<span>Bradford believed God punished a sailor who mistreated the Puritans </span>
Answer:
1. The boy was in a state of unrest as he wondered if the bird had forsaken its egg. As soon as school closed, he ran home and then to the lakeside to confirm that the bird did not forsake its egg.
2. I can infer that the boy loved animals and wanted to be guilt-free.
Explanation:
Colm was described as a young boy who loved nature and will throw stones at the lake and swim through it. It was on one of such occasions that he saw the wild duck. He was excited when he saw the egg laid by the wild duck, such that he touched it. The belief at that time was that the bird will forsake its egg when a person touched it and this was further strengthened by Paddy's exclamation when he learned that Colm touched the egg.
To allay his fears and to clear his conscience, Colm went back to the lake to confirm and when he saw two eggs laid by the bird, his guilt was gone.
