Amish Country Arson Read Online Free PDF

to it once.”
    “ Sure enough, I'm for that. I'm
bushed,” Hal agreed as they sat on the porch swing.
    When Hal finally felt guilty enough to check
on her aunt, Aunt Tootie was bustling around in the kitchen,
preparing the meal. She chattered to the girls, seated on the
floor. They quietly watched her pace back and forth and listened as
if they knew what she was telling them about each recipe.
    By the time, lunch was ready, the men and
boys were home. First thing on Hal's mind after the noon prayer was
the animal under the porch. “That animal was digging again last
night. We've got to figure out a way to stop it from destroying my
flower bed. What can we do?”
    “ We have a coon trap you could use,”
Noah suggested.
    “ Gute, rig it up and see if the animal
will go in it,” Hal said.
    Daniel grinned at her. “It is probably a
skunk. I caught a faint whiff of skunk odor yesterday near the
porch.”
    “ This isn't funny to me, Daniel. Even
more reason to catch the animal if it's a skunk,” Hal said
urgently.
    “ We figure if the skunk goes in that
trap you should be the one to take him out,” Noah told
her.
    Hal studied him a long moment. “That's not
fair. You're the hunters in this family.”
    “ Coon hunters,” Noah
clarified.
    Aunt Tootie swallowed a mouth full of food
and said, “You might try throwing moth balls under the porch.”
    Nora looked surprised. “Your vast odd and end
knowledge constantly amazes me, sister. Where did that idea come
from?”
    “ Joe Cummings, down the road from me,
did that once to get rid of skunks in his corn crib,” Aunt Tootie
said quickly.
    “ Did it work?” Jim asked.
    Aunt Tootie shrugged. “I never thought to ask
him.”
    Hal smiled at her. “Denki, Aunt Tootie. I can
try the moth balls, but I still want the trap set.”
    Daniel said, “Just remember if you catch a
skunk I will not empty it.”
    “ You shouldn't tease your Mama Hal,”
scolded Nora.
    Noah sided with his brother. “It should be
Mama Hal's job. The skunk is in her flower bed.”
    Nora raised an eyebrow at John for help. He
wiggled his fork at her. “Do not look at me that way. I do not like
to smell like skunk.”
    “ I won't be crazy about it, either, if
that skunk stinks up my bedroom,” grumbled Aunt Tootie narrowing
her eyes at John.
    He shrugged and concentrated on eating.
    Hal met Noah's look squarely. “Fine, I give
up. Just set the old trap for me.”
    “ We will need two fresh eggs,” Daniel
said.
    “ Why?” Hal's voice had an edge to it.
Her hens weren't laying so good at the moment.
    “ That is what a skunk likes to eat. The
eggs lure him into the trap,” Noah explained.
    After the worship service ended, Bishop
Bontrager announced there was a member meeting. When the children
and Hal's relatives left the house, Elton stated to the members it
was time to give of themselves without sparing as the verse in
Proverbs told them.
    The members needed to plan and set the date
for a barn raising frolic to be held in a week and a half. He
informed Emma, as teacher, and the parents that school would be
closed for a few days while the children helped.
    Parents should tell their children to show up
at the site of the burnt barn early a week from Monday morning.
Hopefully, the barn rubble cooled off enough by then to be handled.
The students could clear away the rubble, ashes and foundation
blocks that weren't useful anymore.
    The men loaded the bench wagon that evening.
Instead of taking it to Rudy Briskey's farm for the next worship
service in two weeks, the next morning Luke Yoder drove the wagon
to the Stolfus farm. The benches would be unloaded to use as tables
and seats for the meals during the barn raising.
    The men made plans to order building supplies
in the coming week. Levi Yoder was put in charge of renting a crane
to come out to lift the rafters and walls.
    The bishop announced Jonah Stolfus was in
need of enough hay to last him through the winter since all of his
burnt.