The Mandie Collection (15 page)

Joe loudly cleared his throat and with a laugh said, “Mandie, remember you said the rat might have chewed on that paper and you wouldn't even touch it?”

Mandie pressed the papers close to her and said, “Well, rats and all, I want to keep this forever.”

At that moment Jason Bond came down the steps and everyone turned to look at him.

“So you finally came home,” Mandie said with a smile. “Now everybody is home.”

“Yes, little Missy, I'm home,” the tall gray-haired man said, and then looking at John Shaw, he said, “Just as I rode up into the backyard, Jake Burns also came up. He said he'd like a word with you, if you're not too busy.”

“Jake Burns? Of course, Jason,” John Shaw said. “Let's all go back upstairs.”

As everyone got to the top of the cellar stairs, Mandie and Joe blew out the lamps and placed them on the table by the door. Mandie put the two pieces of paper on the table and said, “I'll clean them up before I take them to my room.”

“Where is Jake?” John Shaw asked Mr. Bond.

“He said he'd prefer to wait for you in the backyard. Said he only wants a few minutes of your time,” Mr. Bond explained.

“All right,” John Shaw said. “I'll see all of you in the parlor in a few minutes.”

As Jason Bond and Uncle Ned started down the hallway toward the parlor and John Shaw went out the back door, Mandie said, “I'd better find out where Snowball is.”

Joe looked at her and said, “Why?”

Mandie screwed up her mouth and said, “Because I want to know where he is. I haven't seen him in the last little bit.” She went toward the kitchen. Joe followed.

“Oh, Aunt Lou,” Mandie said as she pushed open the door to the kitchen and found all the servants sitting around their own supper table. “I was just looking for Snowball.”

“Ain't seen him since he went outside before suppuh,” the old woman told her. “He'll be comin' back soon when he smells suppuh.”

“Thanks, Aunt Lou. I'll look for him,” Mandie said, closing the door and heading for the outside door at the end of the hallway.

“Are you going outside?” Joe asked as he followed.

“That's the direction I'm headed, and no remarks from you. You heard Aunt Lou say he went out in the yard,” Mandie said as she reached the door, pulled it open, and stepped outside.

Joe followed. “Your uncle John is going to think we're following him,” he told her.

“Well, what if we are?” Mandie replied as she looked around the yard in the dusky dark.

She saw Uncle John and Jake Burns standing near the hitching post at the barn where Jake's horse was tied. As she started in their direction, she began calling, “Snowball, Kitty! Kitty! Snowball!”

The two men didn't even look at her and Joe but seemed deep in conversation. Mandie walked closer and called again, “Snowball! Snowball!” Joe followed.

She glanced at the two men and saw Jake Burns take a paper out of the front of his shirt.
Has he had the paper in his shirt all this time?
she wondered. She was so fascinated she stopped to listen, and Joe stayed right behind her.

“Here's the paper I got from the assayer. You kin see he says that last bucket I mined that I sent on to him showed faint signs of gold, and your mine is supposed to be a ruby mine. Ain't nobody ever found gold in that mine, so I be a thinkin' mebbe the man made a mistake, or mixed our bucket with somebody else' 'cause I jes' don't see how that could be,” Jake Burns told John as he handed the paper to John Shaw.

“Well now, let me see,” John said. “It's kind of dark out here.” He squinted at the paper.

Jake took a match from his pocket, lifted his foot, and struck it on the sole of his boot. He held the flame over the paper.

“You're right. That's what this says,” John Shaw said. He looked at Jake. “You haven't told anyone else about this, have you?”

“No, sirree,” Jake replied as he blew out the match. “Been carryin' that paper in my shirt ever since I got it. Ain't nobody seen it but you now.”

“I wouldn't want word to get around about this until I can look into the matter,” John said. “You did absolutely right in keeping this a secret. Now, when are you planning to take in some more diggings?”

“I was awaitin' for you to tell me when to do that,” Jake said. “Considering what the man says he found, I thought I'd better wait until you told me to send more.”

“I'll get in touch with the man who signed this and let you know what to do. In the meantime, let's keep this quiet and you can continue digging in the mine, but don't send anything else out for the time being. Thanks for letting me know. Sorry I missed you altogether today, but I will be back to see you shortly,” John Shaw said. “And if you do see anyone who might be the Hugheses, please let me know.”

“Yes, sir. Good night, Mr. Shaw,” Jake said, turning to his horse.

Mandie drew a deep breath and continued walking around the yard calling her cat. “Snowball! Snowball! Where are you?” Joe followed her.

John Shaw finally realized the young people were in the yard as Jake Burns rode off. “I saw him go in the barn when I came out here just now,” he said to Mandie.

“Thanks, Uncle John, we'll see you in the parlor,” Mandie told him.

John Shaw smiled at her and walked back toward the house and in the back door.

Mandie and Joe went to the barn and she called, “Snowball, Snowball!”

In the faint light she could see the white cat sitting on a board overhead.

“Snowball, that's not the same place where you found the rat. Now come on down. It's time to go in the house and get your supper,” she told him.

Snowball switched his tail and meowed as he looked down at his mistress.

“Eat, Snowball, eat!” Joe called to him.

The white cat immediately jumped down and rushed out of the barn. Mandie and Joe followed him to the house.

“So that solves the mystery of the paper Jake Burns put inside his shirt,” Joe told her as they walked on.

“No, not really. Now the mystery is how Jake Burns found gold in Uncle John's ruby mine,” Mandie told him.

“Mandie Shaw, you make a mystery out of everything,” Joe teased.

As they reached the door to the house, Mandie opened it and let Snowball inside, then she stopped and looked at Joe. “You heard what Jake Burns told Uncle John,” she said. “What do you think that means?”

“Gold in a ruby mine? I don't know,” Joe said. “Maybe the assayer got the buckets mixed and that report is about someone else's mine.”

“Maybe, but I do hope Uncle John lets us know when he checks on all this,” Mandie said.

“Or there could be a gold vein running through the mine,” Joe said.

“Do you suppose that was why Jake Burns wouldn't have much to say to us when we went to his house?” Mandie asked.

“Possibly,” Joe agreed. “He did seem in a hurry for us to leave.”

“Somehow I was hoping that was the will he was hiding,” Mandie said.

“Mandie! You thought Jake Burns might have stolen your father's will?” Joe asked in surprise. “I don't think he would do a thing like that.”

“Well, I'd be awfully shocked if he did do such a thing, but he did act awfully strange,” Mandie said.

“Your uncle went to see the Burnses, remember? And he talked to Mrs. Burns, so I suppose he was satisfied with whatever she told him,” Joe replied.

“Oh, I do wish we could find that will,” Mandie said with a big sigh. “I just don't see how it could disappear like that.”

“We may never know,” Joe told her. “We may never find it.”

“Oh yes, we will. We will find it,” Mandie said, determinedly straightening her shoulders.

“Don't you think we'd better go inside? Everyone is going to think we got lost, too,” Joe teased.

“I suppose so, but don't forget we need to get back to searching the cellar the first thing in the morning,” Mandie said as she pushed the door all the way open.

Snowball suddenly rushed past her and raced out into the backyard. Liza came right behind him calling, “You white cat, come back heah and eat yo' suppuh.” She saw them and stopped in the doorway.

“I'll get him, Liza,” Mandie told her as she stepped back into the yard.

“I got his suppah all set out fo' him, so hurry it up,” Liza told her as she went on back down the hallway.

Joe followed Mandie. “That white cat causes so much trouble, have you ever thought about buying a cage for him?” he teased as they began looking around the backyard.

“Of course not, Joe Woodard,” Mandie said sharply. “Don't forget. Snowball has helped us solve a lot of mysteries.”

“And he has caused a lot of mysteries,” Joe protested.

“Well, come on if you're coming. Help me find him,” Mandie said.

She led the way to the barn, but when they looked inside, the cat was not there this time.

“Now where?” Joe asked.

“He probably went off into the woods chasing a squirrel or something,” Mandie said.

Mandie secretly didn't like the idea of roaming around in the woods in the dark, but she was sure she had seen white fur flying in that direction. Just wait until she caught that cat. He wouldn't get outside again tonight.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

ALMOST BURNED UP!

Mandie and Joe began searching through the woods for Snowball, and now and then Mandie called him, but he was nowhere to be found. The moon had come out, but the trees were so thick that very little light filtered through. Mandie ran into a low tree limb and stopped to untangle it from her long blond hair.

“Here, I'll help,” Joe told her as he reached to pull the twigs out of her hair.

“Thanks, Joe,” Mandie said. She smoothed down her hair as it came free and said, “I wonder where in this world Snowball could have gone.”

“Maybe he circled around us and has already gone home,” Joe suggested as they stood there under the tree.

“Maybe, but let's look just a little bit farther to be sure,” Mandie said.

“As far as the entrance to the tunnel that goes into the house?” Joe asked.

“I suppose that will be far enough, but he couldn't have gone into the tunnel because it's kept locked as you know,” Mandie replied.

They walked on searching the bushes and calling to the cat with no results. When they finally came within sight of the bushes that covered the door to the tunnel, they stopped to look around.

“He's got to be somewhere,” Mandie fussed as they stood there.

A cloud passed over the moon, dimming the light, and when it brightened up again, someone suddenly came out of the bushes at the tunnel door and ran off into the woods.

“That was Zack Hughes!” Mandie exclaimed, running after him.

Joe stopped to examine the door to the tunnel. The lock was broken and the door was standing open. He raced after Mandie.

“He's been in the tunnel!” he called to her as he caught up.

“I've lost him!” Mandie exclaimed as she stopped to look around. “It's so dark I couldn't see which way he went.”

Joe came up to her side. “I think we ought to hurry back and let your uncle know that Zack Hughes was here,” he said.

“You're right. Come on,” Mandie agreed and began running back toward the house.

Joe caught up with her and when they reached the back door they were both out of breath. Pushing open the back door and running down the hallway, they found the adults in the parlor.

“Zack Hughes ... he was in ... the tunnel!” Mandie told John Shaw between gasps for breath.

John Shaw jumped up from his chair and Uncle Ned followed. They started for the hallway to the back door.

“Did you see him?” John asked as he rushed to grab his rifle from the rack over the door and Uncle Ned picked up his bow and arrows.

“Yes, sir!” Mandie said with an effort.

“And the lock is broken on the tunnel door!” Joe added in one big breath.

The two started out the back door and Mandie asked, “Can we go with you, Uncle John?”

“Positively no! Stay in the house, both of you!” John Shaw called back as he and Ned hurried off toward the woods.

Mandie watched until they disappeared in the darkness. Then she closed the door and leaned back against it. Joe stood back against the wall.

“I have an idea!” Mandie said suddenly as she straightened up. “I'm going to see if Mother will give me the key to Uncle John's office so I can find out whether Zack Hughes has been in there through the tunnel door.”

“But your uncle keeps that door inside his office locked, doesn't he?” Joe asked.

“He's supposed to, but if the lock was broken on the outside door to the tunnel, then the lock on the door in his office could have been broken, too,” Mandie said. “Come on.”

It took some coaxing but Mandie was able to get the key from her mother. Elizabeth went upstairs to her bedroom and came back out in the hallway with the key.

“Now you two be real careful,” Elizabeth told them as she gave the key to Mandie.

“Yes, ma'am, we will, but Zack Hughes has already run away. We saw him go off through the woods,” Mandie explained. “We'll be back downstairs in a few minutes.”

Mandie and Joe went upstairs and looked around John Shaw's office, examining the door to the tunnel, but everything seemed to be in place. The lock had not been broken.

“Well, I don't suppose he could have got in here,” Joe remarked as they looked around.

“You never know,” Mandie replied as they picked up the two lamps they had brought from the hallway. “But I suppose we should go back downstairs and see if Uncle John and Uncle Ned have come back.”

As they left the room, Mandie locked the door and they went downstairs to the parlor. She put the key in her skirt pocket and forgot about it.