The Mandie Collection (23 page)

John Shaw straightened up once more to look at her and said, “That is a good suggestion for the summer. I'd like to go visit them myself. My uncle is getting rather old now. When would you like to go?”

Mandie turned to grin at Joe. “As soon as school is out. And Joe will be coming home for the summer vacation and wants to go with us.”

“Now, you've come up with some nice plans for the summer, Amanda,” John Shaw said, smiling at Joe.

“And I've already mentioned this to Celia, and if her mother doesn't have something else planned, she would like to go with us,” Mandie added.

“That's fine,” Uncle John answered.

“However, we have some obstacles to overcome,” Mandie warned with a big grin.

“We do?” her uncle questioned.

“Yes, in the form of my grandmother. She has been writing notes to Senator Morton and to the Pattons about possible vacation plans, without even asking anyone else,” Mandie said with a loud moan.

“That sounds like her,” John Shaw replied. “But let's look at it this way. This is your and Joe's vacation, so I'd say it's up to you two to decide what we will be doing. The rest of us are free to travel at other times, while y'all have to be in school and such.”

“Thank you, Uncle John, for understanding,” Mandie said. “But please tell me how we get around Grandmother and her plans.”

“Hmmm!” John Shaw cleared his throat. “I think if you'll just leave that to me, I'll take care of it.”

Mandie's face lit up in a big grin as she looked at Joe and said, “I knew I should include Uncle John in our plans. He's the only one who will stand up to my grandmother.”

“Now, Amanda,” Uncle John teased her, “you make me sound like I'm hard to get along with.”

“No, you just have the gumption to stand up and be heard,” Mandie replied.

“All right, I'm standing up now, and since you insisted on coming along with us, Amanda, I suggest you grab a piece of that lumber, and Joe and I will get the rest and we'll get started on this thing.”

They carried the lumber and nails and hammers down to the old arbor. John Shaw checked it to be sure it was strong enough to stand the weight on the top. Then, satisfied with that, he began figuring how they would attach the additional boards.

Mandie looked around the area. There were jonquils up around the edge of the clearing, and sticky rosebushes not yet in bloom more or less surrounded the structure. Someone had made a low wall of rocks around the clearing, and that would be a comfortable place to sit. Glancing down the hill, she could see the old house and knew they had found the proper spot for their surveillance.

“This is nice, Uncle John,” she told him as she watched.

“It hasn't exactly been kept up the last few years since we built the summer house in the front yard. Everyone seems to go there instead of here to sit outdoors for fresh air and sunshine,” he replied.

Mandie turned slightly and saw Liza coming down the hill toward them, carrying Snowball. Now, why had she taken the cat out of the kitchen?

“Liza, what are you doing with Snowball?” she asked when the girl caught up with them.

“Dis heah cat, he ain't got no sandbox in de kitchen, so Aunt Lou, she say for me to put on his leash and take him outside,” Liza explained, setting the cat down at the end of his leash, which she held.

“Oh, Liza!” Mandie exclaimed. “I'm sorry I didn't even think about things like that. Thank you for bringing him to me.” She took the end of the red leash from the girl.

“I sees we gwine have a rainproof place to spy on dat house now, ain't we?” Liza said, watching John Shaw and Joe work on the cover.

“Yes, and I suppose by the time we get it all done, we'll suddenly find out who's in that old house and we won't need it then,” Joe told her with a big grin, picking up some nails and a hammer.

“Well, we can always use this as a place to sit,” Mandie told him.

“Y'all gwine come stay home heah fo' the summer vacation?” Liza asked.

Mandie quickly looked at the girl and came up with a new idea. “Liza, we are probably going to visit my Cherokee kinpeople,” she said. “How would you like to go with us?”

“And hafta eat owl stew and sech?” Liza asked, rolling her eyes.

“No, you don't have to eat owl stew. The Cherokee people cook lots of things that we eat, too,” Mandie said, grinning at her. “Wouldn't you like to have a vacation with us?”

“I ain't sho' Aunt Lou 'llow dat,” Liza mumbled indecisively.

John Shaw stopped his hammering and said, “Now, Liza, if you want to go with us, I'm sure it will be all right with Aunt Lou. With all of us gone she won't have a lot of work to do.”

“Hmmm!” Liza still mumbled and traced a mark in the wet dirt with the toe of her shoe. “Mebbe, mebbe not. I'll let you know.”

Everyone smiled and then Liza said, “I'se got to git back and he'p wit the cookin' fo' dinner,” Liza said, turning to go back up the hill. Then looking back she said, “Missy 'Manda, don't let dat cat run away again.”

“Mandie!” Joe exclaimed.

Mandie looked to see why he was being so loud.

“You might have made a big mistake,” Joe told her. “If Liza goes back to the house and tells everyone you have invited her to go with you to visit your Cherokee kinpeople, word is certainly going to get back to Mrs. Taft.”

“Oh, you're right, Joe,” Mandie said, picking up Snowball. “I'll go catch Liza and ask her not to mention it.” She started to run up the hill.

“Amanda!” John Shaw called to her. She stopped and looked back. “I don't want you to be afraid of what your grandmother might hear or think. This is your vacation we're talking about, so don't worry about Liza telling everyone. In fact, that might be the best way for your grandmother to realize you have definite plans of your own.”

Mandie smiled and went back down to the arbor. “Thank you, Uncle John,” she said. “We'll just wait and see what happens.”

Mandie knew her grandmother could be bossy and that most
people gave in to her wishes, but John Shaw was not one of those. And she had her uncle strongly by her side. This was going to be an interesting problem, but she knew that somehow it would be solved.

CHAPTER SEVEN

PREPARING

The cover over the rose arbor was finished and painted by the time Liza came to get them for the noonday meal. Mandie had helped by picking up nails, handing up tools as Joe and John Shaw stood on ladders, and then cleaning up the debris. Snowball, much to his dislike, had his leash looped around a post and had to stay right there with his mistress. He greeted Liza with loud meows.

“I knows, I knows,” Liza told him as she walked up. “You wants loose, but I tells you you cain't get loose.” She stooped to rub his head.

“I suppose it's eating time?” Joe asked with a grin.

“Dat's right. Aunt Lou sent me to tell y'all to git cleaned up 'cause de food gwine be on de table soon, and she say come right now,” the girl replied.

“She timed it just right. We are finished with everything,” John Shaw said, stepping back to look at their work.

“Liza, if you will take charge of Snowball, I'll help Uncle John and Joe take things back to the barn,” Mandie said. “And please don't let him get loose.”

“I'll take him right back to de kitchen. He'll like dat 'cause de food's ready and smellin' good,” Liza said, unhooking the leash
from the post and starting back up the hill with Snowball walking at the end of it.

Mandie glanced down the hill at the old house plainly in view from the rose arbor. “This is going to be the perfect place to watch from,” she said.

“Provided we stay at least half hidden behind the bushes around this,” Joe remarked, pointing to the shrubbery bushes growing at the edge of the arbor.

Then Mandie remembered the tunnel. “I don't think we have to check out the exit from the tunnel, Joe, because this is much better,” she said, her hands full of scraps from the wood.

“I agree,” Joe replied, pulling down the ladder he had been standing on to put finishing touches on the paint.

“This also made a big improvement in our yard,” John Shaw remarked. He gathered up the tools.

As they all started back up the hill, Mandie said, “I don't know when Grandmother is planning on doing it, but she said this morning we could all discuss our plans for the summer. I just wanted to give you warning.”

“Don't worry about it, my little blue eyes,” John Shaw replied with a smile. “I learned long ago how to do battle with that grandmother of yours. We'll win this one.”

“I hope so,” Mandie replied.

After they left everything in the barn, they went in through the back door of the house to let Aunt Lou know they had returned. She gave them time to go upstairs and clean up and then announced the noonday meal just as the three of them joined the ladies in the parlor.

“I'm glad we didn't have time to talk in the parlor, so Grandmother couldn't bring up the subject of summer plans,” Mandie whispered to Joe as they followed the adults into the dining room.

There was the sound of the front door opening and closing, and they looked back down the hallway to see Dr. Woodard coming in.

“You're just in time to eat,” Mandie called to him.

“I'll join y'all just as soon as I clean up,” the doctor replied, hurrying to the staircase.

Everyone else heard his reply as they went into the dining room.
They sat at the table and waited for him to come in. When Dr. Woodard took his seat, the conversation was concerning patients he had stopped by to see on his way back.

“I don't think Grandmother will have an opportunity to bring up the subject of summer vacation anytime soon,” Mandie whispered to Joe.

“No, my dad is a big talker once he gets started, especially about his patients,” Joe agreed. “But that's good so we can eat in peace and not worry about plans.” He grinned at Mandie.

Mandie noticed her grandmother was not talking very much. She decided maybe the lady just didn't want to discuss anything about summer vacation but was secretly making plans anyway. Then she wondered if her uncle John would broach the subject himself, but he was busy talking about their work on the old rose arbor.

Then when the meal was over, Elizabeth pushed back her chair and asked, “Would everyone be interested in going for a drive around town to get some fresh air in this wonderful sunshine we have today?”

As her mother looked around the table, Mandie shook her head. She wanted to stay home and relax. Then she caught Joe shaking his head also.

“All right, we'll go as soon as Abraham can hitch up the rig and we freshen up a little,” Elizabeth said, in response to the agreement that went around the table. Then she walked by Mandie and Joe and said, “You two don't have to go if you don't want to.”

“Thanks, Mother,” Mandie said as Elizabeth walked on with the other ladies. Turning to Joe, Mandie said, “Come on. Let's go sit in the parlor until everyone leaves and then we can go watch the old house. Maybe the paint on the arbor will be dry by then.”

“Maybe,” Joe replied as he followed her down the hallway to the parlor.

The adults had only been gone a few minutes, and Mandie and Joe were getting ready to go outside, when Liza came to the parlor.

“Guess whut?” she said, smiling. “Y'all got mo' company.”

“More company? Who is it, Liza?” Mandie asked eagerly.

“It be dat Injun man and dat man whut lives in yo' daddy's house,” Liza replied.

“Oh, where are they?” Mandie asked, excitedly getting up from her chair.

“Dey puttin' de wagon in de barn. Ain't been to de door yet but I seed 'em,” Liza explained.

“Come on,” Mandie told Joe as she rushed out of the room.

Joe followed her to the kitchen, where the two men were just coming in the back door.

“Uncle Ned!” Mandie exclaimed as she hurried to shake his hand. The tall old Indian bent to give her a hug. “And Mr. Jacob!” Mandie continued her greetings as she reached for his hand. The big, burly gray-haired man squeezed hers in reply.

“It's been so long since I saw you I thought I'd come with Uncle Ned here when he stopped by and told me he was coming over here,” Mr. Jacob Smith told her.

Turning to Joe, Mr. Smith said with a chuckle, “Glad to see you managed to get away from that college.”

“Yes, sir, I have to once in a while. I'm glad you came because I won't be home except long enough to get my things and go back to school. We're staying here until then,” Joe replied.

Uncle Ned was standing by, watching and listening. “Believe you grow since I saw you,” he said.

“Yes, sir, Uncle Ned, I'm sure I have because my pants are getting too short,” Joe answered with a laugh.

Aunt Lou had been standing at the sink, observing. She spoke up, “Y'all jes' go sit at de table and I brings you some dinner. Everybody else done finished and gone out, but we still got food here.” She pointed to the food on the sideboard she and Liza had brought from the dining room.

The men hesitated a moment and Mandie said, “Come on, sit down and eat. Mother and Uncle John and the others have gone for a drive but they'll be back soon.” She walked over to the cupboard and began getting down dishes. Liza came to help.

While the men ate, Mandie and Joe drank coffee. Aunt Lou and Liza sat down by the cookstove where Snowball was eating from a plate on the floor.

“Is everything all right at my father's house?” Mandie asked.

“Just fine,” Jacob Smith replied between bites of green beans. “That was why I wanted to see you, just to let you know everything is all right. I've made some repairs to the shutters and the front porch and I've painted the inside of the house.”