The Mandie Collection (18 page)

“And your mother said the Woodards are coming, too,” John Shaw said.

“Yes, sir, and Joe, too,” Mandie told him with a big smile. “Maybe Joe will help me watch that old house.”

“That's not a very interesting way to spend your holidays,” John Shaw said.

“We won't just sit there every minute watching. We'll find other things to do,” Mandie said, still smiling.

After supper that night, everyone gathered in the parlor, where a fire burned in the fireplace. The days were warm now, but the nights in the North Carolina mountains were still chilly.

The adults' conversation was boring to Mandie as she sat there thinking about the light in the old house. It was dark now, and she desperately wanted to go watch the house for a light. But she was also trying to stay out of trouble, so she didn't dare.

Suddenly she was aware of Liza outside the door in the hallway making signs to her. The girl was waving her hands around and pointing to the front door. Mandie instantly understood that Liza wanted to go watch for the light in the old house.

Mandie hesitated for a moment and then decided not to go running off in the darkness with Liza without permission. She took a deep breath, looked at John Shaw, who was sitting near her, and asked in a low voice that her mother and her grandmother would not hear, “Would it be all right if Liza and I go down and watch the old house a little while? Please, Uncle John?” Mandie smiled at him, her blue eyes shining.

“You are asking permission? I don't believe it,” Uncle John teased. “Well, since you asked, I suppose it would be all right if the two of you walked down that way for a little while, but don't be gone too long.”

“Thank you, Uncle John,” Mandie excitedly replied as she stood up and hurried for the door.

Mandie was proud of herself for actually asking permission to do something instead of barging headlong into it. She had been really trying to behave better since her experience in the dark alley last October.

She snatched her mother's shawl from the hall tree and joined Liza, who was wearing a jacket.

“Uncle John gave us permission to go down there, provided we are not gone too long,” Mandie told her friend.

“Right glad he did 'cause I didn't axe, and if Aunt Lou ketch up wid me I jes' tell huh Mistuh John, he say we can go,” Liza replied with a big grin as they went out the front door.

Mandie giggled and said, “Liza, I'm afraid you are learning bad ways from me.”

The two hurried down the hill to the place where they had stopped that afternoon, and there they sat down on a huge rock where they could watch the house.

“I think we need to be quiet now so no one will know we are here,” Mandie cautioned the girl. “But if you see a light, whisper in my ear to let me know, and I'll do the same.”

“All right,” Liza whispered back.

The moon was shining, but with so many trees between them and the old house, the moonlight was shut out and everything was in darkness. Mandie kept squinting to see the house. She didn't think she would be able to see anyone down there, and she made a quick decision.

She whispered to Liza as she stood up, “Come on, let's get closer. I can't see a thing from here. Be real quiet.”

Liza rose and followed her as she moved down the hill. They crossed the property line, carefully picking their way through the thick bushes. When they were within a hundred feet of the old house, Mandie put out her hand to stop Liza.

“Let's stay right here,” she whispered as she found a rocky clearing where they could sit.

The house was in plain view now, and they watched for a light or for anyone going in or out. They waited for what Mandie thought must have been at least an hour, but nothing happened. Reluctantly she decided they'd better go back.

“Come on, Liza, we'd better get back to the house,” Mandie whispered to the girl as she stood up.

“But we ain't seed nuthin' yet, Missy 'Manda,” Liza protested as she rose.

“But we might wait all night and not see anything. We'll just have to come back again,” Mandie told her as she started up the hill.

Liza slowly followed her. “Soon as we leaves, dat light gwine come on,” she mumbled.

They climbed all the way to the top of the hill, then paused to look back down at the house. Suddenly there was a faint flicker of light inside it.

“A light!” Mandie said excitedly, pointing toward it.

“I dun tole you,” Liza replied.

“Let's go back down the hill, but be extra careful about being quiet,” Mandie told her as they started back down the incline.

Suddenly from out of the darkness, Snowball came running down to his mistress. When Mandie bent to catch him, he dodged her and kept right on going.

“Oh, Snowball!” Mandie said in a whisper, hurrying down in an effort to catch up with the cat.

But Snowball headed straight for the old house, jumped up on the porch, and in the darkness knocked over something that sounded like a metal bucket, making a loud noise. The light inside the house immediately went out.

Mandie froze in her steps. Snowball had ruined everything. There was bound to be someone inside the house to put out the light so suddenly.

“Dat cat!” Liza exclaimed in a whisper.

“Yes, that cat!” Mandie agreed, still standing there watching the porch. Snowball was smelling around on it and then decided to jump off and disappear in the darkness.

Mandie slowly and quietly moved down the hill. Liza followed. Finally she spotted the white cat under the house, sitting there washing his face. Quietly stepping up to the house, she bent and tried to get the cat to come out. He just looked at her and continued washing his face. She was afraid to call him, because then whoever was inside would hear her.

Looking about the yard, Mandie found a long stick, which she picked up and went to stoop down and poke at Snowball under the house. The cat made a loud growl of protest and came running out the other side. Liza captured him and handed him over to Mandie.

The girls rushed up the hill and stopped at the property line to look back. There was no sign of a light.

“We'll come back tomorrow,” Mandie told Liza. “And I'll be sure Snowball is shut up somewhere.”

“Dat white cat sho' ruint it all,” Liza declared.

They walked up the hill toward the Shaws' house.

“There's definitely someone in that old house,” Mandie said, holding on to Snowball as she walked.

“Sho' is, so whut we gwine do 'bout it?” Liza asked.

“I'll have to think about it,” Mandie said.

“When all dem friends of yourn comes, dey kin he'p us, can't dey?” Liza asked.

“They won't be here till the weekend. I hope we have this mystery solved before then,” Mandie replied.

“Dat we kin do, jes' you and me,” Liza agreed.

“We'll just keep watching. Whoever is in there has to come out sometime for something,” Mandie declared.

They reached the yard of John Shaw's house, and Mandie looked back but the old house was out of sight.

She hoped when whoever it was came out she would see the person. She would have to more or less camp out within sight of the old house. And if no one ever came out when she was watching, why, maybe she would get up the nerve to just go knock on the door.

CHAPTER THREE

SPYING

Mandie didn't see Uncle John until the next morning. He had gone up to his office to do some bookwork before she and Liza came back. And her mother and grandmother were still planning the dinner party, so she didn't mention going down to the old house.

Mandie was used to getting up early. Back when her father was living, he was always the first one in the kitchen in the morning, making coffee and sometimes cooking breakfast. It had been Mandie's special time with her father.

When the old rooster crowed in the backyard the next morning, Mandie woke, stretched, and quickly dressed to go downstairs.

Pushing open the door to the kitchen she found Uncle John sitting at the table drinking coffee. He had a stack of business papers in front of him. As he looked up and saw her, Mandie quickly joined him at the table.

“Good morning. Where is everybody?” she asked.

“Well, it's a little early for Aunt Lou and the others to prepare breakfast,” John Shaw replied. “I just slipped in here and made a pot of coffee. How about a cup?”

“I'll get it,” Mandie said, rising to get a cup and saucer down from the cupboard. She took it over to the big iron cookstove, picked up the percolator, and filled the cup with hot coffee.

As she joined her uncle at the table, she asked, “Are you doing work? Am I hindering you?”

“Of course you are not interfering. I was just glancing through some papers that I need to sort out and file in my cabinet upstairs,” he replied. “Now, tell me, did you see anything at the old house last night?”

Mandie's blue eyes sparkled as she replied, “Yes, sir, there is definitely someone in that house. Liza and I watched for a long time and never saw a light in it. Then we started back up the hill and when I turned to look back, there was a light. We rushed back down to look, but guess what happened? Snowball had followed me and came running all the way down to the old house.” She stopped to sigh.

“And I know what happened next.” John Shaw chuckled. “You chased him and the light went out because of the noise you made.”

Mandie laughed. “You almost got it right. Only, it was Snowball who made the racket when he jumped up on the porch down there and ran into something. Then he went under the house and I had to poke him out with a stick. And of course the light went out when he made that noise. But there is definitely someone in that old house.”

“Yes, I am pretty sure there is, too,” John Shaw agreed. “And I don't want you going down there alone. We don't know what kind of person, or persons, are holed up in there.”

“All right, I won't go back except when Liza can go with me,” Mandie promised.

“I imagine with all the company coming, Aunt Lou will keep Liza pretty busy,” John Shaw told her. “Maybe when your friends get here you can all go investigating.”

“Oh, Uncle John, they aren't coming till the weekend. I'd like to find out something before then. In fact, I don't have anything to do until they do get here.”

“You are not to go down there alone, now, remember that,” John Shaw told her. He looked at her sternly as he sipped his coffee.

“All right, Uncle John,” Mandie said reluctantly. “Maybe I can talk Aunt Lou into letting Liza go with me.”

Aunt Lou entered the kitchen at that moment and heard the
remark. She smiled at Mandie and said, “Got lots of work fo' Liza to do today.” She shook her head as she continued on across the room to get down pots and pans to begin the breakfast meal. “Y'all sho' are up early dis heah mawnin', my chile.”

Mandie smiled at the big woman and said, “You know I always get up early, Aunt Lou. I believe you're just a little bit late this morning.” She grinned as Aunt Lou turned to look at her.

“I sho' am,” the woman replied. “Dat sun jes' didn't come up in dat sky to wake me up.” She continued bustling around the kitchen.

“The sun didn't come up?” Mandie quickly questioned her and went to look out a window. “Looks like it might rain.”

“I believe it sprinkled a little during the night,” John Shaw said, looking up from his papers. “The ground was a little wet when I went outside earlier this morning.”

“Where dat white cat, my chile? Don't see him sittin' heah beggin' fo' food,” Aunt Lou asked, glancing around the room.

“I don't know. He wasn't in my room when I got up. I figured he had already come down here,” Mandie replied, also looking in the woodbox behind the stove.

“He'll show up soon as I git de food cooking,” the old woman said.

Liza came into the kitchen at that moment. Snowball rushed past her and jumped into the woodbox. “Dat cat he come git on my bed last night,” Liza told Mandie.

“All the way up to the third floor? I wonder how he found you,” Mandie replied.

The girl laughed as she held out an empty bowl. “He smelt de food I took up to my room last night,” she said. “I didn't eat all of it, but it sho' all gone dis mawnin'.” She put the bowl in the sink.

“Why didn't you chase him out of your room?” Mandie asked.

“He wudn't hurtin' nuthin' so I figures he'd leave soon, but dis mawnin' he still dere, curled up on de foot of my bed,” Liza replied.

“Liza, git de table set in de dinin' room, quick-like befo' Miz Taft and Miz 'Lizbeth come down,” Aunt Lou told the girl.

Liza quickly went to the dish cabinet.

John Shaw stood up and picked up his papers. “I'm leaving,
Aunt Lou,” he said. “I don't want to interfere with your work. And I've got to look for something in my office anyway.”

“I'll get out of the way, too,” Mandie said as she rose from the table and took her coffee cup to the sink.

“What's all dis heah leavin' bidness? Ain't nobody in my way,” Aunt Lou grumbled as she filled a pot with water to boil for the grits.

“I'll be back—for the food, that is,” John Shaw said, grinning at the old woman as he left the room.

“I will, too, but, Aunt Lou, do you think Liza might have any time free that she could go down and watch the old house with me today? You see, Uncle John said I couldn't go by myself,” Mandie said, turning to look at the woman.

Aunt Lou set the pot full of water on the stove and turned to put an arm around Mandie standing nearby. “I see whut we kin do, my chile. You axe me agin aftuh breakfast.” She gave Mandie a squeeze.

Mandie reached to quickly embrace the woman and stepped back, saying, “Thank you, Aunt Lou. I knew I could depend on you.”

As it turned out, Aunt Lou couldn't spare Liza because of the sudden arrival of more guests. But that pleased Mandie to no end because the new arrivals were none other than Dr. and Mrs. Woodard and Joe.