What does the phrase "which felt like kissing a set of twigs covered with a thin layer skin" mean as used in the passage?

Read the excerpts from the land. [willie] turned to my daddy. "it's my boy mitchell done this, mister edward, and i know there ain't no way t' make it up t' ya if this here horse don't heal right, but i jus' 'bout t' put a strap t' mitchell my own self 'bout what he done. i'm gonna put a strap t' him right now, matter of fact! " with that said, he positioned his whip and turned toward mitchell. *** my daddy stopped and looked at me. "no," he said. "i'm not going to whip you, paul. no, your punishment is that you'll never get to ride ghost wind again. i figure you'll remember that a whole lot longer than a whipping. you won't ride any of the other horses either, including the appaloosa, until i say so." which statement about willie’s and mister edward’s reactions is true? both men believe that their sons should be held accountable for their behavior. both men believe that their sons need to learn to handle horses properly. both men believe that their sons will likely harm the horses if they ride them. both men believe that their sons have permanently injured ghost wind

Reread lines 6-7 "the survivor." determine how the tone of these differs from the preceding lines (1-5)

Armed with invisible ink, a cipher system, and a passion to end the war and preserve the union, elizabeth van lew became butler's eyes and ears in the confederate capital city. truth be told, however, she became much more than that. she became a spymaster, the person responsible for running a network of agents, couriers, and safe houses that was very active during the war. in addition to the spying, elizabeth van lew continued to maintain her church hill home as a safe house and something of a local union spy headquarters. —the dark game, paul janeczko what is the central idea of this passage? van lew’s home was used as a safe house, which was critical to the confederacy. van lew had a passion to end the war and preserve the union. van lew was a spymaster, a leading force in the espionage activities for the union. van lew did not enjoy working for general butler.