Andy (12 page)

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Authors: Mary Christner Borntrager

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

BOOK: Andy
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Page 96
Andy didn't want any lunch. He dreaded seeing Shep again, but he would rather bury him than leave him to the vultures.
A plan was forming in Andy's mind. If the Swartz boys got away with this, and if his dad still gave them the benefit of the doubt, Andy knew what he would do.
He wasn't going to tell anyone, not his mother or sisters. No, not even Aire. She wouldn't want to see him anymore if she knew of his plan. It might be best that way.
 
Page 97
18
What about Andy ?
The house was quiet except for sounds floating through the open window, the chirping of tree frogs, and an occasional hoot from a screech owl. Andy lay in bed thinking of the events of the last several weeks.
The Swartz boys emphatically denied killing his dog. He knew they would. It seemed to Andy that his Dad believed Joey and Johnny.
"Well then," said Andy softly to himself, "let Joey or Johnny work for Dad. I'm going to see the world. No need staying around here where I'm not appreciated. I'm going to be a drifter like Cloyce was and see me some sights."
Andy knew it was a bad time of the year to leave. There was wheat to be planted, second-cutting hay to bring in, and corn to cut in a few weeks. But he would not let that stop him. A roving man is what he would be.
The words of a song Cloyce Rader sang drifted back
 
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to him. "Give me land, lots of land under starry skies above. Don't fence me in." That was all he remembered. His mind was made up. He'd leave this very night.
Andy tried to remember what Cloyce carried. He removed a pillowcase from one of his pillows. Then he thought about the guitar, and wished he had a musical instrument to take along. Somehow he would learn to play it like Cloyce did.
Quietly Andy pulled open a dresser drawer. He took two clean shirts and put them into the empty pillowcase. Socks and underwear were added to the list. He threw in a comb and a toothbrush, then stuffed in a spare pair of trousers to complete what he thought was sufficient.
His eyes momentarily looked at the Bible on his bedside stand. It had been a gift from his parents on his twelfth birthday. Should he take it? For a second Andy hesitated. Then he reached out, took it, and put it deep inside his makeshift bag. Just in case I want something to read, Andy reasoned.
Now he had one more decision to make. Should he leave a note? Andy really did love his parents, although like other Amish, he didn't say much about it. After all, actions speak louder than words.
There was no paper or pencil in Andy's bedroom. He didn't want to chance taking some from the living room desk. He noticed his flashlight, which he surely didn't want to leave behind.
Stepping softly in his sock feet, flashlight in one hand and belongings in the other, he made his way downstairs. On the way out he grabbed his jacket from
 
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the hook by the back door. Then he sat on the edge of the porch to put on his shoes.
As he reached the gate, there lay a piece of paper. Andy saw it plainly by moonlight. It was a receipt from the grain elevator in town. He took it to the shop, placed it backside up on the workbench, and in the glow of the flashlight, he scribbled hurriedly.
Mom and Dad
Don't worry. 
   I'll be all right. 
Just had to get away. 
   Andy
He returned to the house and quickly and quietly placed the note inside the kitchen screen door. Without so much as a backward glance, he was gone.
"Was is das
(what is this)?" Lizzie said, picking up a piece of paper from the kitchen floor. She was getting ready to prepare breakfast when she saw it. Jake had opened the stairway door and was calling Andy to get up to help with the chores.
"I don't see why that boy doesn't answer. Looks like it'll be a nice day, and we should get in the field early. Andy, come on!" he called again.
"Ach, Jake, look at this." Lizzie handed him the note that Andy left for them.
"Nah!" Jake exclaimed. "It can't be." He made his way upstairs to Andy's room. It was empty.
The girls heard that something was amiss. Esther and Fannie came out of their room. Ordinarily Dad never came upstairs.
 
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"What is it, Dad?" they asked. "Is someone sick?"
"It's Andy," Jake moaned in a voice barely audible. "He's gone."
"Gone?" gasped Esther. "Gone where?"
"I don't know. He left during the night."
The girls and Lizzie had to go to Andy's bedroom to see for themselves. They just couldn't believe it.
"I'll help chore this morning," Esther said.
"If Mom can spare me, I'll help in the field in Andy's place," Fannie offered.
"First thing," Jake remarked, "I'm going over to Lester's, and I'll see if his boys know anything about this.
"This will be hard on Grandpa and Grandma. They thought a lot of Andy. Maybe if he hadn't been teased so much. . . . Perhaps it seemed to Andy as if I took the word of others instead of believing him."
"We must not blame ourselves," Lizzie said, wiping tears. "We did what we thought best."
No one was hungry at breakfast. Work had to be done, and so each one mechanically helped.
The Lester Swartz family was shocked at the news.
"Ever since Andy found his dog shot through the head, he was not the same," Jake told Lester and his boys. "He refused to eat and I was worried. That boy was always a big eater. Lately he was moody and losing weight.
"Now he's gone, and I don't know what to make of it. Are you boys sure you don't know anything about this? You had nothing to do with killing Shep? Did Andy make any threats about running away?"
"No, we didn't have anything to do with putting
 
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Shep out of the way,'' Johnny Swartz answered. "But I must say I had promised Joey here I would if he caught Old Salty. I'm ashamed to admit that I made such a bet.
"But I did not do it, and I don't know who did. I never heard Andy say anything about leaving. Did you, Joey?"
"Nope," answered Joey. "I didn't. Maybe he left because we called him names. Now I wish we hadn't."
Both boys felt I'll at ease and avoided looking at their neighbor.
"We will hope and pray. Perhaps he'll change his mind and come back soon," Jake said.
"Ya,
mir hoffe
(we hope)," Lester agreed.
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
But what about Andy? Where was he going? He had taken no food, and his family guessed that he had only two or three dollars in his pocket.
His parents and siblings wondered how he was getting along.
"I only hope our prayers will follow him," Lizzie told her family.
 
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19
Life of a Rover
The sun was not far above the horizon when Andy woke up. He felt as if he had walked for many miles.
Away in the distance, he heard a train whistle for a crossing. He wondered if that could be the six-thirty freight. Checking his pocket watch, he saw it was indeed six-thirty.
Andy had walked until three in the morning. He found a soft patch of mossy grass in Grover's Woods and laid down to rest a bit.
He pulled his jacket tightly around him and used some brush and leaves for cover. Finally he fell asleep, worn out from working all day and hiking at night.
Now he was startled by the sunrise. Dew clung to his hair and clothes, and he shivered.
Andy talked to himself: "I'll warm up soon enough, once I start walking. Wouldn't it be something now if I met Cloyce while I'm rambling around!
"Until I'm further from home, I'll stick to back roads
 
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and woods. People in this area might recognize me. By tonight I might be near Breck's Crossing, and if I'm lucky I can catch a train there."
Cloyce had told Andy how he had hopped a freight several times. Andy thought it sounded so exciting. He remembered the very words as though hearing them again this morning.
"Yes sir, boy," Cloyce had told him. "That's some adventure. You hear the whistle blow a long way off. It's best to hop a freight at night. When you hear that lonesome whistle, make your run for the crossing. Stay out of sight until she stops to take on water."
Andy wondered why Cloyce always referred to a train as "she." He hadn't questioned him about it.
"Watch the billy as he checks the boxcars. If you see a car carryin' hay or straw, grab it. Don't take an empty oneno place to hide. Steer clear of the billy."
The billy was the man riding the caboose. He made his rounds when the train stopped and checked for drifters stealing a ride. He carried a big stick called a billy club, and that's how he got his name.
In midmorning Andy was passing an apple orchard. Apples were ripe and smelled sweet in the sunshine. There was no house in sight.
For the first time, Andy felt hungry. For the first time, he did something he had never done before. Reaching across the fence, he took that which did not belong to him.
He slipped half a dozen apples into his makeshift knapsack and began to eat one as he walked. Yet even as he did so, he remembered words of wisdom passed down in his family and drilled into him at home:

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