Authors: Mary Christner Borntrager

Tags: #Fiction, #Action & Adventure, #test

Ellie (4 page)

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Missy had named each one correctly, and now she was holding the fishing stick out for her little friend. Ellie quickly caught her three fish, which had "3, H, and X" on them in large black print. She knew them all and called out,
"Drei, Haw, Icks.
"Then she hung her head, as the children in the room broke out into laughter. In her haste and excitement, she had said them in German. What humiliation! But Miss Olive, understanding lady that she was, soon had control over the situation and gave Ellie a chance to correct her mistake.

Now Missy won't eat lunch with me for sure! How could I be so
doppich?
It's like Papa says, I am
doppich.

When lunchtime came, Missy hobbled to Ellie's desk and said, "Scoot over, and I'll eat with you."

What! She still wants to eat with me! After the mistake I made and everyone laughed? They will laugh at her, too, if she is my friend.
But Ellie scooted over and made room. Soon they were sharing bits of their worlds with each other. Ellie always had her bread, butter, and meat first. She left her half-moon pie until last. Today, as she took it from her lunch pail, Missy asked, "What is that?"

"Half-moon pie," said Ellie, thinking it very strange that she asked. Surely everyone had half-moon pies! In German, they were called
snitz
pie, a dessert, which usually graced every meal in an Amish home.

"Is it good?" asked Missy.

"Yes," answered Ellie, "don't you like?"

"I don't know. I never ate any," said her friend.

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This was hard to understand. Ellie thought everyone ate half-moon pies.

"Here, you take it." Ellie held it out to Missy.

"Oh, no," said Missy. "It's yours. I don't want to take it away from you."

"I'm not very hungry," said Ellie, "and you let me play with your jacks. So now I give you some pie."

Missy laughed as she took half of the pie and said, "It's funny, Ellie. You had never heard of jacks before, and I did not know about half-moon pies. We both learned something new today. Umm! This is good. I'll let you play with my jacks tomorrow."

"And I'll give you more pie tomoringno, tomorrow." Ellie caught her mistake this time.

"I like you, Ellie, and I hope we can be friends," said Missy.

"Me, too," answered Ellie. Her heart had felt many emotions this day, but right now it was almost bursting with happiness.

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5
The Runaway Buggy

Papa was a hard-working man, a man with spirit, or get-up-and-go, as it was more commonly called. He liked his horses to possess that same quality. Workhorses should be just what their name impliedable to do a good day's hard work, never lagging behind, always ready for the field, and ready to be put in harness the next day.

But Papa was still young enough to like a spirited buggy horse. And he had one. Dixie was a pretty little filly with enough speed and stamina to outrun and outlast any horse back in the Amish settlement. Quite a few men had tried to buy her, offering excellent prices. But Jake Maust knew a good horse when he saw one, and he would not sell. Sometimes Mama felt it would be safer to have an older, slower horse pulling the buggy, because of the children. Papa, however, assured her that he could handle the situation. And since they lived so far from the

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Amish community, he needed fast transportation. Therefore, the matter was settled.

It was Sunday morning. Papa had brought the horse and buggy around to the front gate, ready to load up the family and start for church. Today, they had six miles to drive, and he wanted a good start. Roy and Sammie came out of the house and took their places in back of the seat. It wasn't the most comfortable place to ride, but Papa said it had to make do until he could buy a double buggy or surrey. A surrey had two seats. The boys could hardly wait for that. Then they would ride up front with Papa. Mama, Ellie, and the babies would sit in the back.

Now Ellie came down the walk, carrying one of the twins. Papa took the baby until Ellie had climbed aboard and found her place on the little stool in the front buggy box. Papa had made it for her when she was only two. She had traveled many miles sitting on that little bench. It wasn't too bad, if the baby she was holding didn't wiggle too much.

"What is keeping Mama?" Papa asked Ellie as he checked his pocket watch.

"Annie threw up, and Mama has to change her dress." Annie and Fannie were the twins, and it seemed a real chore to keep them both presentable at the same time.

"Why do these things always happen when we're in a hurry?" Papa asked. He did not realize how many times they happened without his ever knowing about it. He tied the horse to one of the boards in the picket fence, and warning the children not to touch the lines, he started for the house to see if he

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could hurry things along. Unknown to him, the picket he tied the strap to had been weakened by a crack in the wood. He was no more than out of sight when Ellie wondered what would happen if she touched the lines. Gingerly she reached out and took them in her hands.

"Ellie," said Roy, "Papa said not to touch those."

"I'm just holding them so Dixie will stand still," Ellie said. "And besides, if you don't tell, what does it matter?"

Just then, the baby noticed the two shining leather lines and playfully grabbed them. The sudden pull brought Dixie's head up, and another jerk, as Ellie tried to undo the reins from Fannie's hands, seemed like a direct signal for the horse to back quickly away from the fence. The board snapped, and Dixie broke loose. She turned sharply. Now she could tell that unfamiliar hands were guiding the reins. They pulled one way and then another. And all the while there was yelling and noise from the carriage behind her. She broke into a fast run down the lane and onto the road with four very frightened children in tow. The baby had fallen from Ellie's lap and lay screaming in the wagon box. Sammie and Roy were both crying.

"Stop her, Ellie! Stop!" cried Sammie. Roy covered his face with his hands, not wishing to see the outcome of this runaway ride. Ellie was holding on for dear life.

"Whoa," she cried. "Whoa, Dixie! Stop, whoa!" But Dixie ran on across the covered bridge and on toward Highway Seven.

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Oh, no,
thought Ellie.
Not out on the big road!
She knew that was a dangerous place. Sometimes big trucks traveled on it. But there was no stopping Dixie now. Instead of turning onto Highway Seven, they crossed right over and continued down County Road 503. Even in her terrible fright, Ellie was relieved.

But they had not gone far down this narrow road when Ellie saw a sharp curve ahead. At the speed they were going, how could they ever get around that bend?

Suddenly, a car appeared from the turn in front of them. Dixie took to the ditch and got herself tangled in the fence, spilling her precious cargo into the grass and weeds as the buggy turned on its side.

The car came to a halt, and the driver jumped out. From around the other side came a lady, and both of them asked, almost in the same breath, "Is anyone hurt?" Before the children could answer, the woman picked up the baby. She brushed the dirt and grass from her face and clothes as best she could and tried to stop the crying.

"Oh, my, Henry, would you just look at this darling little doll! I hope she is alright."

Sammie's nose was bleeding, and Roy had a bump on his forehead. But other than that, the children did not appear to be injured.

"Where are your parents?" asked the man. The children just stared and didn't answer. The man, who was trying to get Sammie's nosebleed under control, asked again, "Your Mama and Papa, where are they?"

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"Home," answered Ellie, her voice sounding shaky and strange.

"Well, land to Goshen," said the lady, "where were you young'uns going?"

"Church," said the still frightened little girl.

"Martha," said the man, "something is wrong here. Nobody would send three young children and a baby out on the road alone, not with a horse as skittish as this beauty. We need to find out where they live and get them home." His wife agreed.

Sammie's nose had quit bleeding. He must have bumped it as he fell from the buggy. The baby was no longer crying. Martha, still cooing and fussing over little Fannie, put the children in the car, while her husband loosened Dixie from the fence. He tied the horse securely, talking to her and petting her. He righted the buggy, which had acquired one broken shaft, and then climbed behind the wheel of his car.

"Now," he asked, "which way to your house?" Ellie just pointed. Hoping she was right, he started toward Highway Seven.

There had been some terribly anxious moments back at the Maust home, when the discovery had been made that Dixie and the children were gone. Father took Pete, one of his lighter workhorses, hitched him to the spring wagon, and started out to look for the runaways. He followed the tracks across the covered bridge and on toward the highway. His heart sank as he saw where they were heading. But, with great relief, he noticed as he came to the stop sign that the buggy had crossed over to 503.

"There's Papa," said Ellie, as she caught sight of

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the spring wagon. They were just approaching the stop sign from the opposite direction when she saw him. The driver of the car pulled to the side of the road, stopped his car, and got out. He waved to Ellie's papa to stop.

"Hello," he said. "I'm Henry Nolt, and I believe I have your children in my car here."

"Are they alright?" asked Papa.

"I believe so," answered Henry.

"And my horse, have you seen my horse?"

"Oh, yes, Mr. ---?"

"Maust," said Papa, "Jake Maust."

"Yes, Mr. Maust, your horse is tied about a mile and a half down the road from here. She was tangled up in the fence, but I took care of her. She only had a small cut on her foreleg, as far as I could tell."

Papa frowned at this bit of information. "Well, we had better get the children home. Their mother is worried about them. Put them in the wagon, and I'll take them home. Then I'll figure a way to get my horse and buggy."

"No need for that," said Henry. "The missus and I will take them home if you'll give us directions. Then I'll take you to get your rig."

So the children rode home in the car. What a grand ride. Everyone had enough room to sit, and music came from a place in the front. The children were awestruck. Pa followed with his wagon.

Mama was on the porch as they drove in. Her eyes were red from crying. She came quickly when she realized her children were home.

"Are you alright?" she asked, reaching for her

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baby, who had fallen asleep in Mrs. Nolt's lap.

"Oh, yes, they are fine," said Mrs. Nolt, handing her the sleeping child. "I'm Martha Nolt, and this is my husband, Henry. We met your husband on the way. He will be home soon, and then Henry will take him to fetch your horse and carriage. Oh, you do have the sweetest children, and the baby looks so cute in its little bonnet and white cap. Oh, look, Henry," she exclaimed, as she saw the other baby by the screen door, "Another one! Twins! Oh, dear, aren't they darling?''

Mrs. Maust had never heard such a fuss about children before. This woman never seemed to stop talking.

"Come in," said Mama.

It wasn't long until Papa came. He checked again to make sure his children were not hurt. Mama had put butter on Roy's forehead, and the bump was much less noticeable already.

Mama thanked the Nolts for taking care of her children and bringing them home. Then they left with Papa to get his rig, as the Englisher called it. They were able to mend the broken shaft with some old wire, and after a long time Papa came home. Dixie was lame in her right front leg. Papa didn't like it.

"Now," he said, "Ellie, I want to know what happened."

"The fence broke," said Ellie.

"Yes," said Sammie, "but you picked up the lines first, Ellie."

Oh, that Sammie. He always tattled!

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