The Mandie Collection (53 page)

“What Papoose do with what Papoose find in trunk?” he asked.

“That depends on what it is,” Mandie replied. “It might be something interesting. Then again, it might just be some old clothes. Only I don't know why anyone would lock old clothes up in a trunk.”

“Papoose must be good,” the old man warned her. “If find important thing, must tell Miss Head Lady.”

“Not Miss Prudence, Head Lady, as you call her. Miss Hope has been put in charge of Celia and me. We have to answer to her,” she said.

“Then Papoose must tell Miss Head Lady Number Two,” he said. “Papoose must not make more trouble. Jim Shaw not like. I promise Jim Shaw I watch over Papoose while he go to happy hunting ground.”

Mandie sobered quickly. “I know, Uncle Ned.” She put her arm through his and squeezed it. “I know my father would expect me to live right. I want to be a good person like my father was. I promise to behave,” Mandie said, smiling at the old Indian. “Besides, I love you, too, Uncle Ned.”

“Papoose dear to heart,” the old man assured her.

Mandie sat up straight. “Uncle Ned, did you bring any messages from my friends back home?”

The old Indian smiled broadly. “I bring message from doctor son,

Joe,” he said. “He come to Asheville with Dr. Woodard soon.”

“Oh, that's a
good
message,” Mandie said excitedly. “Are Joe and his father going to stay at my grandmother's house?”

“He say he bring white cat see Papoose,” the old Indian told her.

“Snowball? Then he must be going to stay with Grandmother because that's where Snowball is,” Mandie replied. “Remember Mother couldn't find him when she brought him on the train to see me? Then after Mother left, there was Snowball, sitting on Grandmother's doorstep.”

Uncle Ned laughed.

“And remember how he got into my baggage when I came back to school from Grandmother's? Celia and I found him under the bed in my room,” she said, laughing. “He's a smart cat!”

“White cat have own mind,” Uncle Ned agreed.

“Any other messages?” Mandie asked.

“Cherokees at Bird-town and Deep Creek send love, too. They say Papoose hurry back home.”

“Tell them all I love them, too, Uncle Ned,” Mandie said with a smile. “As soon as I can get a holiday from school I'll be back to see them. I miss everybody so much.”

“John Shaw and Papoose's mother want Papoose stay in big house in Franklin,” he said.

“Oh, I will, most of the time, but I want to really get to know my other relatives. I'm proud to have Cherokee kinpeople. I'm so glad God made me that way,” Mandie said.

“Cherokee proud of Papoose. God know how to make us all just right, Papoose,” he replied.

“I know, Uncle Ned.”

The old man rose from the bench. Mandie, holding his hand, stood by his side.

“Must go now. Papoose go back. I watch,” he told her. “I come see Papoose next moon change.”

He bent to hug her, and Mandie kissed his withered old cheek. “Don't forget, Uncle Ned. I'll be waiting for you,” she said. “And please tell everyone I send them my love.”

“I tell, Papoose. Now hurry,” Uncle Ned said.

Mandie, glancing up at Celia standing by the window above, ran across the grass to the back door. Turning to wave good-bye to the old Indian, she slipped inside the house, shot the bolt across the kitchen door, and made her way back up to her room.

Celia met her at their door.

When Mandie had closed the door softly behind her, she blurted out the good news. “Celia,” she said excitedly. “Joe is coming to see me!”

“Oh, I'm so happy for you,” Celia replied. “When?”

“I don't know exactly,” Mandie said, “but Uncle Ned said ‘soon.' ”

“Did you tell Uncle Ned that we had to clean up the attic, and about that trunk?”

“Yes, and I promised him we wouldn't get into any more trouble,” Mandie said.

The two girls slipped out of their dresses and picked up their nightgowns lying across the foot of the bed.

“Let's not forget to keep that promise, Mandie,” Celia said, pulling her nightgown over her head.

“Celia, please keep reminding me of that. I really do want to behave. I want to be the kind of girl my father would be proud of,” Mandie said, as she sat down on the side of the bed.

“I know what you mean, Mandie. That goes for me, too,” Celia told her. “We'll just have to keep checking on each other.”

“Agreed,” Mandie said. “Maybe Miss Hope will let us know soon when we're supposed to start on the attic.”

A few days later Miss Hope called the girls to her office where Uncle Cal, the school's old Negro servant, was waiting.

“This won't take a minute,” the schoolmistress told them. “I've talked to Uncle Cal here and explained what's to be done. You two can begin on the attic during your free period tomorrow morning. Uncle Cal will sweep and mop the place this afternoon, so it won't be so dirty to work in. Then he will unlock everything—all the wardrobes, chests, and so on.”

The two girls exchanged glances.

“I want y'all to sort everything and create some order up there,” Miss Hope continued. “I'm putting y'all entirely on your own and trust you to do the job right.”

“Yes, Miss Hope,” Mandie said.

“Yes, ma'am,” Celia agreed.

“Then Uncle Cal will meet y'all up there in the morning. Now, get on with your classes,” she said, waving them out the door.

“See you in the morning at ten, Uncle Cal,” Mandie said.

The old Negro grinned. “I'll be there, Missy,” he replied.

The next morning at the appointed time, Uncle Cal and his wife,

Aunt Phoebe, were waiting for the girls.

“Cal, he say fo' me to help Missies, so heah I be,” the old servant woman told them.

“Oh, thank you for coming, Aunt Phoebe, but Celia and I have to do the work,” Mandie told her. “I'm glad you came though. I haven't had much chance to see you since Miss Prudence made the rule that we have to get permission to go to your cottage.”

“I knows, Missy,” Aunt Phoebe said, patting the girl's blonde head. “But I still watches out fo' Missy when she go out in de dahk to see Mistuh Injun Man.”

“You do?” Mandie said in surprise. She gave the old woman a hug. “Thanks for watching out for me, Aunt Phoebe.”

Uncle Cal jingled something in his pocket. “I'se got de keys,” he said, pulling them out and dangling them in front of the girls.

“Uncle Cal, how do you happen to have the keys to everything up here when Miss Hope said all this was mostly stuff the lady left here when she moved?” Mandie said.

“Missy, keys go wid furnichuh. No sense in lady movin' out, leavin' furnichuh and takin' de keys wid huh,” he explained. “You're right. The keys wouldn't be any good without the furniture,” Mandie said.

“Lemme see now,” Uncle Cal said, trying first one key and then another in the locks of the various pieces of furniture. With some success, he was unlocking wardrobes and chests. Aunt Phoebe walked along behind him, examining the contents of each.

Mandie drew Uncle Cal's attention to the locked trunk on the other side of the attic. “Do you have a key to this trunk, Uncle Cal? This is the trunk that girl, Hilda, was trying to open,” Mandie told him.

“I'll sho' see,” Uncle Cal replied, making his way over to the big old trunk.

Mandie and Celia watched anxiously as Uncle Cal tried key after key in the lock.

“Missy, don't be no key to fit dat trunk,” he told them. Mandie and Celia both sighed.

“Are you sure?” Mandie asked. “Maybe you missed one. Why don't we go around and leave the key in each lock that it fits and
when we run out of keys or locks, we can see what's left,” she suggested.

So this they did. But as they finished, there was no leftover key. Every key had been used.

“Were those all the keys Miss Hope had?” Mandie asked.

“Dese all she have in de cab'net. I watches huh git 'em out,” the old man assured her.

Aunt Phoebe spoke up. “Dat all de keys, Missy,” she said. “Miss Hope done had me goin' all ovuh de house lookin' fo' keys and dey ain't no mo' to be found.”

“Do y'all know where this trunk came from?” Mandie asked the old servants.

They both shook their heads.

“Dat trunk done be heah long as I 'membuh,” Uncle Cal said.

“I don't nevuh come to de attic,” Aunt Phoebe told them, “so I ain't got no idee wheah it come from.”

“Maybe the key will turn up somewhere,” Mandie said.

Uncle Cal bent to hit the lock with his hand several times, but the lock didn't budge.

“Dat's a good lock. Won't bounce open like some I'se seen,” he said.

Mandie's face clouded with disappointment.

“Missy, we'se got all dese othuh things we'se got to straighten out anyhow,” Aunt Phoebe said, surveying the room. “That be 'nuff work.”

“I know, Aunt Phoebe. Come on, Celia,” Mandie said. “You start at that side over there, and I'll start over here in this corner. Let's look through everything real fast and get an idea of what all is here. Then we can decide how to sort things out.”

Opening doors and drawers became a time-consuming but interesting chore. The girls held up fancy dresses of bygone days, trying to imagine how they would look in such finery. They modeled ancient hats in front of a mirror on an old vanity. They rummaged through drawers full of quaint trinkets and fancy hair combs. Examining an old wooden box damaged by rats, they found several
leather-bound first editions of books long out of print. One drawer of an old chest was crammed full of old yellowed nighties, and a small trunk in the corner contained dozens of pairs of funny-looking ladies' shoes. Everything seemed to be old and worthless.

Suddenly the bell in the back yard rang loudly, bringing the girls back from the old world around them.

“Oh, that's the end of free period!” Celia exclaimed.

“And look how dirty I am,” Mandie cried. “Come on, we'll have to hurry.” She dropped an old dress she was holding and started for the door. “Good-bye, Uncle Cal and Aunt Phoebe. See y'all later to finish.”

“Jes' you be careful flyin' down dem steep steps like dat,” Aunt Phoebe called after them.

When the girls reached the bathroom on their floor, they hurriedly washed and then ran to their room to change clothes.

“You might know, that particular key has to be missing,” Mandie sighed as she chose a clean dress from the chifferobe.

“Just our luck. All this dirty work and we can't even get that old trunk open,” Celia moaned.

Mandie pulled her dress over her head. “We've got to figure out some way to find that key,” she said. “I don't want to do all that dirty work for nothing.”

Celia finished buttoning her dress, and the girls grabbed their books from the table to run downstairs.

“Don't give up,” Mandie told her friend as they reached the classroom just in time. “Where there's a will there's a way. Somehow we'll find out what's in that trunk.”

CHAPTER THREE

WHAT'S IN THE TRUNK?

Miss Hope was watching for Mandie and Celia that evening as the girls gathered around the dining room door for supper. “Amanda, Celia,” she said, motioning them aside. “Uncle Cal gave me a good report on your work this morning.” She smiled.

“Thank you, Miss Hope,” Mandie said.

“But we aren't finished,” Celia told her.

“I know. It will undoubtedly take more work to complete the task, but that wasn't why I stopped you. Amanda, your grandmother sent a note over here this afternoon. She was asking permission for your friend, Joe Woodard, and your cat, Snowball—of all things—to visit you.” Miss Hope laughed.

“Oh, when, Miss Hope?” Mandie said excitedly.

“Joe will be here at ten o'clock tomorrow morning. He and his father are staying with your grandmother during his school's harvest break,” the schoolmistress said. “Now I know that's your free period when you two are supposed to be cleaning the attic, but Miss Prudence forgot about that when she granted permission. So I'll excuse you this one time. The work can be continued the day after tomorrow.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you, Miss Hope,” Mandie replied.

Miss Hope looked into the dining room. “Get in there quickly now. Miss Prudence is coming in the other door,” she said.

As the girls hurried into the dining room, Mandie grasped Celia's hand. “Where there's a will there's a way,” she said softly.

“You mean Joe?” Celia asked in a whisper. “To open that trunk?”

“Right.” Mandie grinned.

Since no conversation was allowed at the table, the girls had to wait until the meal was over to discuss their plans for the next day. And then they talked well into the night.

Mandie and Celia awoke early the next morning and eagerly dressed for the day. They were impatient throughout breakfast and morning classes. When the bell rang at ten o'clock for free period, Mandie and Celia were the first ones out of the classroom.

“The porch,” Mandie called to her friend as she hurried down the hallway.

Celia followed close behind as Mandie pushed open the front screen door. Joe was waiting on the porch swing with Snowball curled up asleep on his knee.

Joe was Mandie's friend from back home in Swain County. A tall, thin, gangly lad with unruly brown hair, quick brown eyes, and a determined chin, Joe towered over tiny Mandie. He was very protective of her, but he also liked to tease her a little.

Mandie ran forward and picked up her kitten, cuddling him to her neck. Snowball woke and began licking his mistress's neck with his little pink tongue. Then perching on her shoulder, he began to purr softly.

“Snowball, I'm so glad to see you,” Mandie whispered. “Thanks for bringing Snowball, Joe.”