Nancy and Bess wondered. Since he had pronounced it a dangerous place from which people had disappeared, it was unlikely that he would reveal its location. Nancy, however, finally persuaded him to tell her where the place was. He hesitated a long time, then finally said, “Go four miles north from here. You will see a lane running through a field that has not been tilled for years. The road is overgrown and rutty. Nobody uses it, but you can’t miss it if you keep your eyes open.” On a hunch Nancy asked whether there was another house on the property some distance from the main building. Groeszdawdi Esch nodded, saying that the old Hoelt family had several children. The father had built houses for them in several locations on the property. “Was one of the women named Rachel Hoelt?” Nancy asked. The old man looked at her searchingly and asked how she happened to know of a Rachel Hoelt, who had died fifty years before. Nancy said that she had seen an old Bible with the name in it.
