Abner's Escape

Grandpa stood quietly for a few seconds and then spoke to Minnie in a calm, kind voice, "You've joined us but you don't know our customs. In this group we don't start fights, and we don't fight back. We live by biblical principles as taught by Jesus, and with His help, we learn self-control. If you are to be associated with us, we expect you to control yourself, too."

To Herr Markle he said sternly, "Sir, we appreciate your coming to help rescue us, but we most assuredly don't appreciate your *stirring up a child. Whatever we need to know about her, we'll find out soon enough, and whatever we don't need to know about her, we'll thank you to keep to yourself."

While wiping his face to see if it was bleeding, Simon replied angrily, "You can talk that *big feeling talk if you want to, but she's not riding on my wagon."

"I wouldn't ride on your wagon! Not if you paid me," retorted Minnie. Then squinting her eyes and pursing her mouth she added, "You just watch yourself, Uncle Simon."

Everyone got on the wagons, and they proceeded down the road with Simon Markle in the lead. They had gone for about an hour when he stopped his wagon and ran for some bushes along the road. He came back shortly, and they continued, only to stop again in about half an hour, and then again soon after. As soon as they stopped the third time, Abner stood up and saw that Grandpa was asleep in the wagon ahead. Trudy and some of the others were asleep on Simon Markle's lead wagon.

"I believe so half he's got the *skitters," Abner said to Schotzy as he and Reuben stood to see what was going on.

"Ya, he's got the skitters, all right," laughed Minnie. "My mom used to call them the hurry-go-quicks. He's got to hurry because he's got to go quick! That's what he gets for messing with me." She stood up too, then leaned over and picked up the cat.

Abner stared at Minnie a full minute before he asked, "You didn't *behex him, did you?"

"No," Minnie answered, laughing all the harder, "but he thinks I did."

"I don't think that's funny," answered Abner. "You never know what might happen if someone thinks you're a witch. People used to kill anybody they even thought was a witch. I believe so half that in some places they do still."

Minnie shrugged her shoulder and said, "That don't bother me none."

"Well, it should bother you," persisted Abner. "It's trouble you're asking for. That's for sure,"

"Let it go, Abner," said Schotzy, closing his mouth tightly, putting his fingers to his lips, and placing his other hand on his hip. "Let it go."

Reuben nodded his head, put his fingers to his lips, his other hand on his hip, and imitating Schotzy added seriously, "Leg a go." It was so unexpected that the older children burst out laughing just as Simon Markle came out from behind the bushes. Seeing that they were laughing, he flew into a temper.

"You better wouldn't laugh at me, you smart brats." he shouted, shaking his fist at them. This struck them funny, too, and they laughed all the more. With that, he became angrier. "I'll fix the lot of you. I'm not about to carry anyone who is in with that witch. Look at her! She's even got a cat! You saw how she tried to pull my *hairs! I know she's behexed me." He ran to his wagon and shouted even louder, "You're all sinners and troublemakers, and I'll have nothing to do with the lot of you. Get off my wagon. Get off my wagon wunst! Alls I want is youse off my wagon and me out of here fast."

With a speed strengthened by fury, Simon Markle started shoving, shaking, and pulling everyone, their chests, bedrolls, and other belongings, off his wagon and onto the ground. The wagon was empty in no time. He jumped up onto the driver's seat and shouted, "I'll *cook your goose!" With that, he whipped his horses viciously, and was gone before anyone actually took it all in. Grandpa, who had scarcely slept since he left home, slept through it all.

* stirring up: agitating
* big feeling: pompous, arrogant, acting as if one is more important than he is
* skitters: diarrhea
* behex: put a curse or a hex on someone
* hair: The superstition is that if a witch has a lock of a person's hair, the witch has power over that person and can put a hex or curse on him.
* Cook your goose: The term came into being just before John Hus, an early reformer, was burned at the stake in 1415 for emphasizing the role of the Bible in the church's authority and lifting biblical preaching to an important place within the church service. Wycliffe's writings had become well known in Bohemia after the English king, Richard II, married Anne, the sister of the Bohemian king. The archbishop of Prague objected to Hus's teaching Wycliffes's reform-minded writings and threatened him with excommunication if he didn't burn the books and refrain from the teaching them. Hus refused and was burned at the stake. The word hus means goose in Czech.