Mandie Collection, The: 4 (76 page)

Mandie stomped her foot as she stood there helplessly looking up
at her cat. Snowball meowed, and then began making his way on up the blade.

“That crazy cat!” Mandie exclaimed in exasperation. “Look at him!”

“Looks like he’s headed for that window up there,” Jonathan remarked.

“We’ll never get him down,” Celia said with a sigh.

Snowball continued to climb, and Mandie decided he would indeed reach the window if he didn’t change direction.

“Snowball!” Mandie called out to him. “Come back down here!”

The kitten turned to look down at his mistress, loudly meowed, and then jumped over onto the ledge of the high window. He sniffed around the opening and then sat down on the narrow frame, meowing loudly again at his mistress below.

“How will we ever get him down?” Celia fussed.

“He got himself up there, let him get down the same way,” Jonathan said in a disgusted tone.

Mandie was worried about her kitten, and still angry with Jonathan about the paint incident. She decided she would have to go up and get Snowball herself. Without even thinking about the height or the danger, she jumped up and managed to catch the edge of the blade. Hanging on with all her might, she worked her way up until she had her feet on the metal network.

“Mandie, please don’t climb any higher,” Celia begged.

“You’ll fall and break every bone,” Jonathan warned. “I’ll come up and help you.” He started to grasp the end of the lower blade.

“No!” Mandie called down to him. “This may not be strong enough to hold both of us. I’ll go myself.”

She wiggled around and managed to move up another few inches. Suddenly the blade began moving. She tightened her grasp to keep from falling and the blade stopped. She tried to move up farther, and found her full skirt was caught on the metal work. Holding on with one hand, she tried to pull her skirt free, but every time she looked down her head began to swim.

Celia waved and called up to her, “Our verse, Mandie, remember our verse!”

Through the loud roar of panic in her head, Mandie heard her friend but couldn’t open her mouth to utter one word.

Celia tried again, “Mandie, ‘What time I am afraid I will put my trust in Thee.’ Can you say it, Mandie?”

“I’ll go get help,” Jonathan muttered.

“No, I’ll go,” Celia said quickly. “You stay here. You might be able to help her in some way because you’re stronger than I am.” She called, “Mandie, I’ll go back to the house and bring someone to help. Hang on!” She lifted her long skirt and raced off through the flower fields.

Mandie tried to see Jonathan below, but she couldn’t move very far because her skirt held her captive. She looked up at Snowball, who was still meowing loudly, and her blue eyes traveled on to the lightening sky. She gazed at the streaks of daylight above and finally found her voice. “ ‘What time I am afraid I will put my trust in Thee,’” she quoted her favorite Bible verse. “Please help me, dear God,” she prayed. Then she closed her eyes and tightened her grasp on the rough metal network. Somehow she would get back down, but she wished she could think of a way to save her precious kitten. Suddenly, Mandie felt a calm come over her and she was able to think again.

“Mandie, let me try coming up to help you,” Jonathan called from below.

“No, I don’t think this thing would hold us both. Besides, the blade has moved up higher, and I don’t think you could reach it,” Mandie told him.

“Well, for goodness’ sake, hold on for all you’re worth, then,” Jonathan replied.

Mandie felt as though she had been hanging on for hours when Celia returned, but, in fact, it had been only a matter of minutes. The sound of horse’s hooves reached Mandie’s ears, and she strained her neck to see who was coming. Then she heard a low bird whistle, and tears of joy ran down her cheeks. It was Uncle Ned. Her father’s dear old Cherokee friend, who had promised to watch over Mandie when Jim Shaw died, was always nearby to fulfill his vow.

“Uncle Ned!” Mandie cried out to him as she heard the horse stop below.

“Papoose, hold tight!” Uncle Ned called up to her as he quickly dismounted and looked around.

“Her skirt is caught. She can’t move up or down,” Celia told the old Indian.

“Take off skirt, Papoose,” Uncle Ned told Mandie without hesitation.

“Take off my skirt? I can’t, Uncle Ned. It’s stuck,” Mandie said as she finally managed to get a slight glimpse of him.

“Yes, you can, Mandie,” Celia told her. “You have on a skirt and waist. All you have to do is unbutton the waistband and let the skirt fall.”

Mandie thought about that for a second and said, “I’ll try.”

“Hold tight with one hand,” Uncle Ned cautioned her. “Unbutton skirt with other. Careful.”

Mandie slowly released one hand and immediately felt her weight pull on the other hand. She grasped the metal again and then tried moving one hand once more to her skirt. With stiff fingers she finally found the button, and gritting her teeth and holding her breath she pulled until she felt the band come apart and the long heavy skirt began sliding down. She quickly grasped the metal again with both hands.

“Papoose, move up a bit. Must get out of skirt,” Uncle Ned directed. “Careful.”

Mandie took a deep breath and did as he told her. She managed to slide up out of the skirt, and it fell away and hung on the blade. Fortunately, her petticoat was not caught. She was free. She would go after Snowball. She couldn’t leave him up there.

“Now, Papoose, come down to end of blade. I catch Papoose,” the old Indian told her.

“I can’t, Uncle Ned. I’ve got to get Snowball,” Mandie wailed.

“No. Papoose come down. I get Snowball,” Uncle Ned said firmly. “Come down, Papoose.”

She trusted Uncle Ned. He would get Snowball down for her. She glanced up at the white kitten who was crying loudly.

“Just wait, Snowball,” she called to him, and then began slowly working her way down the metal network of the blade.

“Slow, Papoose,” Uncle Ned spoke again to her.

Mandie finally reached the end of the blade but found that she was much higher in the air than before because the blade had moved upward. It was too far to swing off onto the ground.

Uncle Ned also realized she was too high for him to reach her. “Stop, Papoose. Hold tight,” he told her.

He quickly brought his horse beneath the end of the blade, and then jumping onto the horse’s back he stood straight up and easily reached the frightened girl.

Mandie’s tears wet the shoulder of Uncle Ned’s deerskin jacket as he held her tight and stepped down to the ground.

Mandie still clung to him and said in a trembling voice, “Oh, Uncle Ned, I’m always so glad to see you, but I think this morning I was more glad than ever.”

Uncle Ned squeezed her tight and then helped her to sit on a log. Celia stooped to put an arm around her, while Jonathan nervously kicked the sand nearby.

“Papoose, sit here. I go after white kitten now,” Uncle Ned told her.

Mandie watched as once again the old Indian climbed onto his horse’s back. He reached the end of the windmill blade easily, and quickly worked his way up to where Snowball was making such a fuss. At first the kitten backed away, but Uncle Ned managed to pick him up by the scruff of his neck and set him on his shoulder. The kitten clung to the deerskin jacket as the old Indian made his way down. Mandie jumped up to catch him as Uncle Ned passed the kitten down to her.

“Now we go,” Uncle Ned announced as he stepped to the ground.

Mandie suddenly remembered she was only wearing her heavy white petticoat. She gasped and said, “Uncle Ned, my skirt is still hanging on the blade.”

As they all looked upward, the blades began moving slowly until the one with the skirt hanging on it was high above the others.

“Who move the blade?” Uncle Ned asked. “Miller is here?”

“No, Uncle Ned, we haven’t seen him—” Mandie began.

“I told you why we were here, Uncle Ned,” Celia reminded him.

“Yes, to find miller,” the old Indian replied. “But someone move blades. Not move alone.”

“You’re right,” Mandie agreed. “The blades are supposed to be locked into position, and they couldn’t just move like that.”

“Not unless there’s something wrong with the mechanism,” Jonathan added.

“We find what make blades move,” Uncle Ned decided as he walked around looking for the door.

“It’s this way,” Jonathan said, leading them around the structure.

As they rounded the building toward the door, Mandie heard someone running. She raced ahead to see who it was, but only saw the bushes move in the field, and then looked back to find the door standing open—the same door that had been locked earlier.

“There was someone here!” she exclaimed, holding on to Snowball.

“And whoever it was ran away,” Jonathan added.

Uncle Ned moved through the doorway and Mandie and her friends followed. The sun was coming up now and lighted the interior of the mill. Mandie heard a slight meow from the corner, and the big gray cat came bounding out and through the door. She had to secure Snowball tightly to keep him from following.

As they moved farther into the mill, Mandie spotted someone lying in the corner on the floor. She stepped forward and bent for a better look. “It’s Mr. Van Dongen!” Mandie exclaimed.

The others crowded around as Uncle Ned stooped to examine the man. His hands and feet were tied up and there was a gag in his mouth, but he seemed to be awake. When Uncle Ned was near enough for the man to see him, he attempted to yell through the gag. The old Indian quickly took a knife from his pocket and cut the ropes that bound his wrists and ankles. Then he removed the gag.

“Mr. Van Dongen, are you all right?” Mandie asked anxiously, bending over the miller as Uncle Ned helped him sit up.

“Water,” the man managed to say.

“There’s a pump outside,” Mandie said to Jonathan.

“I’ll get some,” the boy volunteered.

Mr. Van Dongen was trying to get the circulation back into his hands and feet, and Uncle Ned helped massage them.

Jonathan rushed back in with a pail of water and a dipper and hurried to give the man a drink of water. Mr. Van Dongen drank some of it, and then poured the rest over his face, all the while keeping his eyes on Uncle Ned.

Mandie and Celia stooped nearby, and Mandie asked, “Mr. Van Dongen, who did this to you?”

The man looked at Mandie, puzzled, and she remembered that she was in her petticoat. She straightened it self-consciously.

“It was all a misunderstanding,” Mr. Van Dongen said, trying to get to his feet.

Uncle Ned helped to steady him, and the miller finally asked, “You are a real American Indian?”

“Cherokee, sir,” Uncle Ned said. “Friend of Jim Shaw, father of Papoose,” he said, nodding at Mandie. “We walk now,” he urged the man.

Mr. Van Dongen looked again at Mandie, and then allowed Uncle Ned to escort him from the mill.

“How long have you been in here, Mr. Van Dongen?” Jonathan asked.

“Long enough to know better next time,” the Dutchman replied.

“Mr. Van Dongen, we heard someone run away when we came to the door,” Celia told him.

“Yes, and the door was open. It was locked before I got caught on the windmill blade,” Mandie said.

“Caught on the windmill blade?” the miller asked, hobbling forward.

Mandie explained. “When I started up after Snowball, someone moved the blade and my skirt got caught. I hope you don’t mind. It’s still hanging up there.”

“Go home now,” Mr. Van Dongen said. “We’ll worry about the skirt and this whole incident tomorrow.” He shook his head. “You had better go get another skirt on before your grandmother catches you.”

His remark brought a laugh from all three young people.

“But, Mr. Van Dongen, you never did tell us what happened,” Mandie insisted.

“We’ve been checking to see if you were home. We were worried about you. Have you been in the mill all this time?” Jonathan asked.

The Dutchman took a key from his pocket, unlocked the door to his house, and said, “Good-night. It may be morning, but I intend to get a good night’s sleep. Good day.” He stepped inside and closed the door.

“We go now,” Uncle Ned said simply.

“When did you get here, Uncle Ned?” Mandie asked. “I’ve been waiting for you to arrive.”

“Late last night,” the old Indian said.

“He was up early, and was in the yard when I went back to the house for help,” Celia explained.

“I’m so glad you came when you did,” Mandie said, reaching to squeeze the old man’s hand. “Thank you.”

“Papoose must learn to think,” Uncle Ned repeated his familiar advice. “Think before doing.”

“I know it’s kind of late, but I’m doing a lot of thinking right now, Uncle Ned,” Mandie told him. “Things could have been really awful if you hadn’t arrived. And I’m also thinking about Mr. Van Dongen. He didn’t want to talk to us about whatever happened to him, and I wonder why.”

“And who was it that ran away from the door to the mill?” Jonathan wondered aloud.

“We’ll eventually find all the answers,” Mandie assured him, giving Uncle Ned a big smile.

CHAPTER TEN

WHERE DID EVERYBODY GO?

Back at the house, Mandie barely got into her room before Mrs. Taft, on her way downstairs, tapped on the girls’ door and called to them, “Amanda, Celia, time for breakfast.”

Mandie dropped Snowball onto the carpet and ran into the bathroom. Celia opened their door slightly and smiled at Mrs. Taft. “Yes, ma’am, we’ll be right down.”

Mrs. Taft kept going, and Celia quickly closed the door.

“Mandie, please hurry,” Celia called to her through the bathroom door.

Mandie cleaned up and put on fresh clothes while Celia changed hers. Snowball washed himself methodically on the carpet.

“I’m so glad Uncle Ned is finally here,” Mandie said as she pulled on clean stockings. “We need his help to solve some of this mystery.”

“I hope somebody can figure out what’s going on,” Celia replied. She brushed out her long auburn hair.

“There is something that Mr. Van Dongen doesn’t want to tell us,” Mandie said. Turning to look at her friend she added, “Come to think of it, I wonder where Albert is? He must be gone somewhere or he would have found his father!”