Mandie Collection, The: 8 (21 page)

“If you want to go straight to see Mr. Smith, we could cut through the woods, which would be faster than going down the trail,” Joe told her as they walked on.

“Good idea,” Mandie said. “That way I’ll have a few minutes longer to visit with Mr. Smith.”

They still had to cross back over both the rivers, but when they got to the other side, Joe led the way through a dense forest. Mandie had to pick Snowball up and carry him. There was barely enough room to walk between the bushes here and there, and she didn’t want
him to get away again. Therefore, they didn’t go back by the mica mound.

Mandie had never been on the route Joe was taking her. Nothing was familiar to her. She called to him as he walked ahead, pushing back bushes, “Are you sure you know where you are going?”

Joe stopped to look back at her, grinned, and said, “I know every crack and corner of this countryside around here. Are you worried that we might be lost?”

Mandie smiled at him and replied, “No, not lost, just going around in circles maybe. Do you really think this is a shortcut?”

Joe was standing still, looking at her, as he said, “Sure it’s a shortcut. I’ve been through here many times. Remember, I grew up in this countryside. We’re going to come out not far behind your father’s property.”

“If you say so,” Mandie agreed as Joe started on and she followed, holding tightly to Snowball. She hoped he was right.

The two walked on awhile longer. Conversation was impossible with Joe going ahead, making a trail, and Mandie dodging limbs to keep from getting scratched and keeping Snowball grasped in her arms as he tried to get down. She was sorry she had not insisted on going back the way they had come. It might be longer but at least it was easy walking.

Just as a briar caught Mandie’s coat, causing her to pause to break it loose, Joe suddenly stopped and yelled back, “Stop! Wait!” He didn’t look back at her and grabbed his rifle off his shoulder.

Mandie held her breath as she froze in her tracks and watched. “What is it?” she asked in a loud whisper. She held tightly to her white cat.

Joe didn’t answer but quickly fired his rifle at the bushes ahead of him. Then he slowly moved forward, keeping his eyes on the distant underbrush. Snowball growled and stuck his claws in the shoulder of Mandie’s coat.

Mandie felt her heart start pounding. Some danger lurked ahead. She held her breath and didn’t move as she watched Joe.

Then Joe suddenly turned around with a big grin on his face. “I got him!” he yelled back to her.

Mandie finally stepped forward. “What was it?” she asked.

Joe hurried back to her and said, “Just what Mrs. Miller told us to
watch out for. A snake!” he touched her arm to turn her around. “Now let’s cut through over here. This way,” he said, leading her away from the place where he had shot the snake.

Mandie started trembling in spite of herself and said in a shaky voice, “A snake! Oh, Joe, I’m so glad you brought your rifle. Don’t you think we ought to get out of these woods?”

“That’s exactly what we’re doing,” Joe explained, still holding her arm. “There’s an opening through here where we can reach the road.”

In a moment Mandie saw the break in the bushes and the main road beyond. She felt so relieved, but she couldn’t stop herself from shaking a little. She allowed Joe to guide her out onto the road, and once there she stopped and took a deep breath and said, trying to smile, “End of our journey through the woods, right?”

“Yes, I’m sorry, Mandie,” Joe said, suddenly moving his hand from her arm to put it around her shoulders and squeeze hard.

Mandie felt her face flush and she tried to smile as she said, “It wasn’t your fault. Neither one of us knew it would be there, but thanks to Mrs. Miller’s warning you were prepared.” She quickly moved away from his arm and added, “Now let’s get on our way to see Mr. Jacob Smith.”

Joe instantly fell into step with her and they hurried down the road. The sun was already dropping near the top of the mountain. Pretty soon it would begin to get shadowy with the sunshine gone, even though it was not that late in the day. Not long after that, the darkness of the night would envelop the place.

When they finally reached the intersection of the road to her father’s house, Mandie quickened her steps and kept her gaze ahead, watching for the log cabin to come into sight. And when she finally saw the chimney through the trees, she caught her breath and hurried still faster until she came to the lane where the old house stood.

“Oh, Joe, Mr. Smith has fixed things up,” she declared as she looked around, going down the lane. Everything looked nice and neat and well kept—the yard, the old barn, and the house itself.

“Yes, he has,” Joe agreed, following her to the front porch.

Mandie felt tears come into her blue eyes as she stepped up to knock on the front door. She had so many happy memories of living here with her father until his death. In her mind she could see him
stopping his work on the rail fence to wave to her when she came home from school every day. And she noticed that Mr. Smith had finished the fence as she glanced across the yard. Finally she raised her hand and knocked. There was no answer.

“I’m afraid he must be gone,” Joe told her as she knocked again.

Mandie knocked a third time. Finally she turned back to Joe. “Maybe he’s in the barn,” she said, going down the steps.

“I doubt it. He would have heard us,” Joe told her as he followed.

They stepped inside the barn and looked around. He was not there.

“You see, his horse is gone,” Joe said.

“Maybe his horse is out in the pasture,” Mandie said hopefully.

“I don’t believe so. His saddle is also gone,” Joe replied, pointing up to the rack where it was kept.

“Does he not have a cow or chickens, or anything?” Mandie asked as she looked around and went back outside.

Joe followed her and replied, “No, not yet, just his horse. He buys milk and eggs from neighbors. He said he wanted to be free to travel back and forth to his old house in the mountains until he gets completely moved and settled in here. Then he will begin farming.”

“Do you think he may be gone to his old house now?” Mandie asked.

“I’m sorry, but I have no idea as to where he has gone, Mandie,” Joe said, looking around the fields. “I saw him Friday when I came home from college. In fact, I told him we were expecting you at our house sometime during the spring holidays, and he said he looked forward to seeing you again.”

“Do you think we could come back tomorrow and maybe find him at home?” Mandie asked, turning to look all around the yard, still holding on to Snowball.

“Of course we will come back tomorrow and see if he has returned,” Joe promised.

Mandie didn’t reply but started up the lane and quickly turned off onto the road that led up the mountain to the cemetery where her father was buried. Joe silently followed.

When she reached the top, Mandie ran to her father’s grave and
knelt down. Snowball managed to escape unnoticed. Through a sudden rush of tears she noticed there were spring wildflowers on it. With a terrible pain in her heart, she murmured, “Oh, God, please take care of my daddy!”

Joe had come to her side, and he put an arm around her shoulders.

“He will, Mandie. He will,” he whispered in her ear as he drew her closer to him.

Mandie sat on the ground, still sobbing, and allowed Joe to pull her over against his shoulder. She remembered the day so vividly almost two years before when her father had been laid in his grave. And it hurt as bad now as it had then to look at the mound of earth.
Why, oh why, did he have to die?

The two sat there a long time, Joe silent and Mandie’s sobs finally ending. She straightened up and wiped her tear-stained face with the end of her shawl. “I’m sorry, Joe,” she said, trying to catch her breath.

Joe reached with his handkerchief to dry her tears. “Sorry for what, Mandie?” he asked. “I understand, but I certainly wouldn’t understand if you didn’t shed any tears. I know how much you loved your father.”

Mandie allowed him to dab at her eyes with his handkerchief.

Suddenly she heard a loud, angry meowing and quickly looked around. “Snowball!” she said, standing up.

Joe jumped up and looked over at the road. “I see him,” he said. “He didn’t get very far. His leash is tangled up in the bushes.” He went over to pick up the cat and had to unhook his leash to get him free.

“I’ll hold him,” Mandie said as she came up behind Joe.

Joe handed the white cat to Mandie and bent down to untangle the leash. “I suppose it would be safer if we put this back on, don’t you think?”

“Yes, we’d better,” Mandie agreed as Joe found the ring on the cat’s collar and snapped the leash back in place.

Mandie started down the road, and Joe picked up his rifle and the basket and silently followed. Neither said a word until they reached the driveway to the Woodards’ house. Then they both stopped.

“Could we go by first thing in the morning to see if Mr. Smith has come back before we go to meet Sallie?” Mandie asked.

Joe smiled and said, “That is what I was going to suggest. Then if he is not back we can come by there again on our way home tomorrow afternoon.”

“Thanks, Joe,” Mandie said, quickly squeezing Joe’s hand that was holding the basket.

They hurried down the driveway to the Woodards’ house and were both surprised to find Uncle Ned, Mandie’s father’s old Cherokee friend, sitting in the parlor with Dr. Woodard.

“Uncle Ned, I’m so glad you came,” Mandie said, putting Snowball down and unhooking his leash. She removed her shawl and threw it on a chair as she hurried to the old man sitting by the fireplace. Snowball went to curl up on the hearth.

“Nice to see you, Uncle Ned,” Joe added, stepping forward to the warmth of the fire after he left his rifle and the basket in the hallway.

“John Shaw send message,” Uncle Ned told Mandie as she sat down near him and Dr. Woodard.

“Uncle John sent a message?” Mandie asked. “But where did you see Uncle John?”

“Not see,” Uncle Ned explained. “John Shaw see Jessan, son of Wirt, in Asheville. Jessan take baskets to sell in Asheville. John Shaw see him. Tell Jessan when he come home today to tell Dr. Woodard he not be back till Saturday. He busy with business.”

Mandie’s blue eyes grew wide with happiness. “Saturday! Then I get to stay that much longer!” she exclaimed, looking at Joe.

Joe smiled at her and said, “I was hoping for a miracle.”

“Thank you, Uncle Ned, for coming to let me know,” Mandie told him.

“Sallie say you come back to school tomorrow,” Uncle Ned said. “See mica.”

“Oh yes,” Mandie replied, and she explained to him and Dr. Woodard about finding the mound of mica.

“I don’t remember ever seeing any mica in that particular place,” Dr. Woodard said.

“No place for mica,” Uncle Ned agreed. “Wrong place. We see.”

“Are you going with us tomorrow, Uncle Ned?” Joe asked.

The old man nodded and said, “Dr. Woodard say I stay here tonight. So I go with you when sun come up.”

Mandie looked at Dr. Woodard and asked, “Dr. Woodard, do you have any idea where Mr. Jacob Smith is? We came by there and he wasn’t home.”

“And his horse was gone,” Joe added.

“No, I haven’t seen him since last week, but I wouldn’t imagine he has gone far because he knew you were coming any day,” the doctor replied.

Mandie looked back at Uncle Ned and explained, “We thought we would go by to see Mr. Smith first thing in the morning on our way to see Sallie.”

“Fine, we go see,” Uncle Ned agreed.

At that moment Mrs. Woodard came into the parlor. She looked around the room and said, “Now that we’re all here, I believe it’s time to go and eat supper. Mrs. Miller has been keeping it warm for us.”

“I need to clean up,” Joe said, rising from the chair where he was sitting next to Mandie. “It’ll only take me a couple of minutes, Mother.” He started to leave the room, glanced back at Mandie, and said, “Your face is dirty, Mandie.” He grinned at her.

Mandie quickly stood up and said, “I know it’s bound to be after all we’ve been through today. I’ll run up to my room and wash.”

“Both of you, now don’t be too long,” Mrs. Woodard cautioned them as she sat down in the chair vacated by Mandie.

“Yes, ma’am, I’ll hurry,” Mandie called back to her. She followed Joe out the door into the hallway.

“That was not very nice of you, telling me my face was dirty in front of everybody,” Mandie said with a slight frown as they went down the hallway.

Joe stopped and turned back to look at her. “I just wanted to tell you something without everyone hearing.” He smiled at her.

“Tell me something? Like what?” Mandie asked, standing in front of him.

Joe looked at her and then shifted his gaze over her head as he said, “Like—like—” he looked directly into her blue eyes and finished—“like, oh shucks, Mandie, I’ve missed you something awful, just knowing I was so far away in New Orleans and you were in school in Asheville.” He quickly cleared his throat and added, “That’s what I wanted to say. That’s all.”

Mandie felt herself cloaked in happiness. Joe really missed her.
“I’ve missed you, too, Joe,” she told him. “Even though it hasn’t been a real long time since I saw you, it has felt like years.” Then she quickly added, “Now we’d better get washed up or your mother will come looking for us.” Mandie started to walk on down the hallway.

Joe followed Mandie and said, “I’ll work real hard and try to get enough time off from school to come home at least for a few days this summer.”

Mandie felt giggly silly as she told him, “You’d better or I might just find some other boy who likes to solve mysteries.” She kept walking.

Joe reached forward and grasped her hand to stop her and turn her around to face him. “You’d better not do that because I might not like it,” he said, looking down at her.

“But you must have pretty girls down at the college,” Mandie teased, her blue eyes sparkling with laughter.

“There are some girls there. I told you that, but I wouldn’t know whether they’re pretty or not. I haven’t talked to any of them,” Joe replied. “And I don’t want to talk to any of them. I’ll save all my talk for you when I come back.”