Andy (4 page)

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Authors: Mary Christner Borntrager

Tags: #Fiction, #General, #Juvenile Fiction, #Religious, #Christian, #test

BOOK: Andy
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Page 28
"Ach,
loss ihn schlofe
(let him sleep)," said Jake. "He will be hungry enough by the time we get home from church at the Eash's place."
By two in the afternoon there was still no sign of the drifter. "Andy, go and knock on the door of the smokehouse. See if Cloyce wants anything to eat. He's a hard worker and must be hungry."
Andy hurried to the shanty, but in a few minutes he came running back. "He's gone, Dad, he's gone!"
"Who's gone, Andy?" Jake asked.
"Cloyce! Cloyce is gone, and the door of the smokehouse was wide open. It rained in there, and some things are wet."
"Ach,
mei Hatz
(my heart)!" exclaimed Lizzie.
"He really is gone!" Andy announced once more.
 
Page 29
5
Fish Rock Creek
It was a good place to be alone. Right now that's what Andy wanted. Fish Rock Creek cut through Jake Maust's farm just above the orchard. It meandered its way through the pasture and along the woods. A half mile downstream, it made a sharp bend onto the Swartz farm.
The young Amish boys claimed a deep spot at the bend as their swimming hole. Andy sometimes joined them, but often he was ridiculed. However, if the Wagler boys were among the group, it was different. Their parents taught them to be friends with everyone, especially those who were mistreated.
After Andy discovered that Cloyce had left, Lizzie sent the twins to help Andy get the wet bedding out of the smokehouse. That done, Andy just wanted to get away so he could think. There was still half of a Sunday afternoon of free time ahead, so he asked his dad for permission to go to the creek.
 
Page 30
"Was wit do
(what do you want there)?" his father wondered.
"Maybe I can see that big fish the Swartz boys have been trying to catch," Andy replied.
"Ach, those boys talk pretty tall. Do you really believe there is such a big fish there?"
"The Wagler boys said they saw him. If he's in there, Dad, I'd like to see him. Just once, so I can tell how long he really is."
"What would you do if you did see him? Catch him with your
blutte Hend
(bare hands)?" Sammie laughed as he pretended to be grabbing a fish.
"Du bist dumm
(you're dumb)," Andy told his brother. "I know better than that. All you can think about is that girl." He kicked against the screen door, putting a small hole in the screen.
Sammie had been taking a girl home from Sunday evening youth singings. Since he had been casting glances at Rhoda Mullet for some time, the family was fairly sure she was the one.
"Now
guck
(look) what you did, Andy. That little hole in the screen will get bigger and bigger. Why do you always let things make you so angry?" Lizzie asked.
"Maybe you should stay home and patch the screen," Jake told his son.
"Dad," Sammie offered, "I'll fix it. I shouldn't have teased him."
"Well, if you feel that way, Sammie, I guess it's all right. But Andy, you can only stay at the creek for an hour. I had thought I'd let you go for the rest of the afternoon, but until you learn to control that temper,
 
Page 31
we must use some restrictions. Sammie was just having some fun with you.''
"Some fun!" muttered Andy.
"Dad," Sammie said, "could my family start calling me Sam instead of Sammie? I'm a man now, and it doesn't sound right anymore."
"Zu gross fer dei Hosse
(too big for your britches)," laughed Jake. "Well, we can try, but it will take some doing. Sammie it's always been."
"I guess it wouldn't do to call your wife the Sammie Rhoda," quipped his mother. "Sam Rhoda sounds better."
Sam grinned and rolled his eyes. He knew that his people identified each other this way because of so many similar names. But he wasn't going to admit anything about Rhoda!
Andy thought it silly to change his brother's name now. He dashed out of the house, called Shep, and headed for the creek.
First Cloyce left, and now Sammie was changing his name. Before long Ellie and Roy might be getting married. Things would never be the same.
Andy gathered half a dozen flat stones and skipped them across the water. He loved skipping stones. The most he had ever done was seven skips. Danny Wagler had a record of ten. Of course, the Swartz boys boasted twelve, but no one had seen them do it.
Shep was running here and there, chasing chattering squirrels. Once in a while he startled a rabbit and ran in hot pursuit.
Suddenly Shep stopped and sniffed a spot on the ground. He whined softly.
 
Page 32
"What is it, Shep?" Andy came to investigate. "Why, that looks like the pocket watch that Dad said he lost. But Dad hasn't been down here for a long time."
Shep ran a little further, pulled a piece of paper out of the sand, and brought it to Andy.
"Ach, Shep, you drag anything around. It's just a piece of paper. Here, let me have it, and I'll make a paper boat to sail," Andy said as he reached toward Shep.
"Dut dei Hund schwetze
(does your dog talk)?" someone asked.
Andy looked up the creek bank into the smirking faces of Johnny and Joey Swartz. He knew they would tease him. His anger began to show as he said,
"Geht heem
(go home)!"
"Are you going to make us go?" Joey asked.
"Maybe I will. This is our property," Andy reminded them.
"Fish Rock belongs to everybody," Johnny claimed as he picked up a stone to skip on the water.
"What's that paper you're holding?" Joey asked, trying to snatch it.
Shep came to Andy's aid and took the paper between his teeth. The dog ran toward the bend in the creek. Andy called him back, but Johnny threw his stone after Shep for all he was worth.
Poor Shep fell to the ground and howled in pain. The dropped paper fluttered away in the breeze.
Andy took off after the boys. When they saw the damage they had caused, they ran for home as fast as they could.
"Oh, Shep," Andy cried as he knelt by his beloved dog. "Oh, Shep, will you be alright?"
 
Page 33
Slowly the dog rose to his feet, and Andy gave him a big hug.
"Let's go home, Shep," Andy said, patting the beautiful head of the collie. He started walking with his beloved Shep limping alongside.
"I wish those boys weren't so mean. I'm glad, though, I still have the watch we found.
"That paperit's lost. Shep, it sure looked a lot like the paper that drifter made me promise to keep secret. Do you suppose Cloyce was here by the creek after he left? I wonder."
 
Page 34
6
The Agreement
Jake was glad to get his watch back. "Where did you find it, Andy?" he asked.
"Down by the creek, Dad. Shep saw it first. He found something else, too, but the Swartz boys made him drop it. Johnny threw a stone at him and knocked him down. He hit Shep on his leg," Andy stormed.
"I know it hurt because Shep limped all the way home. I wish I had hit Johnny with a stone. Then I'd see how he liked it." Andy swung his throwing arm.
"Wie oft miss ich dir saage
(how often must I tell you), Andy? Returning evil for evil never solves anything. Have you tried to be nice to them?"
"I can't be nice to boys like that. They just call me
Fettkessel
(lard kettle) and
Maus
(mouse). They say our name Maust means we're like mice."
"Let them say on. We are what we make ourselves by our deeds and actions. I just hope you don't call them names."
 
Page 35
Andy didn't admit that he had done that very thing more than once. He especially liked to call the Swartz boys
Schwatzbaert
(blackbeards, pirates).
"But, Dad, they hurt Shep, and he can't protect himself."
"Ach, I suspect he can. Come on, I'll take a look at that leg."
Andy followed his father out to the edge of the walk where Shep lay. The dog wanted to come up on the porch, but he knew that was off limits for him.
Many times Lizzie or one of the girls had chased him off the porch with the broom. They never hit Shep, just shooed him away.
"He tracks too much mud," Lizzie told Andy.
"But, Mom, he likes to be where it's warm," her son protested.
"The barn, buggy shed, workshop, and toolshed are warmer than the open porch. Shep can go there for shelter."
Jake examined Shep's leg. He saw how the dog favored the right front one.
"There's a small knot here." Jake pointed to a spot the size of a quarter. "It's just a bruise and should heal quickly."
"Just a bruise!" Andy shouted, his face turning beet red. "If I catch those Swartz boys, I'll give
them
a bruise!"
"Genunk
(enough)!" Jake declared.
"Andy, you remember you asked me a few weeks ago if you could build a doghouse for Shep? Well, I'll make an agreement with you. If you'll try to control that temper, I'll give you permission to build one.
 
Page 36
"You can't control it by yourself. I know of One who can help you. Do you know who I mean?"
"Yes, Dad. But how can I do it? Don't you mind when people make
Schpott
(fun) of us?"
"I don't like it, Andy, but they are doing more harm to themselves than to me. It makes me feel sorry for them.
"I'm sure Lester Swartz and his wife don't want their sons to act so rudely. Maybe I should talk to Lester about their behavior."
"No, I don't want you to do that," Andy quickly remarked.
"Fer was net
(why not) ?"
"If you do, they'll tease me more. One time I said I would tell on them for stealing. They called me a
Grossmaulbuppli
(big-mouth baby)."
"So you didn't tell? Did that make them like you any better? Were you helping them get away with stealing by keeping it a secret?"
These were hard questions for Andy. Was Dad ever thirteen years old? he wondered. Dad just doesn't understand how hard it is for me to be teased all the time.
So he changed the subject. "How long before I can build Shep's house?"
"That depends. Let's see how well you can behave."
"I wish Sammie could help me build it. But all he wants to do is think about going to singings with his girl."
"Try calling him Sam instead of Sammie, and maybe he'll help you," suggested Jake.
"He's been Sammie for so long, I forget that he
 
Page 37
wants his name changed now."
"So do I. But as soon as I remember, I say Sam. Andy, it looks like it might rain again. Why don't you take Shep and fix him a bed in the barn for the night. Sam's fetching the cows so we can milk right after supper."
Andy picked up Shep and carried him to the barn, all thirty pounds of him. The dog could have walked, but Andy's heart ached for him. He knew too well how it felt to be mistreated.
"Here, Shep, I'll fix you a nice warm place under Star's feedbox. You like horses, and they like you, especially Star does.
"I'll bring you some water, too, after supper. If Mom lets me, I'll get some table scraps for you later. I know you'd like that."
He arranged soft clean straw under the manger and petted Shep's sides and head gently.
True to his promise, after supper Andy carried a pan of clean water and leftover meat scraps to his faithful companion. Then after milking, he secured the door tightly against the threatening storm and went to the house and to bed.
At first sleep would not come. He thought of the events of his day. He had gone to Fish Rock Creek to catch sight of a big fish. Not one glimpse of him did he see.
He wondered again how his dad's pocket watch came to be there. Then there was that mysterious paper Shep had found. If it weren't for those Swartz boys, he might know what it was about.
Johnny was so cruel to Shep! And as always, his

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