All God's Children Read Online Free PDF Page A

are younger?”
    “By two years. Twins, although they look nothing alike. Fred is married. He and his wife are expecting their first child in the spring. Theo is a farmer in Wisconsin like my father.”
    He took a bite of his supper and then turned his attention to Frau Schneider. “This is the best meal I have had in some time,” he said. “Thank you for inviting me to dine with you and your family.”
    “It is our pleasure,” she replied without meeting his gaze. “The professor tells me that you were one of his best students.”
    Every word was measured before she uttered it. The woman was definitely a bundle of nerves.
    “I am flattered to hear that he thought as much. Your husband had many gifted students. He was one of—”
    “Herr Doktor,” Liesl said, tapping her fork against her plate to gain his attention, “do you know what else my teacher told us today?”
    “What?”
    The girl lowered her voice and leaned toward him as if about to share a secret. “She told us that there could be some of us whose parents might not follow all the new rules so we needed to be sure that if we saw them doing something that wasn’t right, we should tell them about the rules. And if that didn’t make them do right, then we needed to tell our teacher or the
Blockwart.”
    “Liesl!” Frau Schneider hissed. “The doctor was speaking. Do not interrupt.”
    The girl frowned, slouched back onto the bench, and took a bite of her sandwich. Josef glanced at Beth, who was looking down at her barely touched plate of food.
    “They are in the military—your brothers?” It was an impertinent question, and Josef regretted it the moment he heard the shocked intake of Ilse Schneider’s breath.
    “We are Quakers, Doctor,” Beth said, reverting to English.
    Silence pervaded the room, making the scratch of forks on crockery all the more pronounced. Josef felt compelled to say something that might ease the tension. “I have always wondered why the name Quakers.”
    “Members of the Religious Society of Friends—Freunde,” the professor explained, clearly relieved to have moved on to this topic. “Our faith is rooted in the tenets of silent prayer and individual inner searching rather than those of ceremony and sermon. As for being called—”
    “We’re different,” Liesl announced. “My teacher says being different is not a good thing.”
    Professor Schneider cleared his throat, and the child gave a shrug and drank her milk.
    “But why Quaker?” Josef asked.
    “In the past, some early worshippers were said to have developed a habit of being so overcome by the spirit within that they were said to ‘quake.’”
    Josef had to hide a smile as he recognized the voice his mentor used when he lectured.
    “For some time it was a term of contempt, as people of our faith were persecuted for their beliefs,” Franz continued. “These days…”
    Ilse Schneider’s fork clattered to her plate, and Josef saw that she had suddenly gone quite pale. Her husband ducked his head and continued eating without completing his sentence.
    Beth stood up and began gathering the serving dishes. “To answer your original question, Herr Doktor, my brothers are required to register for military service, but they have the option to refuse to serve for religious reasons. We do not believe that war is an answer,” she explained without looking at him. But then she paused in her clearing of the table and met his eyes defiantly. “We will not do battle either for the kingdom of God or the kingdoms of men.”
    In spite of the charged atmosphere around the table, Josef could not seem to control his curiosity or his tongue. “Your government allows such a thing?” It was well known that in Germany refusal to serve on any grounds was punishable by imprisonment—or worse.
    “Dessert?” Ilse Schneider’s voice was high-pitched with a warning that they should cease this dangerous discussion at once. “Why don’t you take our guest into the