CHAPTER XIX.

Caught!

"MANDA!" Nancy cried excitedly, running up to the Amish girl. "I'm so glad we've found you at last! Are you all right?"

"Yes," replied Manda, looking a little surprised. She went on to say that she was living with Mr. and Mrs. Roger Hoelt. "They are very nice people and are restoring this old house."

"Nice people!" George cried. "They're anything but that!"

Manda frowned, then asked George what she meant by this.

"You explain, Nancy," George said. "Bess and I haven't told Manda anything about the mystery."

After hearing the story, Manda was amazed. She could not believe it. The Hoelts had been very kind to her and were paying her good wages. Manda added that they were Church Amish from Ohio and spoke Pennsylvania Dutch very well.

"I do not see how Mr. Hoelt could be a thief," she said stubbornly.

"Well, he is," George told her bluntly. "And the sooner you get out of here the better."

Sadly Manda hung her head, saying she had no place else to go. Her papa would not let her return home, and she did not want to work in Lancaster.

Nancy smiled. "I've talked with your mother and father, Manda. They want you to come home. Your father regrets being so harsh and will be glad to have you back."

The Amish girl looked at Nancy as if this were not possible. Finally she said, "You speak the truth?"

Bess looked indignant. "Of course Nancy's telling the truth."

But Nancy did not blame Manda for not being completely persuaded, either that her family wanted her back or that Roger Hoelt was a thief. "I must convince her," Nancy thought. Aloud she said, "Manda, have the Hoelts moved any furniture into the house?"

"Oh, yes."

"Beautiful antique furniture?" Nancy asked. "Are there one or more tables from George Washington's home?"

Manda looked startled. "You know this?"

Nancy gave her additional details of the mystery, and finally the Amish girl said she believed now that Mr. Hoelt was indeed a thief. She would leave the Hoelts' employ immediately. But she did not want to report them to the police.

"You will have to do that," she said to the young sleuth.

Suddenly Nancy recalled the boy who had been painting the hex sign on the witch tree and asked Manda who he was.

"He is a harmless boy who cannot hear or speak," the Amish girl answered. "Todd lives here too. Mr. Hoelt writes out everything for him to do. Todd is not very smart, but he is a good worker."

"Did Mr. Hoelt ask him to paint the symbol on the tree?" Nancy queried, telling of the strange way in which it was being done.

Manda nodded. Mr. Hoelt had claimed it was a hex sign used by his family years before. He was very proud of it, and planned to have the hex sign painted on the barn and various other places when he restored the farm.

"He told Todd to paint the symbol on a tree but not to let anyone see him." Manda laughed. "The poor boy probably hid when he saw you coming but tried to go on with the painting."

The girls smiled, then Nancy asked Manda how she had located the farm. The Amish girl revealed that Mr. Hoelt had not given her very clear directions when he had suggested she come to work for them.

"All he said was that the house was near the old schnitz. I could find it by looking for two witch trees."

"Is there really such a thing as a witch tree?" Bess asked. "We thought it was just a nickname for a tree with witches' broom growing on it."

"That is right," Manda replied. "I figured Mr. Hoelt meant an old tree with hex bayse near the schnitz. I asked lots of people where the schnitz was, but n.o.body seemed to know. Then I met an old man on the road and he told me to come here. When I saw the witch trees, I knew this was the right place."

Suddenly Manda looked around her, a frightened expression coming over her face. She said all of them should leave at once.

"You mean before Mr. and Mrs. Hoelt catch us?" George put in.

"Not exactly," Manda replied. "But they will be back this evening. I want to be far away when they drive in."

The fact that the Hoelts were not at home pleased Nancy. This would give her a chance to make a positive identification of the furniture before reporting the Hoelts to the police.

"Please show us first where the antiques are," Nancy requested.

"All right. But we must hurry," Manda said, starting for the house.

Nancy walked beside her and asked the girl if she had ever heard of an old secret connected with the farm. Manda shook her head.

Nancy pursued the subject. "Manda, did you overhear the Hoelts say anything about a mystery connected with the place?"

Again Manda said no. Then Nancy asked her if she had screamed while running in the woods near one of the smaller houses on the property.

Manda smiled. "Oh, that was Mrs. Hoelt," she replied. "She saw a stray dog."

Manda was amazed to learn that the three girls had been so close to the farm such a short time before. When Nancy told her about the attic episode, Manda said this would account for Mr. Hoelt's coming into the house with his hair and clothes very dirty. He had said that he had been in the attic of a relative's house, looking for an old family Bible he had heard about the day before.

The Amish girl opened the rear door of the farmhouse. In the kitchen were just a few pots, pans, and dishes. Manda explained that the Hoelts, had brought in only four cots and the antique furniture, since they planned to redecorate the house completely. The antiques had been stored in two attic storage rooms, because the painters would soon start work.

"Mr. Hoelt told me never to mention the furniture because someone might try to steal it," Manda explained.

George said in disgust, "A clever cover-up."

"Shall we go upstairs now?" Manda asked.

"Yes," said Nancy. "I have a list with me of the furniture stolen from the Follett mansion in River Heights. I'll see if the pieces here appear to be the same ones."

The four girls climbed two flights of stairs to the attic. Here there was a center hall with a window in the rear. A storage room opened off each side of the hall. Nancy noted the heavy Dutch doors, which had unusual locks. They were made of iron and were fully six inches square. An enormous key protruded from each lock, each key with a loop on the end that was as big around as any of Nancy's bracelets.

Manda unlocked one of the doors. In the light from the hallway and from a small ventilator at the far end of the room, the girls could see several pieces of old furniture.

Nancy went from one to another, eying them carefully. After looking them all over, she said, "I'm sure these pieces came from Mrs. Follett's home. But, Manda, none of the George Washington tables is here."