The Mandie Collection (48 page)

Mandie felt Jonathan move behind her in the dark, and she reached to hold his hand. “Polly, give me your hand and give the other one to Joe,” she said as she tried to see in the darkness of the room. She felt Polly grasp her hand. “Now, while we are holding hands and before we move on, let's just say our verse.” She paused, and then together the group repeated her favorite verse, “ ‘What time I am afraid I will put my trust in Thee.' ”

Mandie took a deep breath and said, “I'm ready.”

“Then we'd better get going,” Joe said.

“Yes, let's get going,” Jonathan answered.

“Right,” Polly said in a shaky voice.

“I'm ready,” Mandie added. “But please go slow, Joe.”

“Don't worry, I will,” he replied.

They moved forward, and eventually Joe announced that they were approaching steps down. The group slowed down, and Mandie found herself putting one foot forward to feel where she was going each time she made a step. No one was talking much except for an occasional “oh,” “ah,” or “watch out for a step.”

Then Jonathan spoke. “Just think what an adventure I'll have to talk about when I return home to New York. My father's servants will never believe this,” he said with a laugh.

“That is, if you are able to return, Jonathan,” Polly said. “This could cause an accident if we aren't careful.”

“I apologize,” Joe said. “I'll never volunteer to carry the lantern or the matches again.”

“It could have happened to any of us,” Mandie said. “The only thing I'm really worried about is coming back with a light and finding all those matches you lost.”

“One thing about it,” Joe said as they slowly moved on, “we know I lost them during our walk in the upper half of the tunnel.”

They finally stepped down into a hallway that Mandie knew led to the outside door of the tunnel.

“The door is straight ahead,” Mandie told the others.

Joe moved on and the others followed until he said, “This is it. Now I have to find the key to the door here.”

“It's supposed to be on the nail on the left-hand side of the door,” Mandie told him as they all broke the line and came crowding around Joe.

“I haven't located the nail yet,” Joe replied.

Mandie moved up beside him and began feeling around the wall. “I've got it,” she exclaimed as her hand touched the big metal key and she took it down from the wall. Stooping down, she moved her hands around until she felt the doorknob and then located the keyhole beneath.

“Mandie, please hurry,” Polly begged.

“I'm hurrying, Polly,” Mandie said as she tried to insert the key in the keyhole in the darkness of the corridor. Finally, it slipped into the slot and she turned the lock.

“Here, I'll help you,” Joe said as he reached to assist her in pulling open the heavy metal door.

As soon as the door swung open and they could see daylight, they all began laughing and hugging one another.

“Now all we have to do is get one more lantern and a whole lot of matches and go back and look for those matches that Joe lost,” Mandie told them. She stepped outside and said, “It isn't snowing anymore.”

The others followed her, and Jonathan looked around in amazement. “You mean that tunnel came all the way down here in these woods?” he asked.

“It sure did,” Mandie replied. “So now we have to go through the woods and up to the house and start all over again in the tunnel.”

“Oh, it's cold out here,” Polly complained, shivering as the wind blew. They didn't know they were going to be outside, so they didn't wear coats.

“It's not far to the house. We'll just have to hurry,” Mandie told them.

When they reached the house, they went straight to the parlor. The adults were still there talking.

“Uncle John, I think I'd better let you know what we're doing,” Mandie began as the four stood in the doorway.

“Oh, y'all are back,” John Shaw said as he looked at them.

“We're back, but we've got to go again,” Mandie replied, and she explained what had happened. “So you see, we have to go back inside the tunnel and try to find all those matches.”

“Yes, by all means,” John Shaw said. “And please don't be gone too long this time.”

“We won't,” Mandie promised as she looked across at her mother and grandmother, who were busy conversing with Mrs. Woodard. She turned back to her friends and said, “Let's get going.”

They went to the back porch, picked up another lantern, checked both lanterns to be sure they were full of fuel, and then got matches from the pantry. This time Mandie put some in her pocket as Joe took a few.

They reentered the tunnel and began searching for the lost matches. With the light from the two lanterns, it was easier going this time, and the extra light made it easy to spot the matches. By the time they reached the spot where the lantern had gone out, they had found all the matches Joe said he had been carrying.

“I suppose we can go back now,” Polly said.

“Oh no, I just thought of something,” Mandie said as they started to go back up. “We have to go all the way to the outside door at the end of the tunnel in order to lock it. I put the key back on the nail when we went outside down there.”

“Unless y'all want to go around through the woods and lock it from the outside,” Joe suggested.

Mandie thought for a moment and said, “No, that won't work because there wouldn't be a key inside for anyone to get out if they happen to go down from in here.”

“If you girls want to wait here, I can run down with Joe and lock it,” Jonathan offered. “Since I don't know the way, he would have to go, too.”

“Oh no!” Polly immediately objected. “I'd be afraid to stay here with just Mandie.”

“There's nothing to be afraid of,” Mandie told her.

“But the lantern could go out again,” Polly reminded her.

“All right, then,” Mandie said, looking at the boys. “One of you come with me and I'll lock the door. The other one of you can stay here with Polly.”

“I'll go,” Joe said. “I can move faster than Jonathan because he doesn't know the way.”

“That's fine,” Mandie said, handing her lantern to Jonathan. “Here, keep this lantern, and Joe can take his with us. We'll be right back. Please don't go away or move to another place.”

“We won't,” Jonathan promised as he took the lantern and he and Polly sat down.

Mandie smiled to herself as she went on down the tunnel with Joe. She couldn't wait to tell Liza about it because Liza had told her she thought Polly might be interested in Jonathan. Well, here was Polly's chance.

Joe led the way with the lantern, and he and Mandie hurried down to the outside door, locked it, placed the key back on the nail, and began their way back up.

“It has stopped snowing, and I don't believe it's time to eat yet,” Mandie said. “Maybe we could go back out with the treasure map and see if we can figure any more of it out.”

“I don't know what good we can do with that pile of dirt, but if you want to I'll go with you,” Joe said.

Mandie looked up at him in the dim lantern light and smiled. “I knew you would,” she said.

“Well, I'm not so sure Jonathan and Polly will want to go,” Joe told her as he held the lantern higher to light the steps they were going up.

“Jonathan will probably go along just for the fun of it, and Polly will probably go along just because Jonathan is going,” Mandie said with another smile.

Joe looked back at her as they climbed the steps and said, “Do you think Polly is interested in Jonathan?”

“Maybe,” Mandie answered.

So when they reached Jonathan and Polly and continued on up the tunnel with them, Mandie asked, “Would y'all be interested in going back outside with Joe and me and the treasure map?”

They had reached the top and came out in John Shaw's office. Mandie turned to look at them.

Jonathan shrugged and said, “If you want to, it's all right with me.”

“Well, I suppose I could go for a little while,” Polly said, looking at Jonathan.

“All right, then. As soon as we check in with Uncle John and get our coats, we'll go outside,” Mandie said.

They hurried down the stairs and let John Shaw know they were back and had found the matches.

“Now we're going outside for a little while,” Mandie told him. Her mother was still engrossed in conversation with the other women.

“Don't be gone too long,” John Shaw told her. “We will be eating a little early tonight since we are going over to Mrs. Cornwallis's house afterwards to help decorate her tree, remember.”

“We won't be gone long,” Mandie promised.

The four of them put on their coats and hats, then Mandie picked up the box and they left the house.

CHAPTER TEN

THIS AND THAT, HERE AND THERE

Mandie led the others in a different direction this time with the stuff in the box. At the front gate they went right instead of left as they had done previously, but nothing seemed to fit the indentations in the dirt in the box, and her friends soon lost interest. Even Snowball, who had followed them at the beginning, drifted off on his own.

They all paused at an intersection, and Mandie said with disappointment in her voice, “Maybe these little marks represent roads or paths through the woods. We may be in the wrong place altogether.”

Her three friends just nodded and looked at her. She knew they were tired of the game, but she couldn't think of anything else to do to entertain them.

Joe finally looked at her and said, “Maybe we should just go on back for now. It's getting late.”

“That's what I was thinking,” Mandie agreed as she put the lid on the box. “We can try again tomorrow after we go buy those baskets.”

They returned to the house and stopped by the parlor. Snowball followed them. The adults were still there, but this time Elizabeth saw them and said, “Amanda, I think you should all go up to your rooms and freshen up now. Supper will soon be ready.”

“Yes, ma'am,” Mandie agreed as she placed the box on the table in the parlor where she had left it yesterday.

“Polly, you are welcome to stay and eat supper with us if you like,” Elizabeth told the girl, who had stood there at the doorway undecided whether to take off her coat and hat.

“Thank you, Mrs. Shaw, but I suppose I'd better go home,” Polly replied. “I'd much rather stay and eat with y'all, but I know Mother will be expecting me back for supper because we have company, you know.”

“Then please tell your mother we will all be over after a while,” Elizabeth said.

“Yes, ma'am, I will,” Polly said, going back out into the hallway. “Mandie, Joe, and Jonathan, I'll see y'all over at my house.”

“Right,” Joe called after her.

“See you then,” Jonathan said.

“All right, Polly,” Mandie told her.

Polly went out the front door. Mandie turned to the boys and said, “I'll see you both back down here for supper. I've got to go to the kitchen for something right now.”

“Sure,” Jonathan said.

“Right,” Joe told her.

Mandie watched until the two boys disappeared up the staircase, then she went on down the hallway to the kitchen. As she pushed the door open, she found Liza helping Aunt Lou warm up the leftovers from the noon meal for supper, which was the usual practice on Sunday.

“Dat white cat dun eatin' his suppuh,” Liza told her as she pointed to Snowball happily gobbling up food scraps on a plate by the cookstove.

Mandie laughed and said, “I knew he would get served first.” She walked over near Liza, who was getting dishes down from the cupboard. Aunt Lou was on the far side of the huge room moving things around on the cookstove. Cupping her hand over the side of her mouth, she whispered, “I left Polly alone with Jonathan in the tunnel.”

Liza's eyes got big and she said, “Missy 'Manda, you dun lef' dem in de tunnel! How dey gwine git out?” She paused in her work to look at Mandie.

“They're out,” Mandie told her in a low voice. “You see, Joe and I had to go back down to the outside door and lock it, so we left Polly
and Jonathan in that room about halfway up that has all that furniture in it, and then we all came back out together.”

“Uh-huh,” Liza said, smiling. “Wonder whut dem two had to say to each other whilst dey alone.”

“I don't know, but you thought if Polly had a chance she would get interested in Jonathan, so I gave her a chance,” Mandie replied. She glanced at Aunt Lou, who didn't seem to be listening.

“Well,” Liza said, “I dun tole you if dat don't wark, den voodoo spell—”

“Liza!” Aunt Lou yelled so loud even Mandie jumped. “I dun tole you I ain't puttin' up wid you usin' dat word round heah, and I sho' don't mean mebbe. Next time I heahs you say dat word, I'se gwine wash out yo' mouth and shut you up in de tunnel fo' a week.”

Liza was so frightened she was almost trembling as she replied, “But, Aunt Lou, dat word you talkin' 'bout was my kinpeople's religion way back 'fo I was bawn, and dey was kin to me, so dat word be my religion, too.”

Aunt Lou immediately dropped a lid on the pot she was checking on and hurried across the room to stand firmly in front of Liza. “I said you ain't gwine use dat word, and you ain't gwine talk 'bout dat word no mo'. We'se Christian people, and dat word ain't no Christian word, and it ain't nevuh been yo' religion, either. You'se Christian, and you'se gwine stay Christian.”

Liza had moved back a step and was hugging herself with her arms and staring at the floor.

Aunt Lou moved a step nearer to the girl and said, “Liza, I'm talkin' to you. You looks at me when I talks to you, you heah?”

“Yessum,” Liza said in a low voice as she ventured to look up at the woman.