The Witch Tree Symbol Part 16

"We'll tell you all about it on the way home," Nancy said, as Ned took her arm and helped her into the car.

Burt and Dave grinned. "Why didn't you two tell us you were going to ride around all of Lancaster County by yourselves on a horse?"

"How were we to know?" Ned joked.

As they rode toward the Glick farm, Nancy surprised the others by saying that she and Ned had actually come to the dance hours before.

"You heard about our little accident," she said. "Well, Ned and I chased the horse and caught him. We were so close to the dance that we thought we'd just ride him there and make arrangements to pick up the carriage later.

"After we tethered the horse and were walking to the barn, we noticed an Amish carriage and a black horse some distance away from the others. My curiosity got the better of me and I decided to take a look. No one was in the carriage, but in the back was some furniture that looked like the stolen Follett pieces."

"What!" Bess and George cried in unison.

Nancy smiled. "At least I thought so, and later I found out I was right. Well, we waited around to see if Roger Hoelt was in the vicinity. In a few minutes a man came sneaking around the side of the barn, as if he had been spying on the dancers."

"I guess he was looking for you, Nancy," Burt put in. "Was he Roger Hoelt?"

"No. The man came to the carriage, got in, and drove off."

Ned chuckled. "And you know Nancy!" he said. "She decided he was a pal of Hoelt's. And of course she wanted to follow him. So we did!"

He told the rest of the story and the others listened in amazement.

Upon reaching the Glicks', they found that the cobbler and his wife were still up. The couple were overjoyed to see Nancy and Ned and insisted on hearing the whole story.

When it was finished, Mrs. Glick said, "How good that you are safe. And you must be hungry. We will have a little bite to eat. You will all sleep better."

As she started toward the stove, Mr. Glick raised his hand. "That is good, Mama," he said. "But first, we will say a prayer of thanks for the safe return of our guests."

The group bowed their heads and he said a short prayer in German. At its conclusion everyone kept his head bowed in silence for nearly a minute. Each, in his own words, added a personal thanks for the safe return of Nancy and Ned. Then, after they had all eaten a hearty midnight snack, everyone went to bed.

After breakfast the following morning, the boys announced that they must leave for their summer jobs. Each declared that he had crowded a lot of fun and excitement into the short visit.

"I'm sorry you can't stay long enough to solve the whole mystery, Ned," Nancy said. "You've been a big help."

After the girls had waved good-by to the boys from the lane, they went into the house to help Mrs. Glick with the household ch.o.r.es. As they worked, Nancy remarked that she wanted to start out soon and continue the search for Roger Hoelt.

Mrs. Glick's face fell. "I was hoping you would go to Mrs. Stoltz's quilting with me," she said. "It is for her daughter."

When Nancy asked her about the "quilting," Mrs. Glick explained that an Amish woman spends many years before her marriage making articles for her new home.

"You mean that they know ahead of time whom they are going to marry?" Bess asked, wide-eyed.

The woman laughed. "Oh, no," she said. "But Amish people like to be ready for the future. After a girl is asked in marriage, it is not long before the wedding takes place. She has to have her dowry ready." Mrs. Glick looked steadfastly at the three girls. "Have you made no preparations for your weddings?"

The girls blushed scarlet and confessed that they had not even thought of a dowry. Mrs. Glick shook her head sadly. "You should not stay leddich too long," she said.

Noting her listeners' puzzled expressions, she translated, "That means not married. Ned, Burt, and Dave are such nice yuungmaane."

"Yes," said Bess, "they are nice young men, but none of us is ready to marry yet."

"You are old enough," Mrs. Glick insisted. "You should think about it. Anyway, I want you to go to the quilting with me. You will see what an Amish girl does so that she will have many things ready for her new home."

The girls thought it would be interesting. They said they would stay at the quilting for a little while, then go on their sleuthing trip. An hour later they set off for the Stoltz farmhouse. Mrs. Glick drove her own car and the girls went in Nancy's convertible.

At the Stoltz house they found that several women from neighboring farms had gathered in the parlor. It was explained to the visitors that these were friends and relatives of the family and that they were going to help sixteen-year-old Rebecca Stoltz make a fancy bedspread.

A large wooden quilting frame had been set up. Stretched taut across it was a white muslin bedspread. Rebecca had just finished cutting out pieces of colored cloth for the pattern to be sewed on the spread. Later, it would be quilted.

Around the edges of the spread was to be a diamond design in bright blue. The center section would be covered at intervals by big red tulips with green stems and leaves growing out of terra-cotta flowerpots.

Four young women had seated themselves around the quilting frame, threaded needles in hand. Quickly they began to st.i.tch on the blue diamonds Rebecca handed them.

Nancy, Bess, and George were amazed at the dexterity of the sewers. Not a st.i.tch showed!

The girls stayed for half an hour. Rebecca showed them her dowry, which she kept in an old cedar chest. It held several dozen embroidered pillowcases, dresser scarfs, towels, sheets, and another bright quilt.

Finally, when Nancy told her she and her friends must be on their way, Rebecca said she would like to give her guests something to remind them of the Amish quilting party. She lifted out a large pillowcase filled with pieces of material of various colors and designs, and gave a large handful of them to each girl.

"You will your own quilt begin, ain't?" she asked, smiling.

Nancy and her friends promised to do this. "We will start patchwork quilts with these," Bess said, and Rebecca nodded contentedly.

After thanking her and saying good-by to Mrs. Glick and the others, the three girls left the house. As they started off in the car, George asked, "Where are we going, Nancy?"

The young detective said she thought that the man who had run away from the carriage the night before had started toward the Hoelts' hiding place. When the driver had realized he was being followed, he had deliberately taken another route.

"What I'm going to try to do," said Nancy, "is figure out at which point he turned off from the direction leading to his destination."

Bess asked Nancy if she had any idea where this was. "I think it may be where the man turned right into the wooded road," the young sleuth answered. "When I reach that point, I'll go in the opposite direction."

Driving to the spot, she pulled to the left and followed a narrow road for about two miles. Here it became little more than a footpath. Nancy drove along for a short distance, then decided it was too rough for further progress in the convertible.

"I'm going to park in this field," she said, "and we'll continue on foot."

The path they followed became more and more overgrown and finally ended at a woods.

"Well, this didn't turn out so well," George remarked, as the three peered ahead into the tangled undergrowth.

"The wilder it gets, the more likely it is to be Roger Hoelt's hideout," Nancy reminded her. "Let's go on."

She set off through the woods with determination, the cousins following. After they had tramped a quarter of a mile they came to a clearing. Through the trees the girls could see a tumble-down house at one side of it.

"We'd better be careful," Bess warned.

The girls proceeded cautiously. They spread out, with Nancy in the middle, their eyes on the house. Suddenly George gasped "Oh!" as her right foot sank into a hole.

A second later, as she tried to wrench her foot free, George found she could not do it. Her whole right leg sank lower.