The Mandie Collection (32 page)

Mandie shook her head angrily. “No, no, no! I won't leave him! He would never leave me! I love him!”

“I know. I know, dear,” Elizabeth said. She tried to put her arm around Mandie, but the girl pulled away. “Let's go take a nap and then you can come right back,” her mother suggested.

Mandie stomped her foot. “No! I am not leaving this room!” she cried.

Elizabeth looked at her husband in despair.

“Mandie,” Uncle John said firmly. “I know how much you have grown to love Uncle Ned since your father died and how Uncle Ned has been watching over you—”

Mandie wiped at her tears with her apron.

“—but we cannot permit you to throw a temper tantrum like this.”

Mandie felt badly for the way she had acted and began to cry softly. Dr. Woodard understood the situation and stepped forward. “John, may I make a suggestion? Why don't you let Mandie and Sallie rest in here tonight?” He pulled one of the big, plush
armchairs to the side of the bed. “That way, they can keep watch and still rest a little, too.”

John thought for a moment. “Well, I suppose that would be all right. Elizabeth?” His wife nodded.

Dr. Woodard pulled a second big chair to the other side of the bed, and the girls scrambled into them. Snowball hopped up beside Mandie and curled up in a corner of the big seat. Joe took his place behind the big chair as if watching over both Uncle Ned
and
Mandie.

Elizabeth looked at John again. Mandie was her daughter, but she didn't know how to discipline her. They had never even met each other until a few months ago. She hardly knew how to be a mother. John, sensing how Elizabeth felt, and knowing Mandie didn't normally act like this, put his arm around Elizabeth and moved her toward the door.

“All right, girls,” Uncle John told them. “We are going to get some sleep, but we'll be back. If you get too sleepy, Aunt Lou or Liza will take over for you.”

Mandie jumped up from the chair and ran to put her arms around her mother, wiping tears from her face.

“Mother, I'm sorry.” Her voice was trembling. “I love you. I do. It's just that I love Uncle Ned, too, and I have to stay here and wait. I want to be here when God heals him,” she said.

Elizabeth squeezed her tightly. “I understand, dear. You and Sallie get comfortable in the chairs. We'll be back later.”

As Mandie went back to her chair, John turned to Uncle Wirt, Joe, Dimar, and Tsa'ni, who was watching them from the doorway. “Come on, Uncle Wirt, boys,” he said. “Aunt Lou will show you some rooms where you can rest.”

Joe started to leave with the others, but quickly returned to Mandie's side.

“Do you want me to stay with you?” he asked in a low voice. “I can lie down on the rug there.”

“Thank you, Joe,” Mandie told him. “I appreciate your offer, but why don't you come back after you sleep?”

Joe squeezed her hand and started to go. “I'll be back soon,” he promised.

Out in the hallway, Dr. Woodard gave John a slip of paper. “Here are the names of the patients I'll be seeing,” he said. “If there is any change in him at all, send for me immediately. Otherwise, I'll be back as soon as I can. I'll plan on spending the night here.”

“You don't really think there is any hope for him, do you?” John asked.

“Well, as I said in there, it's up to the Lord now,” the doctor replied. “He does still work miracles.”

“I know. We'll all be praying for him.”

After everyone was settled, Aunt Lou and Liza went down to the kitchen.

“We'se gotta git my chile somethin' to eat, Liza,” Aunt Lou told the young black girl.

“Think that Injun man gonna live?” Liza asked.

Aunt Lou whirled on her heels. “Liza, don't you let me hear you talk like that agin,” the old housekeeper said firmly. “That man is Mister Ned what loves my chile and watches over her. And you don't go callin' him Injun man no more. You hear that?”

“Yessum,” Liza replied, looking down at the floor.

Aunt Lou pushed through the kitchen door. Jenny, the cook, was stirring something on the big iron cookstove.

“Jenny, I wants two trays loaded with some of everything you got in this kitchen,” the big woman ordered.

“Two of everything, Aunt Lou?” Jenny frowned.

“Yep, two of everything you'se got cooked already, that is,” Aunt Lou said. “Right now!”

“Yessum!” Jenny answered. Taking two trays from the shelf over the stove, she placed dishes on them and called for Liza. “Here, Liza, help me fill these up.”

Aunt Lou supervised as Jenny and Liza opened each pot on the stove and dished up its contents.

“Now, I wants a pitcher of sweet milk,” the big woman told Jenny.

“Who all's gonna eat all dis stuff?” Jenny asked, filling the milk pitcher as ordered.

“Jest my chile, and that other poor li'l girl and that smart little cat,” Aunt Lou said. “He's the one what found Mister Ned. You oughta heerd what kind of troubles they done gone through.”

“Yessum. Miss Amanda done told me 'bout them creatures what wrecked the train—look like ghosts,” Liza told her.

“Well, shake a leg, girl. Them chillen's hungry.” Aunt Lou picked up one tray and Liza got the other one.

“I don't 'member them sayin' they'se hungry,” Liza answered as she followed Aunt Lou through the doorway. “They done et one time since they got home.”

“Et? They ain't et enough to keep a bird alive. I knows when my chile is hungry. She don't hafta tell me,” Aunt Lou said, climbing the winding stairway to the second floor.

As they entered Uncle Ned's room with the trays, the two girls looked up.

“We'se brought my chile and her li'l friend some food,” Aunt Lou said quietly. Setting the tray on a table by Mandie, she motioned for Liza to take the other tray to Sallie. Aunt Lou filled two glasses with milk and set the pitcher aside.

“Now here's enough milk for y'all and the cat,” Aunt Lou said, putting the glasses on each tray.

“But, Aunt Lou, we just ate not long ago,” Mandie protested.

“See what I done said? They jest et 'while ago,” Liza chimed in.

Aunt Lou scowled at Liza. “Liza, you jest hesh your mouth. These chillen's gonna eat what we done brought 'em,” she said.

Mandie inhaled the tempting aroma of the food. “We'll try, Aunt Lou,” she said.

“Liza, go git two pillows for these chillen so's they kin curl up in dese big chairs and rest after they done et,” the old woman said.

“I be right back,” Liza promised, dancing quietly out of the room.

Sallie took a bite of fried okra. “The food tastes delicious, Aunt Lou,” she said.

“Jenny be a good cook,” Aunt Lou replied.

“Jenny is the best cook in the whole world,” Mandie added.

Liza danced back into the room with two frilly pillows. As the girls sat in the big chairs eating, Liza plumped up the pillows behind them. Snowball, for once too tired to eat, stayed curled up sound asleep in the corner of Mandie's chair.

“Now, you chillen eat. We'se got work to do, but we'll be back,” Aunt Lou said, waving Liza to the door.

Mandie set her tray aside and got up to give the big woman a hug. “Thank you, Aunt Lou. I love you.”

The old woman bent to hug her. “I loves my chile, too, and we'se all aprayin' the good Lord spares Mister Ned's life,” she said.

“Thank you, Aunt Lou,” Sallie replied.

“You go finish eatin' now, Mandie,” Aunt Lou ordered. “We'll be back.” She closed the door quietly behind them.

When Mandie and Sallie could eat no more, they pushed their trays aside and curled up in the chairs. In spite of their determination to stay awake, before long, both of them were sound asleep. Aunt Lou, knowing this would happen, slipped back inside the room and sat down near the foot of the bed to keep watch.

CHAPTER EIGHT

PRAYER CHANGES THINGS

When Morning Star arrived during the night, she fell weeping upon her husband's bed. Only Mandie and Sallie could calm her.

Mandie knelt with the old squaw and Sallie by the bed. “Morning Star, Uncle Ned is not going to die,” she said. “God is going to heal him.”

Morning Star couldn't understand everything Mandie was saying, so Sallie translated it into Cherokee.

“God is testing our faith, Morning Star. We must put our faith in God to heal Uncle Ned,” Mandie continued. “I believe He will answer our prayers.”

As Morning Star calmed down, she took her husband's hand and began to pray in the Cherokee language. Refusing to leave the room to eat or sleep, she stayed with Mandie and Sallie as they watched and waited.

Every day Dr. Woodard came to examine Uncle Ned. But on the third day he sadly shook his head. He turned to John Shaw who was standing nearby.

“I'm afraid we're going to lose him,” the doctor said.

Hearing his words, Mandie ran to the bedside and began to cry. She grabbed the old man's hands in hers and shook him.

“Uncle Ned! Uncle Ned! Come back to me. Please don't die!” she cried hysterically, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Sallie knelt beside her grandmother to explain in Cherokee what the doctor had just said.

Morning Star looked up at Dr. Woodard. “God heal. No die,” she said firmly.

Uncle John tried to settle Mandie down. But as he reached to pull her hands away from the old man's, Mandie cried out in joy.

“Uncle Ned! Uncle Ned, I knew you wouldn't leave me,” she exclaimed.

They all hovered closely around the bed, astonished to see his eyes open. Uncle Ned looked directly at Mandie, then curled his fingers around her hand.

Dr. Woodard reached for the old Indian's wrist, waited silently for a moment, then smiled. “His pulse is normal,” he announced. “God still works miracles.”

“Grandfather, I love you,” Sallie whispered.

Morning Star gently rubbed his forehead. “God heal,” she muttered.

Uncle Ned managed a slight smile for his wife and grandaughter. “Eat,” he said softly.

Everyone laughed and began to praise God. Aunt Lou hurried Jenny into making some hot broth for the old man. Before long Morning Star was holding his head and feeding him with a spoon.

Uncle Ned continued to improve a little bit each day. As soon as he was able, he told them what had happened to him. Propped up on his pillows, and with everyone gathered around him in great anticipation, he began his story.

“Ghosts ride horses,” he said. “Train stop. They unhook train. Baggage car roll backward. Go off track. I jump out. Hurt head. Get water. No more remember.”

There were lots of questions, and the young people told him what they had been through. But no one knew what happened to the gold.

Several days later, when Uncle Ned was well enough to sit up in a chair, Mandie waited until everyone else was out of the room,
and then came to sit on the rug at his feet. Leaning her head against his knee, she said, “Uncle Ned, I need to talk to you. Are you well enough to talk?”

He nodded and smiled. “Well enough to get up and go,” he said.

“I've been thinking a lot since you got hurt,” the girl began. “You know, the gold is all gone. I guess the bandits stole it. But you know what I think?” She looked up at him very seriously. “I think God took it all away from us because we forgot to tithe. We forgot to give Him ten percent of it.”

Uncle Ned was startled with her thinking. “No, no, no, Papoose!” he said anxiously. “Big Book say Big God throw blessings out window to people if people tithe.”

“But we didn't tithe,” Mandie said.

“Then we no get blessings,” the old man replied. “But Big God not punish. Papoose find gold, but bad men take it away—not Big God.”

“Do you really think so? I've been so worried about it,” she said.

“So. Bad men take gold—not Big God,” the old Indian repeated. “Cherokee find bad men, get gold back for Papoose.”

“Oh, I hope we can get it back. I want so much to build that hospital for the Cherokees,” Mandie told him. “And if we get it back, we will most certainly give ten percent of it to the Lord.”

The old man smiled and patted her blonde head. “Then we must watch so we catch. Blessings fall down on us from window up there.” Uncle Ned pointed upward.

Mandie felt better after her conversation with her dear friend. She knew Uncle Ned was right. And now that he was so much better she had time for her friends.

During those first trying days, Joe had more or less been her shadow, and of course, Sallie was always with Mandie and Uncle Ned. But it seemed that Dimar and Tsa'ni had done nothing but sit around and eat. Leaving Morning Star with Uncle Ned, Mandie
decided to round up her friends. She found them all together in the parlor.

As Mandie entered the room, Polly Cornwallis, her friend from next door, rushed up and put her arms around her.

“Mandie, I was so sorry to hear about everything,” she said, shaking her black curls out of her eyes. “Mother and I have been in Nashville. We just got back this afternoon.”

“I'm glad you came, Polly,” Mandie told her. “Have you met all my friends?”

Whirling about to smile at Joe, Polly replied, “Yes, Joe just finished introducing all of us.”

“Well, then, since Uncle Ned is so much better, and Morning Star is staying with him for a while,” Mandie explained, “I thought you might all like to see the secret tunnel Joe and I have told you about.”

The others were on their feet immediately.

“Yes, yes,” Dimar answered.

“Oh, please,” Sallie chimed in.

“It would be interesting,” Tsa'ni said.

Joe came to Mandie's side. “I'll be the guide for you,” he laughed as he led the way into the hall. “Hadn't we better get the key from your Uncle John?”

Sticking her hand in her apron pocket, Mandie withdrew a large key and held it up. “I already have.”