The Witch Tree Symbol Part 8

"Not" Mr. Kreutz cried loudly. "I am an Amish man. We take care of family matters without the help of the police. I gave you my permission to locate my daughter. But no one outside the family, except you three, will be allowed to interfere."

The farmer then asked Nancy what else she and her friends had done that day. When the girl described the accident and the note in the cinder block, Mr. Kreutz exclaimed, "Du bin en hex maydel!"

"I'm not a witch!" Nancy protested, amazed that evidently he now believed the superst.i.tion.

Despite her denial, Mr. and Mrs. Kreutz at once became cool toward all the girls. The farmer said it was time to go to bed, and they both nodded a curt good night and left the room.

The girls, nonplussed by the change in their hosts' att.i.tude, spoke in whispers. "This settles it," said Bess. "We'll move out in the morning."

"Yes, we're certainly not wanted," George agreed. "Imagine their believing that you're a witch, Nancy!"

Their friend, with a mystified expression, asked herself, "But why are the Kreutzes so convinced all of a sudden that I am a witch? There's something to this they haven't told us!"

CHAPTER VII.

A Stolen Horse

THE sudden change in the att.i.tude of the Kreutzes toward the girls bothered them so much that they slept fitfully. The farmer had said he did not believe in hexing, yet when Nancy had shown him the note about witches, he had acted as if she were one!

"If people around this area are going to be afraid of me," Nancy thought, "I'll have a difficult time trying to solve the mystery."

Although Nancy did not intend to give up the case because of such an att.i.tude, Bess was of a different frame of mind. Sensitive by nature, she did not want to stay where she would be shunned. Besides, she felt that further work on the mystery would involve more danger all the time.

"I'll try to talk Nancy into leaving this Amish country," she decided.

As for George, she was angry with the Kreutzes. After Nancy and her friends had made their best efforts to locate a girl who had run away, her parents were now treating their guests as suspects!

Early the following morning, Nancy and the girls packed their bags and went downstairs. Mr. and Mrs. Kreutz were already at the table, having breakfast. They nodded, but did not invite the girls to join them.

"We're leaving," said Nancy. "I'm sorry that you've been disturbed by rumors about me and that you evidently believe them. I strongly suspect that Roger Hoelt is behind all of this. Some day he'll be caught, then I'll be cleared of these silly charges."

Nancy's hope that her words might convince Mr. and Mrs. Kreutz was not fulfilled. The farmer and his wife merely nodded again, and did not rise or even say good-by. Nevertheless, each of the girls thanked the couple for their hospitality, then walked out the kitchen door. In silence they got into Nancy's convertible and drove off.

"Well, I've never been so badly treated by nice people in all my life!" George stormed.

"Maybe we shouldn't blame them too much," Nancy suggested. "There may be more to this than we realize. But I intend to find out what it is!"

"Will you keep on looking for Manda?" Bess asked Nancy.

"Certainly. If she's working for a thief, I want to warn her as soon as possible."

"Maybe," Bess surmised, "the Kreutzes think you know where Manda is and won't tell them."

"That's possible. They may have been told a witch is responsible for Manda's disappearance and now they believe I'm that person."

"I'd like to bet," said George, "that if we bring Manda back, the Kreutzes will do an about-face."

Bess wanted to know where Nancy was heading. Nancy said she thought they might try New Holland. It was a good base from which to work.

"I'd like to make some inquiries around that area."

In New Holland they found a place to eat and ordered breakfast.

"We'd better keep this witch business to ourselves," Nancy advised, "or we may not find a place to sleep."

Bess and George smiled, and Nancy asked the woman in charge if she could recommend a boardinghouse. The woman suggested a place about a mile out of town.

"Papa Glick had a bad accident two years ago and had to give up farming," the woman said. "Now he is a schumacher. Mama Glick will rent rooms sometimes. The Glicks are Church Amish. You will be very comfortable there."

When the visitors finished eating, they went directly to the farm. It was well kept, although many of the fields were in pasture. The house was of red brick. The wooden barn was also red.

A pleasant-faced woman, wearing a green dress and the traditional Amish cap and ap.r.o.n, opened the door. When Nancy stated the reason for the girls' call, Mrs. Glick invited them in.

"I have four rooms empty," she said. "Make your choice between."

The interior of the house, with its homespun draperies and floor coverings, was quaint and attractive. The second-floor bedrooms were spanking clean and just as cheerful. The girls were delighted and at once chose the rooms they would take.

"You are sightseeing in New Holland?" Mrs. Glick asked.

"Yes, we are," Nancy replied. Feeling she could confide in this pleasant woman, she added, "And we're also here for another reason." She told Mrs. Glick about the stolen furniture for which they were looking and their suspicion that the thief might be hiding in Amish territory.

At this moment the girls heard footsteps on the stairs and a boy and girl appeared. Mrs. Glick introduced them as Becky, aged ten, her daughter, and Henner, eight, her son.

"They're adorable, and how healthy looking!" Bess exclaimed.

Both children had big brown eyes and very straight bodies. Their hair was cut and combed in the Amish style.

Becky wore a prayer cap just like her mother's and carried a black bonnet over her arm. She wore a long black smock with a white blouse underneath, and a white ap.r.o.n but no kerchief.

Henner held an Amish boy's hat in his hand. The boy's blue s.h.i.+rt, black trousers, and wide homemade suspenders were exactly the same as those the girls had seen all the Amish men wearing.

"Henner," said his mother, "I'm sorry to see you so dirty when we have visitors. Did you fall?"

His sister answered for him. "Henner, he goes by horse stall down. Isser net schuslich?"

"Yes, he is careless," his mother agreed. "Henner, go scrub yourself."

The girls went downstairs to get their luggage and then unpacked. Half an hour later they were ready to take up their sleuthing.

Just as Nancy, Bess, and George were leaving, they heard hoofbeats and saw an Amish carriage coming up the lane. The horse's sleek body gleamed and so did the highly varnished black vehicle he was pulling. The carriage was plain, with no dashboard or other tr.i.m.m.i.n.g. It had a front and rear seat, and was almost completely enclosed.

"Papa k.u.mpthame!" the children cried, and ran to meet him.

Mrs. Glick went outside with the girls and introduced her husband, a nice-looking kindly man, but pale compared to Amish farmers they had seen.

After greeting him, Nancy told Mr. Glick what had brought the girls to Pennsylvania Dutch country. The cobbler had not heard of Roger Hoelt, and was sorry to learn about the stolen furniture.