The Mandie Collection (46 page)

“But Abraham, she's your wife. You must have loved her, or you wouldn't have married her,” Mandie said.

“Jes' wife accordin' to de law only,” Abraham said. “She don't love me. Never did. She go cuttin' eyes at dat Willie when our weddin' wuz jes' three day old.”

“Has she been makin' eyes at that Willie all this time?” Joe asked.

“Nope. Dat Willie cut his eyes on another woman. He be married since four days after we did,” Abraham said.

“This all sounds like you and Jenny just had some kind of misunderstanding,” Mandie said. “Maybe you misunderstood things, Abraham, or maybe she did.”

“I ain't misunderstood nothin.' I seed her and she ain't misunderstood. She gits out when I say git out,” the gardener replied.

“But you said Willie got married four days after y'all did. If he'd been interested in Jenny, he wouldn't have married another woman, would he?” Joe asked.

“No matter what he innerested in. Dat Jenny got innerested in him after she done married to me,” he insisted.

“Abraham, the Bible says we must forgive others for any wrong they do us,” Mandie reminded him.

“I knows what de Bible say. I done read it cover to cover. But I ain't never goin' to fo'give her fo' actin' like dat.

“So y'all might as well go on back to yo' measurin.' Cain't nobody change my mind,” the old man said as he rose from the rocking chair.

“How will we know when your friend comes back?” Joe asked.

“You kin git dat Mistuh Jason Bond to watch out fo' him. He let you know. Now go on back to yo' measurin,' ” he said, opening his front door to go inside.

“All right. I'll go ask Mr. Jason to let us know,” Mandie said.

The gardener went inside the house.

“I'll go find Jason Bond and ask him. Wait here.” Joe ran across the yard and through the back door of the house, then came running back a minute later. “I was lucky. He was in the kitchen. He'll watch for us. Let's go,” he told the girls.

Mandie picked up a hoe leaning against the end of Abraham's porch.

“We might need this,” she said.

“All right but it'll be a nuisance to carry along,” Joe said, as he took the rope from the fence where they had left it.

They hurried across the road to continue measuring.

“Do you all believe Abraham told us the truth?” Sallie asked as they approached the cemetery.

Joe and Mandie stopped to look at the Indian girl.

“The truth?” Joe asked.

“About what, Jenny or the doctor?” Mandie asked.

“I think the truth is that Abraham still loves Jenny, and all these forty years he has not known how to tell her so,” Sallie answered.

“I sorta thought that, too,” Joe said.

“Do you think Jenny still loves him?” Mandie asked as they walked on toward the spot where they quit measuring.

“I do not know Jenny well,” Sallie replied.

“I know she cooks wonderful food, and they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach,” Joe said, laughing.

“Abraham doesn't eat her cooking,” Mandie reminded him. “He lives all alone in his house and does all his own housekeeping, and cooking, and everything. But if Jenny has never been interested in another man in all these years, I'd say she still loves him. I have an idea. . . .”

“No interfering with other people's quarrels!” Joe warned.

Mandie put her hands on her hips. “I'm not planning to interfere, Joe Woodard! You could at least let me finish before you jump to conclusions. I was going to suggest that we talk to Aunt Lou about Abraham and Jenny. She has been here forever, and she would know everything.”

“What good would that do?” Joe asked. “We are not going to butt into other people's business!”

“There's no harm in finding out all the facts,” Mandie retorted.

Sallie spoke up. “I would like to know more about it. It is too bad if two people are in love and stay apart because of anger.”

“All right, you girls talk to Aunt Lou. I won't have anything to do with it. I'll just keep measuring.” Joe leaned against the wall at the back corner of the cemetery. “Are you two going to help or not?”

“Of course we're going to help. You're not going to find the hidden treasure all by yourself,” Mandie told him.

“This is where we stopped,” Sallie said, patting the corner of the brick wall with the palm of her hand. “We had already measured five hundred feet from the porch to here, remember?”

“Yes, and we have just 4,780 feet left to make a mile,” Joe replied.

“Do you still have the map in your apron pocket, Mandie?” Sallie asked.

“Yes, but it seems like that path curves around behind the cemetery. Once we get back there, we'll be out of sight of the house. Uncle John warned us to stay within sight of the house unless an adult is with us. I'll run ask my mother if Liza can come.”

“Liza's not an adult! She's only a couple years older than you are,” Joe reminded her.

“We've run out of adults right now,” Mandie argued. “Maybe my mother will let Liza come since no adult is available. I'll be back in a minute.” She ran toward the house, disappearing inside the front door.

Elizabeth, who was walking down the hallway at the time, turned to see who was coming through the front door in such a big hurry. “What's wrong?” she asked quickly.

“Nothing, Mother,” Mandie said, breathless from running.

“I came to ask you if Liza could go with us on down the path behind the cemetery. We'll be out of sight of the house then, and all the grownups are busy.”

“Down the path behind the cemetery?”

Mandie pulled the map out of her pocket again and showed her mother where they had been measuring to find the path to Hezekiah's
house. “We've measured all the way to here, and we need to measure on down the pathway that goes behind the cemetery,” she explained. “What do you want with Liza?” Elizabeth asked.

“We just wanted her to go with us in place of an adult, so you'd let us go on with our search,” Mandie said. “Please, Mother.”

“Every time you get out of my sight you get into trouble, Amanda,” Elizabeth replied.

“I promise I'll behave and won't get into anything bad. Please, Mother. Time is running out. We all have to go back to school next week,” Mandie pleaded.

“I know that,” Elizabeth replied. “Do you promise to obey Liza?” she asked. “I'll caution her to keep you in her sight.”

“Yes, ma'am. I promise. I'll do whatever you say.”

“All right, let's find her. I think she's in the kitchen.” Elizabeth turned down the hallway.

Mandie followed. “Thank you, Mother.”

Elizabeth explained to Liza that she was to go with the young people and make sure they did not get out of her sight. Liza didn't like the idea much until she found out they didn't have to go through the cemetery.

Liza stepped into the pantry and took down a large container of cookies from a nearby shelf. Opening it, Liza started rolling up some of the cookies in a dish towel.

“What are you doing?” Mandie asked.

“We's got to have some food for tea time. I'll jes' stick some of dese in dis towel and bring 'em along,” Liza told her. “You go on now. I'll meet you outside in a minute.”

“All right, but hurry. We'll be at the back gate.”

“I'se on my way, Missy,” Liza replied.

“But where is Liza? Isn't she going with us?” Sallie asked, as Mandie caught up with her and Joe.

“Here she comes,” Mandie said, watching the Negro girl run out of the house, swinging the towel tied in knots to hold the cookies.

“Where we goin,' Missy?” Liza asked as she approached.

“Down this way.” Mandie pointed down the dirt pathway ahead of them. “Now we have to measure how long it is, so you'll have to help us count.”

“I don't know how to measure,” Liza protested.

“We'll do the measuring. You just carry the hoe,” Joe said.

“How much y'all gwine t' count?” Liza took the hoe.

“Four thousand, seven hundred and eighty feet,” Joe replied. “But we've already got a good start.”

“Lawsy mercy, dat's gwine t' take all day and all night!” Liza exclaimed. “Good I brung dese heah cookies.” She patted the towel.

“Oh, good! Food!” Joe laughed. “But we have to work first.”

“It goes fast, Liza,” Sallie told her.

“Anyway, we have to be back in time for supper,” Mandie said.

“I gits out of heppin' dat Jenny cook de supper! Ha! ha!” Liza laughed, merrily dancing around.

As they stretched the rope, Mandie asked, “Liza, what is Abraham's last name?”

“Abraham? Why, he be known as Mistuh Davis,” Liza replied, looking at Mandie curiously. “Why you want to know dat, Missy?”

“Davis,” Mandie repeated. “Liza, did you know that Jenny and Abraham are married—”

“Mandie!” Joe interrupted. “You're starting something!”

“No, I'm not,” Mandie said, turning back to Liza. “They've been married forty years. Did you know that, Liza?”

“Lawsy mercy! No, Missy. Who say dey married?” Liza asked, her black eyes growing round in amazement. “I ain't never heerd dat.”

“Abraham told us,” Mandie said.

She explained the story to Liza as they began moving forward with the rope.

“Well, bust my buttons! Ain't dat a crazy tale!” Liza exclaimed. “I always wondered why dat Jenny ain't never been sweet on no man. Now I knows. She sweet on Abraham!”

“Do you think so, Liza?” Sallie asked.

“I knows so,” Liza said. “I ain't never seed dat woman even look at another man in my life, and I'se almos' fifteen years old.”

“Are you sure, Liza?” Mandie asked.

“I knows everything dat woman does. She cook, wash dishes, eat, and sleep. She don't go nowheres, not even to church wid de rest of us. And she save ebry bit o' dat money what yo' uncle pay her to work.”

“Does Abraham go to church with y'all?” Mandie asked.

“He sho' do, every Sunday, and sometimes fo' prayer meetin,' ” Liza replied.

“Then that's why she won't go—because he does,” Mandie said.

“Oh, come on, Mandie. Pay attention to the measuring, or we'll never get done,” Joe said.

The narrow path wound through bushes and weeds. It was hard work but they continued on. After measuring four thousand feet they rounded a bend and came to a dead end. The trees and bushes before them were so thick that there was no sign of the path continuing.

Mandie looked around. “Don't tell me this is the end!”

“I can't see any more of a path,” Joe said.

“Remember, it has been about fifty years since Ruby made that map. Trees and bushes grow big in that length of time. They may have completely covered the path,” Sallie reminded them.

Liza plopped down on a nearby log. “Lawsy mercy, Missy!” she exclaimed. “I'se tired. Ain't y'all? Let's jes' git a lil' rest and have our tea time.” She unrolled the towel.

The others joined her on the log and sat munching on the cookies Liza had brought.

“What are we gwine t' do after we runs out of cookies?” Liza asked.

“We're going to have to search the woods all around here to find the path,” Joe replied.

“And it's going to be an awful job trying to measure through all that stuff growing around here,” Mandie added.

“We can do it,” Sallie said confidently.

But Mandie was not so sure about that.

CHAPTER FIVE

FINE FOOD SINCE 1852

As soon as the last cookie crumb was swallowed, the young people were ready to continue their search for the rest of the path.

“Sallie, you know more about this kind of thing than we do. Tell us how to go about finding the rest of the path,” Mandie asked her friend.

“If there is any more of it,” Joe added.

“Yes, there was more at one time,” Sallie said, peering through the bushes. “You see the shortest, youngest trees and bushes there? Those have grown up since the other ones that were already along the side of the path.”

“I see what you mean. If the path was not used, and trees and things grew up in the middle of it, they would all be smaller and newer than the others,” Mandie said.

Joe was poking among the bushes, bending things this way and that in order to look about underneath.

“I see a lot of small rocks and gravel under this bush,” Joe said, bending things out of his way.

Sallie came to look. “You are right. That is part of the path.”

Joe began beating the bushes with the hoe to clear the path.

“Y'all gwine t'walk through all dat stuff?” Liza asked, watching Joe.

“We have to follow the old pathway, or road, whatever it was,” Mandie told her.

“I ain't so sho' I'm gwine t' follow y'all,” Liza replied.

Joe was several feet into the bushes when he called to them. “Hey, this goes into a clearing. Come on.”

Sallie immediately followed him, but Liza stayed back.

Mandie turned to her. “Come on, Liza,” she said.

“Y'all go ahaid. I'll jes' wait here fo' you,” the Negro girl replied.

“No, you have to go with us,” Mandie said. Stepping back to take the girl's hand, she pulled her forward. “You promised my mother you would stay with us. Remember, you got out of helping Jenny cook supper by coming with us.”

“But I didn't bargain for no wilderness like dat,” Liza protested, trying to pull her hand free.

“If you don't come with us, Liza, we'll all have to go home. Please come,” Mandie pleaded.

Sallie stepped back out of the bushes. “Come on, Liza. Look, Joe has already made a path through there. You can see through to the clearing on the other side. Come on.” She bent the remaining bushes back so Liza could see.