Mandie Collection, The: 4 (21 page)

“You won’t have much time at home, you know,” Mrs. Taft reminded her. “You and Celia will have to go back to school just a few days after we get home.”

“My mother said I’d only have time to get packed at home in Richmond, then return to school in Asheville,” Celia said.

“I don’t even know what I’ll be doing,” Jonathan said, “whether my father will come and take me home, or whether I’ll stay with my aunt and uncle when they get back to Paris. You girls should be thankful you know what you will do.” He looked a little sad as he stood up to gaze out the huge window nearby.

At that moment the housekeeper opened the door and ushered in the maid with the tea cart. Mandie tried to see what was on the trays.

Mrs. Taft asked, “Will the new guests be in for tea?”

Mrs. Hedgewick frowned. “They are still resting it seems—taking tea in their rooms. Surely they will be down for the evening meal.”

“I was just wondering if I might know them,” Mrs. Taft said. “Are they Americans?”

The maid placed a tray on the small table in front of her. “No, madam,” Mrs. Hedgewick replied. “They come from France. Their name is Bagatelle.”

“Bagatelle,” Mrs. Taft repeated. “No, I don’t believe I know anyone by that name.”

“I do not know them either, madam,” Mrs. Hedgewick said. “I have never seen them before nor heard the Thalers mention their name.” She inspected the trays and asked, “Is everything satisfactory, madam?”

“Yes, it is, thank you,” Mrs. Taft replied.

“Then we will leave you to enjoy your tea,” the housekeeper said, motioning to the maid to leave the room with her.

Mrs. Taft leaned forward to pour the tea. The young people readily accepted the sweet cakes. They hadn’t realized how hungry they were after their long walk. Mandie gave Snowball some crumbs on the hearth.

“My curiosity is stirred,” Mrs. Taft said, passing out the cups of
tea. “I wonder just who these people are. You’d think the housekeeper would have at least heard of them.”

Senator Morton took a sip of the hot tea and said, “If they ever decide to be sociable and come down to eat, maybe we’ll find out more about them.”

“Maybe your aunt and uncle know them,” Mandie suggested to Jonathan between bites of the delicious cake. “They come from France.”

Jonathan laughed and said, “France is a big country, Mandie. Remember?”

“But your kinpeople are newspaper people. And newspaper people know almost everybody, don’t they?” Mandie said.

Jonathan smiled at her and said, “Not quite. But if it will give you any satisfaction, I’ll ask them if they know my relatives—that is, if we ever get to meet these strangers.”

Senator Morton changed the subject. “I understand there is an observation room at the top of the chalet. Would you youngsters like to help me find it?”

The three friends beamed and responded, “Oh, yes, please!”

Mandie caught a warning glance from Uncle Ned, and she knew what he was thinking. They weren’t to go poking into anything that didn’t concern them.

“Are you coming with us, Uncle Ned?” Mandie asked.

He smiled at her and nodded. “I go with Papoose.”

“And I will be resting in my suite while you people traipse around,” Mrs. Taft announced.

Everyone rose and Mandie scooped Snowball into her arms.

They asked directions from the housekeeper, who told them the observation room was at the top of the west wing. They had to pass Mrs. Taft’s and Senator Morton’s suites to get there, so Mandie’s grandmother went with them as far as the door to her suite.

“We are headed toward the back of the house,” Mandie remarked as they walked down the hallway. “Uncle Ned, do you think this observation room connects with the tower?”

“No, Papoose,” the Indian said, holding a heavy door open that divided the corridor. “This room is to left, tower is to right.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Mandie agreed. “We’re headed for the corner, and the tower is in the center of the original part of the house.

“I wonder why they have an observation room and a tower,” Celia asked. “Don’t they both serve the same purpose—observing the grounds around the chalet?”

Senator Morton answered her as they opened another door and discovered a set of steep steps. “You’re right. However, I understand the tower is in unstable condition and needs a lot of work done on it before it can be used. The room we’re headed for is much newer.”

The three young people stole quick glances at each other. Mandie thought Senator Morton might be right about why the tower was closed off, but it certainly didn’t look unstable from the outside.
We have to find a way to explore it
, Mandie thought.

Senator Morton led the way up the steep, narrow staircase. Mandie carried her white kitten.

At the top, they emerged into a large room with floor-length windows on two sides. The windows were all open, and fresh clean air filled the room. There was an assortment of antique furniture, including a couch placed in front of the windows, where one could sit and view the landscape. Chairs and tables with ornate candlesticks completed the furnishings. A multicolored carpet covered most of the stone floor. The walls were of smooth, gray stone.

The young people quickly surveyed the room and walked to the floor-length windows at the back side of the house. A small balcony extended out from the window, without any railing. A gable of the roof met the bottom of the balcony.

Celia quickly stepped back. “It’s too high for me, and nothing to hold on to if you should fall!”

“Oh, yes. Please be careful,” Senator Morton cautioned them as he and Uncle Ned joined them at the window briefly, then walked to the other side.

Mandie let Snowball down and held firmly to his leash, while she and Jonathan quietly discussed the room.

“These are thick stone walls. I don’t see any way to get in and out of here except by the stairs,” Mandie said.

Jonathan leaned forward to look over the balcony. “Unless you could climb from this balcony onto the roof. You might come up somewhere near the windows of the tower.”

Mandie followed his gaze, trying to see what he saw without
leaning over the balcony. “Maybe, but it sure would be scary. One slip and you’d fall a long way.”

“You’d have to use ropes, like mountain climbers use. That way, if you slipped you’d have something to hang on to,” Jonathan said.

“I’d rather find another way to get into the tower,” Mandie said. “Besides, where would we get the ropes?”

“I saw some rope in the stables,” Jonathan replied, as he stepped away from the window and collided with Celia. “Sorry.”

“Y’all are not really going to climb out on that roof, are you?”she asked.

Mandie tried to sound nonchalant. “We might, if we can’t find another way to get into the tower. But you don’t have to go with us, Celia, if you’re afraid.”

Celia moved closer between her friends and looked out. “It looks awfully steep.”

“Look! There’s that gardener watching us again,” Mandie said excitedly, pointing to a man behind a large tree below. The man, half hidden by the trunk, was definitely looking in their direction.

As the three crowded closer to get a glimpse, the man disappeared into the woods.

“I wonder why he watches us?” Mandie mused.

“Maybe we’ll get a chance to ask him why,” Jonathan said.

“Maybe he never see Indian before.” Uncle Ned was suddenly behind them.

The three turned in surprise. They hadn’t heard Uncle Ned approach.

“That’s probably why he’s always staring,” Mandie agreed.

“I don’t like the idea of his watching us,” Jonathan said.

Neither do I
, Mandie thought.
The gardener might catch us out on the roof heading for the tower! How can we stop him from spying on us?

CHAPTER FIVE

LOOKING FOR AN ENTRANCE

After their visit to the observation room, Celia suggested they go to the stables to find out if there were horses they could ride. Uncle Ned agreed to go with them, but Senator Morton said he would rest until it was time for the evening meal. Mandie took Snowball with her.

Eckart was cleaning the stables while the horses were all outside. When he saw the four guests approaching, he stopped sweeping.

Mandie spoke for her friends. “Eckart, are there some horses we could ride?” Snowball strained on his leash to explore the stable.

“I’m afraid not, miss,” Eckart replied, glancing at Uncle Ned. “You see, the horses are not ridden much here, and they would be difficult to handle.”

Jonathan spoke up, “But we’ve all ridden enough to know how to handle a horse.”

“What shall we do, Uncle Ned?” Mandie asked. “Where is the horse you rode from town?”

“Outside.” Uncle Ned pointed to the paddock. “We must walk.”

“But what about the cart?” Mandie asked. “Eckart, could we please have the cart and pony, please? We won’t be gone long. Uncle Ned can drive us around the property.”

Eckart looked curiously at Uncle Ned, then asked, “Is he your uncle?”

Mandie laughed and said, “No, not really. He’s my dearest friend, and since he is lots older than I am, I call him Uncle Ned. In fact, everyone calls him Uncle Ned.”

“But,” Celia told the stable boy, “Mandie is really part Cherokee Indian, like Uncle Ned’s people.”

“You are an Indian?” Eckart asked Mandie with surprise.

“My grandmother was Cherokee. That makes me one-fourth Indian,” Mandie explained proudly.

“I see,” Eckart said.

Jonathan spoke up, “Well, are you going to let us use the cart?”

“Oh, yes, of course,” Eckart quickly responded. “I’ll get it ready.”

Mandie and her friends waited while Eckart got the pony from the paddock and harnessed him to the cart.

Uncle Ned stepped up and took the reins as Celia and Jonathan hopped onto the backseat. Mandie, holding firmly to Snowball, sat up front with Uncle Ned.

“Well, where are we going?” Celia asked.

“Just for a ride around the property,” Mandie replied. She turned to Eckart. “How will we recognize the borders of the Thaler estate?”

“That will be easy. There’s a split-rail fence all the way around the Thalers’ holdings,” Eckart explained. “But let me warn you; the property is quite large. Don’t get lost! He pointed to a trail that led off behind the stables. “That trail goes completely around the property.”

“Thanks,” Mandie replied. “With Uncle Ned along we won’t get lost. We’ll be back soon.”

Everyone waved to Eckart as Uncle Ned drove the cart down the trail.

They rode through trees and shrubs and came into an open meadow filled with brilliantly colored flowers in full bloom. In the distance they could see the snow-covered Alps. Nearby was a branch of the lake they had visited earlier.

The scenery was so overwhelming to Mandie that she excitedly asked Uncle Ned, “Can we please stop and walk through those beautiful flowers and smell the blossoms? They are
so
gorgeous!”

Uncle Ned smiled and drew the cart to a halt. The young people jumped down as he tethered the pony to a fencepost. Mandie handed Snowball’s leash to Uncle Ned, and raised her long skirts to wade through the thickly growing blooms, stopping here and there to bend and
smell the fragrance. Celia and Jonathan followed. Uncle Ned walked Snowball around the cart and waited for them.

“Did you ever see such flowers?” Mandie excitedly asked her friends.

“Not this many at one time,” Celia said.

“Not solid fields of them like this,” Jonathan added.

As the three bent over to inspect a flower they had never seen before, a sudden angry voice brought them upright.

“Stop!” the male voice boomed nearby. “Do not touch!”

The young people spun around to see the gardener staring at them. Mandie recognized him as the one who had watched them from below when they were in the observation room, but he looked much older now. He was a tall man, and his chubby face was distorted with anger.

“We were just looking,” Mandie explained.

“Do not walk among the flowers!” the man said. “Get back on the trail!”

Uncle Ned walked over to them to see what was going on. The man saw him approach and was visibly shaken.

“An Indian!” the gardener gasped, backing away from them. “Go! Now!”

“Come, Papoose,” Uncle Ned told Mandie. “We go now.”

Mandie looked at Uncle Ned, then turned to the gardener. “Why do you spy on us? We see you everywhere.”

“I am not a spy. I am the guard of the chalet,” the man replied, and quickly disappeared into the trees.

Everyone climbed back into the cart.

“So he is a
guard
,” Mandie said, taking Snowball into her lap.

“He must have thought we were going to pick the flowers,” Celia fussed.

“He was angry,” Jonathan commented, “but he was also intimidated by Uncle Ned.”

Uncle Ned straightened his deerskin jacket and said, “Man not like Indian.” He picked up the reins and they were on their way again.

“I’m sorry, Uncle Ned. Maybe they don’t have Indians here in Switzerland. I don’t think they dislike you. You’re just different to them,” Mandie said.

“Big God made Indian,” Uncle Ned said, reaching to clasp Mandie’s
hand in his old wrinkled one. “Always, Papoose, be proud what Big God made.”

Mandie tightened her hand in his, smiled up at him and said, “I am, Uncle Ned. I’m proud God made me part Indian. I’m proud of all my Cherokee kinpeople. I just wish people wouldn’t act so funny around Indians.”

“I don’t act strange around Indians,” Jonathan announced.

“Neither do I, Mandie,” Celia added.

Uncle Ned quickly swung the cart around in a wide place in the trail and headed back the way they had come. He laughed and said, “Now we find way back.”

Everyone laughed.

“That’s easy,” Jonathan said. “We just go back the way we came.”

“But Uncle Ned knows how to find his way anywhere,” Mandie said proudly. “He taught me how to mark bushes along a trail, and how to tell direction by the sun and the way the creeks flow, and so many other things.”

As they rode back toward the chalet, Jonathan leaned forward and asked Uncle Ned, “Tell me, do you think there could possibly be some secret way out of the observation room into the tower?”