy escapade with a bunch of mad Irish people.
Miley was sitting propped up against Jeremy. His eyes were closed and he was snoring loudly.
Kate and I were sitting on the rug. I was starting to feel a bit stupid. We were all hanging around ready for a fight, and yet nothing was happening.
We all jumped at the sudden sound of an engine. It was the jeep starting up, and seconds later it had vanished down the road with the three men inside it.
Joey raced over.
‘Result,’ he cried. ‘They’re gone. We’ve won.’
Mum smiled at him.
‘I don’t think it’s that simple, Joey,’ she said.‘They’ve gone for now. But no doubt they’ll be back.’
‘Not today,’ said Dad. ‘It’s past their finishing up time. I don’t think anything else is going to happen here
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