The Witch Tree Symbol Read Free Page B

had decided recently that perhaps this was wrong. Life was good on an Amish farm and there was never any want.
    “But I did not appreciate this,” she said. “I ran away from home three months ago and went to Lancaster. In the daytime I worked in a bakery and evenings I attended night school.”
    Wistfully she added, “But I miss my people. And yet I am so afraid my father will not let me live on the farm any more.”
    The three girls assured Manda that everything would probably work out, and wished her the best of luck. Nancy again asked her if she knew anyone nearby who might repair the car.
    “Yes,” the Amish girl replied. “Rudolph can help you. He is on a farm a mile from here.”
    Manda offered to stop there and ask him to bring his tool kit. Nancy thanked her, but said she would walk along with Manda and talk to Rudolph herself. Also, she was eager to learn more about the Amish people and their customs. Bess and George decided to remain with the car.
    As the Amish girl and Nancy hurried along the road, Manda talked freely about her problem. “Papa is afraid if I learn too much I will not be an Amish woman any longer. But he is wrong. I might not be so strict as he is. We have no conveniences in our house or on our farm. I think that is foolish. Papa and Mama work too hard. I like learning about things, but we have no books except our German Bible and the Gabrauch Buch.”
    “What is that?” Nancy asked.
    Manda explained it was something used in powwowing—a means of curing people who are ill. “Powwowing is accomplished by the ‘laying on of hands.’ Not everyone can make it work. But Mama can,” she said proudly.
    Presently a farmhouse came into sight and Manda said that this was where Rudolph lived. Her farm was beyond it.
    “Why don’t you wait until my car is fixed and I’ll drive you home?” Nancy offered, smiling.
    Manda looked frightened. “Oh, no! My Father is strict House Amish and would never forgive me if I came home in an automobile. I thank you. I will walk the rest of the way.”
    As the girls separated, Nancy went up the lane to Rudolph’s house. A rosy-cheeked, red-haired young man wearing a straight-brimmed black hat and black homemade cloth suspenders over his red shirt saw her coming and greeted her with a bow.
    “I was told by Manda Kreutz that you are an expert mechanic,” Nancy said. “My car is stuck down the road. Can you help me out?”
    “Ya, I will help you,” he said. “I will get my car and tools.” He disappeared behind the house for a few minutes, then drove out a small car. Climbing in, Nancy directed him to the stalled convertible.
    When Nancy introduced the young man to Bess and George, Rudolph said, “You are a girl? Your name is George, ain’t?”
    George chuckled and nodded. Rudolph remarked emphatically that among plain people, a man has a man’s name and a woman, a woman’s name.
    The tomboyish girl did not take offense at the criticism. Laughing, she told Rudolph that she had not named herself. “But I like having a boy’s name,” she admitted. “It’s different.”
    Rudolph made no further comment. He checked the car, working with amazing speed. One minute he was beneath the convertible, the next he was tinkering under the hood, and a moment later he was reaching in to the dashboard to test the ignition. Soon he announced that he had found the trouble. “The feed line —a twist in it!”
    It was not long before Rudolph had fixed the car. When the girls were on their way again, Nancy decided it was too late to call on Mr. Zinn that day.
    “Besides, I’d like to stop at the Kreutz farm to see how Manda made out,” she went on. “If her father is as stern as she said, he may not let her stay. In that case we can take her wherever she wants to go.”
    The girls found the Kreutz place easily. It was a large, plain two-story house without blinds or curtains. Nearby was a large stone barn built on two levels of ground. Several other smaller