Read The Mandie Collection Online
Authors: Lois Gladys Leppard
The others agreed. Tsa'ni remained silent and trailed along behind.
At last the sun came up and the air grew warmer as the young people trudged along. Birds sang their greetings as they flew hither and yon among the trees. Now and then a butterfly flitted across their path, and once in a while a colorful wildflower peeked out of the underbrush. It was a beautiful day, but the youngsters were tired, hungry, and worried.
After a while the river and the railroad tracks came together and traveled side by side. The rushing water invited the young people to soak their tired feet, but they could not relax.
Ignoring their blisters, scratches, bruises, and sore limbs, they marched forward. At last they came around a curve where the tracks turned away from the river. And there, in the ravine below, lay the wrecked baggage car, splintered against the mountainside.
“There it is!” Mandie cried.
As exhausted as they were, they all broke into a run.
Sallie ran ahead of the others. “Grandfather!” she exclaimed, racing to the edge of the ravine.
Mandie was right behind her. When Mandie's father died, Uncle Ned had promised that he would look out for “Jim Shaw's Papoose,” and now it was her turn to look out for Uncle Ned. “Please, dear God, let him be all right. Please let Uncle Ned be all right,” she prayed silently.
Dimar and Joe came up behind the girls as they paused to look.
“We must go down together,” Dimar told them.
“Yes,” agreed Joe. “It looks kind of steep.”
Tsa'ni stood alone on the tracks and watched as the others descended into the ravine. They slipped and slid until they finally reached the train car. The car lay on its side. It looked as though it had rolled over several times.
“It's so broken up I don't see how we can get inside to look for Uncle Ned,” Mandie said.
“Simple,” said Joe. “Dimar and I will crawl in through that hole in the side.”
“But, Joe, suppose it turns over while you're in there. It's just hanging on the side of the mountain,” Mandie cautioned them.
“Let it turn over,” Joe answered. “It won't hurt us. We'll just tumble with it.”
“May I go with you? My grandfather may be in there,” Sallie begged.
“No, it is too dangerous,” Dimar said. “If we find him inside we will bring him out.”
The girls waited and watched while the two boys went through the hole in the train car. As the boys disappeared inside, Mandie, with Snowball on her shoulder, reached for Sallie's hand and held it tightly.
After what seemed like hours, the two boys reappeared, empty-handed. They shook their heads as they approached.
“Grandfather!” Sallie began to cry.
“Uncle Ned, where are you?” Mandie moaned.
Joe stepped forward and took Mandie's hand in his.
“I'm sorry, Mandie. He isn't there,” he said to her softly. “And neither is the gold. Everything inside is completely smashed. Uncle Ned must have managed to get out somehow. Either the bandits took him or he got out on his own.”
Tsa'ni, listening from where he stood, came forward to join the group. “I suggest we search immediately. If the old man is injured, he cannot be very far. That is,
if
he is still alive,” he added.
At Tsa'ni's cruel remark, Sallie began to cry louder.
“Let us separate and search the surroundings,” Dimar said. “Immediately, please,” Sallie begged through her tears, still holding Mandie's hand.
“Dimar, suppose you take Sallie with you, and Joe and I will go with Tsa'ni,” Mandie suggested.
“Fine,” Dimar replied. “If you find anything, Tsa'ni, give me a call. I will do the same. And please do not forget to watch for the bags of gold, also. They may be hard to find since they are so small.”
“I would think the bandits took the gold,” Joe said. “That is probably why they wrecked the train. But it wouldn't hurt to keep our eyes open.”
“I will give you a whistle, Dimar, if we find anything,” Tsa'ni agreed. “We will go to the left of the car and you and Sallie go right. We will meet back here when we have covered all the ground,” he said.
The group separated. Mandie, with Snowball on her shoulder, followed Joe and Tsa'ni down the incline, through bramble bushes and rocks. She didn't mind the pricks and scratches. She was set on finding her dear friend, Uncle Ned.
Tsa'ni walked bent over to watch the ground for footprints or other clues. Joe and Mandie watched the bushes and trees for any sign of a trail. In the dense forest the trees grew so close together it took time to look at all of them.
“No one has come this way,” Tsa'ni called over his shoulder. “But maybe we will find a trail ahead.”
Mandie turned to Joe, who was walking behind her. “Then Uncle Ned could not have come this way,” she said.
“What Tsa'ni means is that no one came directly down the path we're taking,” Joe explained. “Uncle Ned could have taken a path even two feet from where we are. We just have to keep walking up and down in order to cover all the area around the wrecked car. Don't give up yet.”
“I won't give up. God will help us find him,” Mandie said as they walked slowly forward.
“Don't say that too loudly, or we'll get a few smart remarks from Tsa'ni,” Joe warned her.
“We'll have to see what we can do about Tsa'ni,” Mandie said.
“I think he's hopeless,” Joe replied.
“No one is hopeless, Joe. There is always hope,” Mandie argued.
As they neared the river, the ground was steep and covered with slippery green moss. Mandie, trying to look all around for any sign, was not watching her step. Suddenly, her feet went out from under her and she sat down hard. Snowball, frightened by the jolt, jumped free and ran into the weeds nearby.
Joe helped her to her feet. “Are you all right?”
Mandie laughed nervously. “I'm all right,” she said. “I should have been paying more attention to where I was walking. Oh, goodness, where did Snowball go?” she asked, brushing off the back of her skirt.
The two looked around quickly, but there was no sign of the white kitten. Tsa'ni did not notice their predicament and went on ahead.
Mandie searched the tall weeds. “Snowball! Kitty, kitty, kitty!” she called. “Come here, Snowball!”
The kitten meowed loudly. Joe and Mandie stood still to listen.
“He sounds either angry or hurt,” Joe remarked.
“This way, Joe,” Mandie said, turning to the left. “Sounds like he's over this wayâtoward the river.”
She went on through the bushes, looking for the kitten, with Joe right behind her. The meow grew louder.
Then Snowball hopped out of the weeds in front of them. With his fur up, he meowed loudly.
“Snowball, you shouldn't run off like that,” Mandie scolded. She stooped to pick him up, but he was too quick for her. He bounded into the bushes. Mandie and Joe followed. But as they came through the underbrush into the open area by the river, a terrible sight greeted them.
There on the sandy riverbank lay Uncle Ned on his back. His head was covered with blood. His bow and arrows were by his side.
Mandie, blinded with tears, rushed forward. She dropped to her knees at his side.
“Uncle Ned! Uncle Ned!” she cried, touching the still face. “Please, Uncle Ned, don't be dead! Please speak to me, Uncle Ned! Oh, dear God, please don't let him be dead!”
Joe knelt by her side and tried to find a pulse in the old man's wrist. He held his hand over Uncle Ned's mouth to see if he was breathing. He couldn't feel a thing. Jumping up, he yelled for Tsa'ni.
“Tsa'ni! Quick! Here by the river!” Joe called.
In seconds the Indian boy came rushing through the bushes.
Mandie cried as she held Uncle Ned's wrinkled hand in hers.
“Move, woman!” Tsa'ni ordered. He pushed Mandie aside to kneel by the old man. He, too, felt for a pulse and breathing with no results. “I am afraid he is very near death.”
Tsa'ni stood up and gave a loud Indian call for help. Dimar and Sallie quickly joined them. When Sallie saw the condition of her grandfather, she sobbed uncontrollably.
“We must get him out of here at once!” Dimar ordered.
“Oh, dear God, how? Show us how!” Mandie said through her tears.
At that instant a faint Indian call answered Tsa'ni's. Speechless, the five young people looked at one another.
“God has sent help!” Mandie cried.
Tsa'ni gave a shrill whistle and again received an answer.
“Keep it up. Whoever it is will find us,” Dimar told him.
They all waited silently, listening for the response. Each time it grew louder.
Then suddenly, Uncle Wirt burst through the bushes, followed by Uncle John, Elizabeth, Dr. Woodard, and four young Indian braves from Deep Creek and Bird-town.
Mandie rushed to Dr. Woodard, grasped his hand and pulled him down beside Uncle Ned. “Dr. Woodard, quick!” she cried.
The others gathered around as the doctor carefully examined the old Indian. Dr. Woodard looked up. “He's not dead, but he's close to it,” he said gravely. “I cannot help him here, but if we don't treat him immediately, he probably will not live.”
“We take him home,” Uncle Wirt told them.
“It would be better if we could get him to John's house in Franklin,” Dr. Woodard said. “We could care for him better there.”
“Then we'll take him to my house,” Uncle John declared.
Elizabeth put her arms around her daughter and tried to comfort her. But Mandie's whole body shook as she sobbed. Uncle Wirt put his arm around Sallie. It was a sad moment, always to be rememberedâUncle Ned, the dear old man, lying there helpless, and close to death.
Uncle Wirt turned to the braves and spoke rapidly in Cherokee. The young Indians immediately unrolled the blankets they carried and prepared a hammock-type bed to carry the old man over the mountain. Gently lifting him, they placed him on the blankets. Each brave took hold of a corner and lifted him from the ground. The old man did not move or utter a sound.
“Speed is the important thing,” Dr. Woodard cautioned them. “We must get him to Franklin as quickly as we can.”
The braves nodded in understanding.
“Braves, run!” Uncle Wirt ordered. “Quick!”
Without hesitating a second, the braves took off through the bushes, carrying the old man. Mandie and Sallie tried to follow, but Uncle John held them back.
“Wait! We have horses up at the tracks,” Uncle John told them. “Since the braves left their horses, we'll have enough for all of us to ride back home.”
“Braves run faster through woods than horses,” Uncle Wirt said.
“Yes, they'll be there by the time we arrive,” Uncle John agreed. “Thank goodness Aunt Lou and Jason Bond can help.”
Mandie looked up at her mother. “Ever since we found the gold, Uncle Ned has said the gold was bad luck to the Cherokees, and now he may die because of it,” she said shakily. “Oh, how could we have been so greedy that we ignored his beliefs?”
Elizabeth held her daughter tightly. “Now, don't blame yourself, dear,” she said. “The gold will eventually be a good thing for the Cherokees when we get the hospital built.”
“The gold is nowhere to be found,” Joe informed them as they all climbed the steep side of the ravine.
The adults stopped and stared.
“So the bandits got away with it!” Uncle John said angrily.
“Cherokee catch bad men,” Uncle Wirt vowed as the group hurried on up the mountainside.
Sally looked up at Uncle Wirt. “Please catch the bad men who hurt my grandfather,” she said.
Uncle Wirt took her hand in his and squeezed it gently in reply.
Riding double on some of the horses, the group galloped off toward Franklin.
Mandie fought back the tears. “Please, God, don't let him die!” she implored.
CHAPTER SEVEN
MANDIE KEEPS WATCH
Uncle Ned, bathed and dressed in a clean nightshirt, lay very still in a bedroom across the hall from Mandie's room. Dr. Woodard tried everything he knew, but there was no improvement in the old man's condition. Finally, he sent the braves to Deep Creek to bring back Uncle Ned's squaw, Morning Star.
Everyone hovered around Uncle Ned's doorway, waiting for some word.
“I have an idea he was thrown out of the train car and landed on his head,” Dr. Woodard told them. “I can't find any broken bones, though. Now that his head has been washed, you can see that there are several large cuts in the scalp.”
Mandie tugged at the doctor's hand. “Dr. Woodard, willâwill heâlive?” she asked.
“Will he, Doctor?” Sallie echoed.
“I don't know,” Dr. Woodard replied. “Only the Lord knows that. I have done all I can. I'd say it's up to the Lord now.”
Mandie noticed that Sallie was crying and gave her Indian friend a hug. Their tears mingled in love for the old man.
Sallie pulled Mandie across the room with her to the bed where her grandfather lay. “We will stay with him,” she managed to say.
“Yes, and we will pray.” Mandie said. “I know God will heal him.” She held her friend's hand and they knelt by the bed.
“I think we should all pray. Come on,” Elizabeth told the others. She led the way into the room and knelt behind the girls. Only Tsa'ni remained outside in the hallway. Aunt Lou, Liza, Jason Bond, and Jenny joined the others. The room was soon full of people on their knees, praying for Uncle Ned to be healed, and thanking the Lord that he had lived so far.
As the group became silent and got to their feet, Dr. Woodard spoke. “We must arrange a schedule now. He shouldn't be left alone, and I have other patients I must see now.”
“I am not leaving Uncle Ned, not for one second,” Mandie declared.
“Neither am I!” Sallie told them.
“But you were up all of last night, and you only ate a snack while Dr. Woodard was working with Uncle Ned,” Elizabeth objected. “You two girls didn't even take a good bath when you changed clothes. You'll be Dr. Woodard's patients next if you don't take care of yourselves.”