The Mandie Collection (21 page)

Mandie squeezed his hand and said, “Oh, thank you, Uncle John. I was hoping someone would volunteer to search the basement because Liza is afraid of it and I don't really like the place myself.” She smiled at him.

“Yes, it is rather dark and spooky down there, isn't it? But I know every crack and corner of it in the dark,” John Shaw replied, returning her smile. “So you and Liza look through the house. It's so big that will take a while. And Joe will help me.”

Mandie remembered something. “Liza said he went all the way up to the third floor last night and got on her bed, so maybe he has gone back up there,” she said.

“Then you should look there first,” Joe suggested. “This house is so big and there are so many places he could hide, this will take a while, as Mr. Shaw said.”

“Snowball will come if you call him as you go through the house. That is, if he can hear you and is not shut up somewhere,” Mandie said.

She fidgeted in her chair and was not able to carry on a conversation about anything because of worry about her cat. And it seemed that Liza was taking an awfully long time to eat her dinner. The poor cat could be in trouble somewhere and in need of help. Then she remembered her favorite Bible verse in time of trouble.

Silently reaching for Joe's hand as John Shaw went back across the room, she whispered, “Our verse,” and he understood.

Together they quoted, “ ‘What time I am afraid I will put my trust in Thee.' ”

Then as they looked at each other and smiled, Mandie said, “Everything is going to be all right.”

CHAPTER FIVE

SEARCHING

The afternoon was spent searching the house for Snowball without any results. Everyone finished and met in the back hallway.

“He is not in the house,” Mandie decided.

“He's probably out chasing a bird somewhere,” John Shaw suggested.

“And gittin' sloppy wet,” Liza added. “And dat cat he don't like to git wet so I cain't figger why he outside in de rain.”

Mandie quickly glanced at Liza. The girl was right. Snowball did not like rain and had to be coaxed to go outside in wet weather. He would rather curl up in the woodbox behind the big iron cookstove in the kitchen.

“Neither can I,” Mandie agreed.

“Maybe he followed us out this morning when we went down the hill to look at that old house,” Joe suggested.

“If he did, we should have had a glimpse of him somewhere or other while we were outside,” Mandie replied. She quickly made a decision and said, “I'll just have to go out in that rain and look for him.”

“I'll go with you,” Joe offered.

“Me too,” Liza added. “Dat is if Aunt Lou say I kin.”

Mandie smiled at the girl and said, “I'll ask her if you want me to.”

“Sho' 'nuff, you do dat,” Liza agreed.

“You don't need me for that, so I should get back to our guests,” John Shaw told Mandie. “Just don't stay out too long and be sure you change clothes immediately when you come back inside. We don't want you coming down with a cold, especially with your company coming Friday.”

“Yes, sir, Uncle John,” Mandie replied, too worried about her cat to smile at Uncle John's remarks.

After getting Aunt Lou's permission for Liza to go outside with her and Joe, the three put on their coats and hats, and Mandie picked up an umbrella from the hall tree to carry outside.

As soon as they stepped off the front porch, Mandie knew the umbrella would be useless because of the strong wind. She let it down and used it as a walking cane through rough spots in the yard.

They called and called Snowball's name, but there was no sign of the white cat. After they had searched the grounds around the house, they drifted down the hill in the direction of the old house.

“This is slippery,” Mandie complained as she felt her foot slide on a muddy spot. She looked at Liza and said, “You had better be careful, Liza. If you fall down in all this mud and mess up your clothes you know what Aunt Lou will do.”

Liza grinned at her as she moved alongside Joe and said, “Don't worry none 'bout dat, Missy 'Manda. I'se dun got too old to spank.”

“Yes, but there are other ways to be punished. Remember the time Aunt Lou made you scrub all the floors because you had tracked in a little dirt?” Mandie reminded her.

“I 'member dat but I don't be trackin' in no mo' mud 'cause I knows bettuh now,” Liza replied, still grinning.

When the old house came into view, Mandie stopped to stare at it. The daylight was fast fading away because of the rainy weather, but she could still make out the shuttered window and the door. No light was showing from inside.

Joe moved over next to her and said, “Mandie, I don't think we ought to stand out here in all this rain just to look at that old house.”

Mandie turned to go back up the hill. “I know. I thought maybe since we were this close to it we might spot a light,” she said.

“Even if we see a light in there we can't do anything about it,” Joe reminded her. “We can't just go up and knock on the door.”

Mandie silently nodded her head as the three climbed back up the hill. When they stepped up on the front porch of the house, Mandie remembered something she had wanted to do.

“We never did go through the tunnel to see if we could see that old house from the exit like we planned for this afternoon, remember?” she said to Joe.

“I know,” Joe replied. “But since Snowball is more important, I didn't bother to remind you about it. We can do that tomorrow if you want to.”

“All right,” Mandie agreed.

“Y'all gwine down in dat dahk tunnel place?” Liza asked.

“Yes, we are,” Joe replied with a big grin. “You want to go with us? We're only going to walk through it to where it ends down by the creek.”

“Not me.” Liza shrugged her shoulders and reached to open the front door. “Ain't nuthin' in dat place I wants to see.”

“Come on, let's all go get into some dry clothes,” Mandie suggested as she stepped inside the hallway.

Liza started toward the kitchen near which the back stairway went up to the servants' quarters. “If y'all git a notion to go look at dat house again tonight, would y'all let me go wid you?” she asked.

“Sure, Liza, we'll let you know,” Joe replied.

“But I'm pretty sure we won't be going back outside tonight,” Mandie added.

After Mandie washed up and changed clothes in her room, she came down to the parlor and found that Joe was there ahead of her. Evidently he had told everyone about their failure to find Snowball, because as she entered the room she was greeted with remarks about it.

“That's a nice healthy cat you've got, so I wouldn't worry about him. He'll come back home when he gets ready,” Dr. Woodard told her.

“Yes, cats like to prowl,” Mrs. Woodard added.

“You should have left him at my house, Amanda, as I suggested,” Mrs. Taft said.

“Now, you know Amanda and her cat can't be parted,” John Shaw reminded the lady. Turning to Mandie, he added, “He'll get lonesome and come on back.”

“Amanda, I'm sorry you can't find him. He's probably run off into the woods chasing something or other,” Elizabeth told her.

“Thanks, everybody,” Mandie quickly said as soon as she was able to get a chance to speak. Turning to her mother, she asked, “What are we planning to do while Celia and her mother and her aunt are here? Anything special?”

Elizabeth looked at her in surprise and replied, “Just the dinner party, dear. I thought you and Celia and Joe would find things to do on your own. Now, I could probably figure out something else if you'd like.”

“Why, yes, we could, Amanda,” Mrs. Taft spoke up quickly. “We could have another dinner party on Saturday night and invite other friends.”

Mandie quickly smiled and said, “Oh no, no, Grandmother. I was only asking about Mother's plans so I'd know what I could plan for Celia and me. If the rain goes away there are lots of things to do. We could walk over to see the Burnses.” Turning to her uncle, she asked, “Are they still living in that house over there and working for you?”

“Yes, they are, and they've turned out to be good workers,” John Shaw replied. “I'm glad I gave them a chance to get straightened out from their old crooked ways.”

“They're good people now that they've settled down,” Elizabeth added. “Mrs. Burns helps me with a lot of work around the house here when we have extra company.”

“I believe Polly Cornwallis and her mother went somewhere for the holidays so they probably won't be home,” Mandie continued. The Cornwallises were the Shaws' next-door neighbors, and Polly went to the same boarding school that Mandie attended.

“And y'all can always drive out to the ruby mine,” John Shaw added.

“Yes, we could,” Mandie agreed. “We will find plenty of things to do. Time always flies by on holidays.”

Mrs. Woodard spoke up. “I do believe I forgot to tell y'all, and I'm sorry, but Mr. Jacob Smith came by before we left home and said to tell y'all he might just drop by while everyone is here.”

Mandie's eyes lit up as she excitedly said, “Oh, I hope he does. I haven't seen him in quite a while and I'd like to know how things are at my father's house.”

Her father's house was over at Charley Gap in Swain County between the Nantahala Mountains. After Mandie got control of the house when he died, she had given Mr. Jacob Smith permission to live there and take care of the place for her since she could not live there anytime soon.

“Yes, it would be nice to have him come visit,” John Shaw added.

At that moment Liza came to the doorway and announced, “De supper be on de table, Miz 'Lizbeth,” and then quickly walked on.

Elizabeth rose and said, “Shall we go eat now?”

“Is it time for supper? Seems like no time since we had dinner,” Mrs. Woodard remarked as she and Mrs. Taft followed.

“Doesn't seem like no time to me,” Joe whispered to Mandie as they got up.

Dr. Woodard bent close as he passed them and said, “I heard that, Joe. You just remember your manners and don't overeat.” The old man winked at Mandie.

During the meal the adults carried on their own conversation. Joe did all the talking to Mandie, who was unusually quiet because of her worry about Snowball. She didn't listen to half of what Joe was saying as he related stories about his life at the college in New Orleans and the town itself.

“Maybe you can come down sometime and I will take you around and show you the town. And you can meet all my friends at the college,” Joe told her.

“Yes, I'd like to,” Mandie replied.

“The weather is hotter in the summertime than it is here,” Joe continued. “Of course, we are in the mountains here and that makes it cooler. New Orleans is on the water, you know.”

“Yes,” Mandie answered, pushing the food around on her plate. She looked up, caught a concerned look on her mother's face, and
quickly crammed a forkful of mashed potatoes into her mouth and washed it down with a sip of coffee.

“I suppose I'll be coming home for the summer,” Joe continued. “Remember last year I had to double up on my studies to catch up for admission requirements and had to stay all summer?”

Mandie was interested in that. “I'm so glad you're coming home for the summer,” she told him. “My grandmother has been asking me what I'm planning for the summer, and I haven't known what to tell her. You know how she likes to make plans for other people and always wants to get me involved.”

“What are you planning to do for the summer, then?” Joe asked.

“I'd like to visit my Cherokee kinpeople,” Mandie said.

“And come and stay at our house?” Joe asked.

“Probably,” Mandie agreed. “Since you live practically on the way to Deep Creek.”

“Maybe I could go with you to see all those people,” Joe suggested.

“Of course, if you want to,” Mandie replied, stopping to sip her coffee. “I have asked Celia, too, but you know her mother is always planning things for them and I'm not sure yet what their plans are.”

“Will you write and let me know?” Joe asked.

“I will as soon as I find out,” Mandie promised. “And you write and let me know exactly when you will be out of school for the summer.”

“All right,” Joe agreed.

The meal was finally over. When her mother rose from the table, Mandie immediately caught up with her before she left the dining room and said, “I'm going out on the porch to call Snowball.”

“Be sure you stay on the porch and don't go out in that rain again. I don't want you getting sick,” Elizabeth told her.

“Yes, ma'am,” Mandie replied.

“I'll go with you,” Joe said, having stood by listening.

The adults went on into the parlor. Mandie and Joe grabbed their coats off the hall tree and went out onto the front porch. The spring night air was cool and it was still raining.

Mandie walked up and down the long front porch calling, “Snowball! Kitty, kitty, where are you? Snowball, come here.”

After a while, a discouraged Mandie and Joe went back inside and soon everyone went to bed.

Mandie thought about her cat as she drifted off to sleep. She dreamed she could hear him meowing. He seemed to be in trouble. Suddenly she woke up and sat straight up in bed. That wasn't a dream. She could distinctly hear Snowball howling his head off. But where was he?

She jumped out of bed, snatched her robe, and put it on as she ran down the stairs. She opened the front door and there he was, sitting there loudly meowing. He looked up, saw her, and quickly ran into the house.

“Snowball!” Mandie cried. She stooped down to pick him up. He was soaking wet.

As she ran up the stairs with him in her arms she realized he smelled awful. Some odor like fish reached her nostrils.