The Treasure Hunt Read Free

finally asked, “Why do you call this area Pikes Peak Country?”
    Sam’s eyes gleamed some more. “Where the Amish arebuying is less than a hundred miles from the Rocky Mountains. There’s one especially high peak called Pikes Peak. It’s over fourteen thousand feet high, and you can see it clearly from sixty miles away! I saw this little rhyme in the Sugarcreek Budget :
    Now if a home you wish to seek,
    Come where you can view old Pikes Peak.
    The land where plains and mountains meet,
    And our farmers grow macaroni wheat.
    Lydia was glad when the meal was over. All this talk about strange, faraway lands gave her an uneasy feeling. She did not like to think of people moving hundreds of miles away.

    Soon it was Sunday, the best day of the week. The Yoder family walked a mile and a half down the road to church, which was being held at John Swartzentruber’s home. As far back as Lydia could remember, there had been two church districts, the north district and the south district with ministers for each one. But Polly still remembered the days when there were no ministers at all here in North Dakota and the only time they had church was when a visiting minister came from the East.
    As the Yoder family neared the Swartzentruber farm, Lydia quickened her steps. There in front of the house were Mary and Susanna Swartzentruber, welcoming everyone with big smiles.
    What would I ever do without Mary and Susanna? Lydia asked herself as she ran to greet them. It would be terrible to move away from such good friends.
    Imagine Lydia’s surprise when even the minister, in his sermon that morning, spoke of a little girl who moved far away from home! Preacher Josiah told the story of the little slave girl who helped save the great Captain Naaman’s life. “There are not many stories in the Bible that tell about a little girl,” said Josiah, “but in this story, we read about a ‘little maid.’ Can you imagine how terrible it must have been for this little Hebrew maid when the Syrian soldiers broke into her home in Israel and carried her away as a captive to a strange land?
    â€œBut this little maid did not lose her faith in God. Oh no. There was no doubt in her mind that God could heal Naaman’s leprosy through His prophet Elisha. You see, this little maid was the slave of Naaman’s wife, and that is why she knew about the great captain’s illness. So one day she summoned her courage and told her mistress about the prophet.”
    Josiah went on to tell the rest of the story about how the prophet commanded Naaman to wash in the Jordan River and how the captain felt it was beneath his dignity to do so.But Lydia’s mind stayed with that little maid of Israel who was torn from her parents and made a slave in a strange land. How wonderful that because of this little girl’s faith a great captain was healed of leprosy!

3
    More Colorado Talk
    M onday was wash day. Lydia, Lisbet, and Polly all took turns at the washing machine. First the clothes were swished around and around in the sudsy water while they jiggled the tub back and forth. Then they had to crank all the clothing through the wringer. The part Lydia enjoyed the best was hanging the clean clothes on the line in the yard.
    This morning there was a strong wind from the west. How it tore at the dresses and aprons and trousers as Lydia pinned them up! “The wash will dry nicely today,” remarked Mother as she passed by on her way to the garden.
    When the wash basket was empty, Lydia found Mother down on her knees, digging carrots. “Will we have carrots for dinner?” Lydia asked.
    â€œYes, we will. Aren’t the carrots nice this year?” said Mother, holding up a big orange carrot.
    â€œMmmm. May I have one?” With her apron, Lydia wiped the soil from the carrot. It crunched crisply between her teeth. “Mother, do you really think Sam Peachy will buy land in Colorado?”

    Lydia