The Mandie Collection (42 page)

“All right, the road in front of your house here goes both ways,” he said. “Do we go left or right?”

Mandie studied the contents of the box a moment and then said, “If we go left, we will come to the intersection of another road. But if we go right, we'll only keep going down the same road. Let's go left.” She pushed open the gate and started down the road to the left.

“At least this is good exercise,” Joe remarked as he walked along with her. “Tell me. What do you expect to find at the end of this treasure hunt?”

Mandie stopped to look up at him. “Why, Joe Woodard, that's the fun of going on a treasure hunt. You never know what you'll find. If you did, there wouldn't be any sense in going at all.”

“I'd really like to know who sent you that box,” Joe said, looking down at the contents. “That might just give us an inkling of what this is all about.”

“So would I, but since we don't know, we can find out if we solve this mysterious treasure map,” Mandie said.

When they came to the intersection, they stopped and looked around.

“Now which way do you plan to go?” Joe asked, looking at the box and then up and down the other road.

“Let's see. If this is the first red ribbon, then we should go right toward the next ribbon,” Mandie said as she studied the contents.

Joe glanced back in the direction of the house. “I do believe I see Uncle Ned turning into your driveway in his wagon,” he said.

Mandie quickly turned around to look. “Yes, that must be Uncle Ned, and he probably has Morning Star and Sallie with him because
he's in the wagon. Come on. Let's go back.” She held the box closely to her and hurried back down the road.

As they reached the front gate, the wagon disappeared around behind the house, and they followed it until it stopped in front of the barn. Mandie looked up and saw Uncle Ned as he stepped down. She glanced back up. There was no one with him.

“Uncle Ned,” she greeted him. “I'm so glad you've come. I thought maybe Sallie and Morning Star would be with you since you're in the wagon.”

The old Cherokee put his arm around her thin shoulders and said, “Not today. Three days I bring Sallie and Morning Star.”

“Three days?” Mandie said, quickly counting in her head. “That would be Christmas Eve, which is Tuesday. Oh, I'm so glad y'all are coming for Christmas.”

Uncle Ned turned to shake hands with Joe. “Glad to see you,” he said.

“And I'm glad to see you, sir,” Joe replied. “My mother and father are here, too.”

“Well, come on. Let's go in the house,” Mandie said, starting toward the back door, and then she stopped and held the box out for Uncle Ned to see. “Look at what somebody sent me, all wrapped up like a Christmas present, with no name on it. I found it on the doorstep this morning.”

The old Indian glanced at the box, looked at Mandie, and asked, “What this be?”

“I've decided it must be a treasure map,” Mandie declared and went on to explain about the dents and ribbons.

Uncle Ned shook his head as she finished. Smiling, he said, “No treasure. Mess.”

“I think you're right, Uncle Ned,” Joe told him.

Mandie stomped her foot and said, “Oh shucks! Let's go in the house.” She led the way in through the back door, left the box on a table there, and began removing her coat, hat, and gloves as she went into the parlor.

“Welcome, Uncle Ned,” John Shaw said as they entered the parlor, and he rose to shake hands.

Greetings were exchanged all around because everyone knew Uncle
Ned. Mandie pulled up a stool near him when he sat down and waited to ask why he was alone in the wagon when he always rode his horse.

“I bring baskets, sell to store people for holiday,” he said.

“Oh, Mother, we ought to go buy some of them Monday,” Mandie said.

“Yes, we will,” Elizabeth promised. “They will make nice presents to some of the people on our lists.” Turning to the old Indian, she said, “I wish you had brought Morning Star and Sallie with you.”

He explained that he would return with them on Christmas Eve.

“I hope you are planning to stay tonight with us before you start back over the mountain,” John Shaw told him.

Uncle Ned smiled and nodded as he said, “Thank you. I stay. Leave sunup tomorrow.”

“We just brought in a tree this afternoon, so you'll be here to help us decorate it,” Mandie told him.

“And I'd appreciate it, Uncle Ned, if you could take our presents to everyone back your way,” Elizabeth said.

“Yes, glad to,” Uncle Ned replied.

Elizabeth looked at Mandie and asked, “Amanda, do you have all your gifts wrapped, the ones to the people who won't be able to come visit for Christmas?”

“Well, I have a few things in my trunk I brought home from school that I haven't wrapped,” Mandie said.

“Why don't you go finish now while you have time? Uncle Ned will be leaving early in the morning,” Elizabeth told her.

Mandie stood up, looked at Joe, and said, “It won't take long.”

John Shaw rose and said to Joe, “We brought in the tree, but we still have to find some mistletoe and holly.”

“Yes, sir, and I think I remember seeing a whole bunch of mistletoe on the way to the woods today,” Joe said as he also stood up.

“I go along,” Uncle Ned said.

“And I would like a little exercise myself,” Dr. Woodard told him.

As the men and Joe left the room to hunt mistletoe and holly, Mandie looked back at her mother, her grandmother, and Mrs. Woodard in the parlor. “I won't be gone long,” she said.

“All right, dear,” Elizabeth replied.

Mandie hurried upstairs to her room. The minute she pushed open the door, she knew something was wrong. As she stepped into the
room, she saw Snowball curled up asleep in the middle of her bed. And he was practically covered with the paper torn from the presents she had wrapped earlier.

“Snowball!” she cried as she ran toward the bed. “What have you done?” She quickly examined the gifts to see if he had clawed them. Nothing looked damaged, but she would have to finish pulling off the wrappings and do everything all over again.

“Oh, I could shake you good!” she declared as the white cat stood up, stretched, and jumped down from the bed. He took one look at his mistress and quickly ran out into the hallway. “You'd better stay out of here,” she added as she went to close the door.

When she finished redoing the presents, she put them in the bottom of the huge wardrobe this time and closed the doors. Then she had to get the things out of her trunk that she had bought for some of her Cherokee kinpeople and wrap them. Uncle Ned would be taking these. She sat down at the desk in her room and wrote notes to each of the recipients, wishing them well and a glorious holiday.

“Now I need something to put all this in so Uncle Ned can carry the things back with him,” Mandie said to herself.

She went to the linen closet in the hallway and searched through the stacks there. “If I can only find some flour sacks,” she said to herself. “Ah, here are some.” She pulled out a few sacks that were folded and tucked at the bottom of the stack. When she unfolded one, she was disappointed to see that someone had ripped out the seams. She knew the stitching in flour sacks was made with an end thread that if pulled would immediately unravel the whole seam. Evidently this had been done to these. She looked in other stacks in the closet and finally found three flour sacks that were still sewn in the seams.

Back in her room she quickly filled the bags with the wrapped presents and the notes she had written. The flour sacks were the large thirty-six-pound size, so she only had to use two. The third one she folded and put on her bureau. Then she gathered up the tops of the bags and looped them so the contents wouldn't spill out. She set them on a chair and made sure she closed the door when she left her room.

Mandie went back downstairs to the parlor and found everyone had returned and also that it was almost time for supper. Where did the time go?

“What took you so long, dear?” Elizabeth asked as Mandie sat down on a small settee beside Joe.

“That white cat had completely torn up the paper on the presents I had wrapped after we went shopping today, and I had to redo everything, plus all the things I had in my trunk,” Mandie explained, pointing to Snowball, who was now curled up asleep on the carpet in front of the fireplace.

“Amanda, you need to start closing the door to your room when you go out so Snowball can't get in there,” Mrs. Taft told her.

“I know, but I always forget, and he goes in and sleeps on my bed,” Mandie said with a sigh. “But I'm sure I closed it this time.”

“We've got the whole back porch full of holly and mistletoe,” Joe told Mandie with a big grin. “You girls won't be able to find a safe place to stand away from the mistletoe.”

Mandie smiled and said, “That's what you think. But come to think of it, Polly might like being caught under the mistletoe.”

“The Cornwallises are not coming over tonight, Amanda,” Elizabeth said from across the room. “They have unexpected company.”

“Oh, that's right. Liza told me,” Mandie said. Turning to Uncle Ned, she said, “I have my presents all wrapped and ready in two flour sacks whenever you get ready to take them.”

“In morning I will get,” the old man said.

Aunt Lou came to the doorway at that moment and announced, “De food be on de table, Miz 'Lizbeth.”

“Thank you, Aunt Lou. We'll be right in,” Elizabeth said as she stood up.

They went into the dining room for supper, and afterwards they returned to the parlor to plan the decorating.

“I believe the first thing we need to do is get the pot for the tree out of the barn and get the tree standing,” John Shaw said.

“The pot? Oh, you mean that same old bucket you use every year,” Mandie said. “I know where it is. Joe and I could go get it.” She looked at him, and he nodded.

“We'll bring it in and put it in place, and then we'll carry in dirt to fill it here. That way it won't be too heavy to carry, and the tree will stand up better,” John Shaw said.

“Need ladder,” Uncle Ned said. “I get ladder.”

“And a hammer and some tacks. I know where they are,” Elizabeth said.

“Well, if you'll just tell me where you keep the skirt for the bottom of the tree, I'll get it,” Mrs. Taft said to Elizabeth.

“It's in the linen closet down the hall next to the kitchen door,” Elizabeth replied.

“And Dr. Woodard and I can get the little ornaments, or whatever you plan to put on the tree, if you'll just tell us where they are,” Mrs. Woodard said.

“Please wait, everybody! We are forgetting something,” Mandie suddenly spoke up loudly as she stepped into the middle of the floor.

Everyone turned to look at her.

“What are we forgetting, Amanda?” Elizabeth asked.

“Don't you remember? A long time ago we agreed that all the servants would be asked to join in with us when we decorate the tree,” Mandie reminded her.

“Oh yes,” Elizabeth agreed.

“Thank you for reminding us. I don't know how I forgot that,” John Shaw said. “Now, why don't you run back to the kitchen and round everybody up so we can get to work?”

Mandie rushed out of the room and came back with Aunt Lou and Liza. “Abraham and Jenny wanted to get the tree pot out of the barn,” she explained. “They'll be here in a minute.”

John Shaw looked around the room and said, “We're still forgetting Jake and Ludie Burns, and did Jason Bond get back from his visit over the mountain?”

“Why don't Mandie and I run down and get the Burnses?” Joe asked.

“All right. I thought they would have been here by now. They've agreed to help out in the house during the holidays,” John Shaw said. “Has no one seen Jason Bond?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“Then he should be back soon,” John Shaw said. Looking at Dr. Woodard, he added, “He always takes food and toys to the settlement of poor folks on the other side of the mountain. He has been gone all day, so he should return soon. Amanda, get your coat, then you and Joe run along and get the Burnses. Take a lantern. There's one on the back porch.”

Aunt Lou and Liza stood at the doorway looking and listening. And Abraham and Jenny came in, carrying the huge pot.

“Whereabouts y'all be wantin' dis heah pot?” the old man asked.

“Just set it down right there, Abraham, and we'll figure out where,” John Shaw told him.

As Abraham and Jenny set the pot down, Mandie started to go out the door to get her coat and hat. Joe followed. They almost ran straight into Polly Cornwallis.

“Well!” Mandie said in surprise. “I thought you weren't coming over tonight.”

“Mother said I could because my aunt and uncle came to visit for the weekend and they're old,” Polly said, wrinkling up her nose. “I didn't have anybody to talk to, so here I am.”

“Well, go on in,” Joe said, stepping out of her way and motioning her into the parlor. “Mr. Shaw is giving out work orders, so you might as well let him know you're here so you can get yours.” He grinned at her.

“Work orders? What in the world for?” Polly asked in surprise.

“Everybody has a part in putting up the tree and decorating, so all you have to do is say what you want to do. Joe and I are going to get the Burnses,” Mandie said, stepping past her to get her coat and hat where she had left them on the hall tree.

“You are? Then I'll just go with y'all,” Polly said, turning to follow Mandie.

“We're going to walk real fast. We have to hurry,” Mandie warned her.

“I can walk as fast as you can, Mandie Shaw,” Polly said with a frown.

“Then let's get going,” Joe told the girls as he put on his coat and cap. “Let's go out the back door so we can get the lantern.”