The Mandie Collection (24 page)

“Oh, thank you, Mr. Jacob,” Mandie said. “I'm so glad I found you to live in the house and take care of it for me. I wouldn't want just anybody staying there. And did you finally get your own chickens so you don't have to buy eggs from the neighbors?”

“The pen is full of chickens and I have two hogs in the back of the barnyard. I'm also getting some cows and another horse,” he told her. “In fact, the place is pretty well full of animals.”

Turning to Uncle Ned, Mandie asked, “How is Sallie? And Morning Star?”

The old man smiled at her and said, “Sallie want Papoose come visit when summer get here.”

Mandie grinned and looked at Joe as she replied, “Joe and I both are coming to visit when school is out. I want to see all my Cherokee kinpeople over in Deep Creek, but I'd rather stay at your house.”

“I saw that missionary fellow who started the Cherokee school at the store the other day. He was asking about you, whether I had heard from you or not,” Mr. Smith said.

“Riley O'Neal,” Mandie said. “So he is still there. I thought maybe he would go back home to Boston.”

“No, don't believe he'll be going back north anytime soon,” Mr. Smith said. “He's really doing a good job with the Cherokee children. And their mamas and papas have finally decided he is their friend.”

“I'm glad for him,” Mandie said. “He seemed so sincere about getting the school started, and I was afraid the Cherokee people would never accept him.”

Uncle Ned looked at Mandie and asked, “What Papoose been doing now?”

Mandie smiled and began relating the news regarding the old house down by the creek. “It's all a mystery right now, but I'm going
to solve it before I go back to school,” she said. Then, looking at Joe, she added, “And Joe is going to help me.”

“She means I am just following along,” Joe said, grinning.

“Man live there go away many years ago,” Uncle Ned told them.

“You knew the man, Uncle Ned?” Mandie asked.

Uncle Ned smiled and replied, “Yes, when Morning Star and I stay here with John Shaw's papa.”

“Oh, I had forgotten about y'all living with my grandparents way back then,” Mandie said. “You don't think it could be that man who is staying down at the old house? Maybe he came back.”

Uncle Ned shook his head and said, “Hear man went to happy hunting ground after he leave here.”

“If that man died, who owns the place now, Uncle Ned?” Joe asked.

“Nobody,” the old man replied.

“Might be something your uncle would want to buy since it joins his property,” Jacob Smith said.

“I'll tell him,” Mandie said.

“He'd probably have trouble tracing the ownership since the man is dead. There might be relatives who would be the owners now,” Joe suggested.

Mandie gave him a big smile and said, “You really are going to turn into a lawyer, aren't you?”

Joe grinned back and said, “Well, we've been studying property laws at my school.”

“That would be a good field to get into,” Jacob Smith told him.

Uncle Ned shook his head and said sadly, “Property law no good for Cherokee people.”

Mandie quickly reached across the table to squeeze the old man's hand. With tears in her eyes she told him, “Uncle Ned, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to ask Uncle John to buy that piece of property down there and give it to you and Morning Star.” Her voice trembled slightly as she thought about the dishonesty that had displaced her Cherokee ancestors from their very own land.

“But what we do with it?” Uncle Ned asked, squeezing her hand back. “We have house already.”

“Oh, that house down there is no good, Uncle Ned,” Mandie said with a little laugh. “It needs to be torn down and a new one built. Uncle John could build a new house for you, and then you and Morning Star and Sallie could come back here to live.”

“Big God bless you, Papoose, but we cannot come here to live,” the old man said, smiling at her. “We live at Deep Creek.”

“But you and Morning Star lived here before with my grandparents,” Mandie argued. “I know you and I are not blood related, and I do have lots of Cherokee kinpeople, real ones, but Uncle Ned, I love you and Morning Star so much more than I do them.”

“Love Jim Shaw's Papoose,” Uncle Ned replied, the nearest to tears she had ever seen him. “We love you, too.”

“Anyhow,” Mandie said, withdrawing her hand in order to take a sip of her coffee. “I'm going to ask Uncle John about buying that property and putting up a new house. Someday you and Morning Star may want it.”

Silence had fallen across the room as everyone in it had listened to the conversation. Then Joe spoke up. “You know, Mandie, that might be a good learning experience for me to get involved in. You ask your uncle about it and if he's interested I'll volunteer to help him out.”

Everyone laughed. “Help him out with what, Joe?” Mandie asked.

“Whatever needs to be done,” Joe replied. “I know how to check property records in the courthouse and I also know how to use a hammer and a saw.”

“Well, now, that certainly makes you qualified,” Jacob Smith said. “Any which way you're needed.”

When the room had become quiet again, Uncle Ned spoke. “Someday Joe will be a great lawyer. He has desire and ability, and with both there will be much success.”

The room was very quiet after that remark and then suddenly Mandie clapped her hands and said, “And I want to be the first to congratulate Joe Woodard on a great future. I know him well enough to know that he will succeed at whatever he wishes to do.” She felt
her face grow warm with a blush as she dropped her eyes and quickly picked up her cup to sip her coffee.

“Amen!” came from Jacob Smith.

“Yes!” Uncle Ned followed.

Even Aunt Lou and Liza, listening to the conversation from their places by the stove, clapped their hands.

“Mandie, what are you trying to do? Embarrass me?” Joe exclaimed, dropping his eyes and not looking at anyone.

At that very moment John Shaw walked into the kitchen. “Embarrass you, Joe Woodard? Impossible!” and then he saw Uncle Ned and Jacob Smith. He stepped forward to shake hands. “How wonderful to find y'all here,” he told them.

Aunt Lou came hurrying across the room with another cup and saucer, stopped at the stove to fill it with hot coffee, then brought it to the table and set it down.

John Shaw said, “Thank you, Aunt Lou,” as he pulled out a chair and sat down. “And, Jacob, how are things at Charley Gap?”

“Fine, just fine. I just told Miss Amanda I had made a few minor repairs on her house,” he replied and explained what they were.

Mandie could hardly wait for the three men to get finished with their conversation, and she took their first break to put in her news. “Uncle John, did you know the man who owned that old house down by the creek died after he left here? Uncle Ned knew him and just told us.”

John Shaw looked at Uncle Ned and asked, “So he died? Do you know if he had any relatives, if there was anyone who inherited the property?”

Uncle Ned shook his head and said, “Do not know of any. He live alone way over in Buncombe County, this McCampbell man. Friend neighbor tell me he die alone, church bury him, sad no kinpeople.”

“Yes, that is sad,” John Shaw said. “I think I'll have my lawyer look into this, find out who, if anybody, owns the property now and whether it can be bought with a clear title.”

Mandie grinned at her uncle. “I knew you would want to do that,” she said.

“Maybe I could help,” Joe offered. “I've learned how to look up property records, and the courthouse is right here in Franklin, and I will be here until the end of next week.”

John Shaw looked at Joe and smiled. “Sure, Joe, you and Amanda go down to the courthouse and find the record, see if Mr. McCampbell ever sold the property, and if so, to whom.”

“Thank you, sir, this will be a good learning experience for me,” Joe told him.

“Don't forget, first we have to solve the mystery of who is staying in that house,” Mandie reminded him. “It could be somebody who has bought it.”

“You're right, Amanda,” John Shaw said. “It could have been sold.”

“Well, then, let's work real fast on that mystery so I will still have time to go to the courthouse,” Joe said with a disappointed look.

“If we are going to work that fast, we may have to sleep all day and stay up all night to watch that house because the light is only seen at night,” Mandie told him.

“It's only seen at night because it's dark then. There may be a light inside in the daytime that we can't see in the light of day,” Joe reminded her. “Besides, whoever is in there may come outside during the day sometime or other.”

John Shaw stood up and said, “Uncle Ned, Jacob—the ladies are in the parlor. Suppose we join them.”

As soon as the three men left the kitchen, Liza asked Mandie excitedly, “Kin I he'p watch if y'all watch at night, 'cause I don't be havin' to work at night?” She came over to the table.

“We'll have to decide exactly what we are going to do first, Liza,” Mandie said. “But of course you can come with us anytime Aunt Lou says you can.”

Aunt Lou rose from her chair and said, “Liza, right now we needs to finish cleaning up dis heah kitchen fo' it git time to cook supper.”

“Yessum, Aunt Lou, I'll hurry,” Liza said, rushing around taking the dirty dishes from the table and carrying them to the sink.

Mandie told Joe, “Since the sun has been shining today, it ought
to be clear tonight and a little warmer without all that rain. Do you want to go sit in the arbor after we have supper? It'll be dark by then.”

“Sure, if you'll agree to at least walk down to the courthouse sometime tomorrow. We don't have to start looking for records. We can just walk in and see where everything is kept,” Joe said, smiling.

“Have you never been in the courthouse?” Mandie asked.

“No, this one is for Macon County, here,” Joe said. “Since I live in Swain County, our courthouse is in Bryson City. Remember when we went to court about your father's house?”

“I've been in this one here one time,” Mandie said. “It has indoor bathrooms, one for the ladies and one for the men, and it's all marble with fancy curlicues everywhere.”

Aunt Lou stopped in the middle of the floor and said, “Now, my chile, what a subject for a young lady to discuss. Bathrooms, indeed!”

“Oh, Aunt Lou,” Mandie exclaimed, blushing in spite of herself. She and Joe had always talked about everything and thought nothing of it. But now Aunt Lou was reminding her that she was a young lady and should act ladylike. Then, smiling, Mandie said, “Aunt Lou, I do believe you have been talking to Miss Prudence. She's always telling us the young ladies in her school should act like young ladies. But I'm home now and this is a holiday, so I can just be plain old me.”

Aunt Lou sighed, walked over to the stove, and said, “Someday, my chile, you gwine hafta grow up.”

“Hafta grow up,” Liza repeated as she picked up more dishes. “Dat's whut Aunt Lou always tellin' me, and I ain't sho' I wants to grow up. Sounds like a lot of trouble to me, rememberin' all dem things.”

Mandie and Joe both laughed and stood up.

“Come on, Joe, let's go to the parlor,” Mandie said. “My grandmother may be discussing plans, and we need to know what's said.”

“We sure do,” Joe agreed.

As the two started for the door, Mandie looked back at Aunt Lou and said, “I'll try to remember, Aunt Lou.”

Aunt Lou paused to smile at her.

Mandie secretly agreed with Liza. She wasn't sure she wanted to grow up and be a young lady. She might not have the opportunity to solve mysteries then, especially since she would not be able to do any unladylike things that might be necessary.

“Oh well!” Mandie whispered to herself.

CHAPTER EIGHT

AUNT LOU'S SUGGESTION

Everyone sat in the parlor that night after supper and discussed everything from the weather to the upcoming dinner party, but no mention was made of plans for the summer. Mandie stayed right there to be sure her grandmother didn't bring up the subject of summer vacation, and when Mrs. Taft finally declared she was tired and would like to retire, Mandie blew out a breath of relief.

“Now we can go to the arbor and watch that house,” Mandie whispered to Joe as Mrs. Taft left the parlor.

“All right,” Joe agreed.

Mandie made motions to Uncle John, who was sitting nearest to them, that they were going outside. He nodded and smiled. Everyone else was so involved in conversation that they didn't notice when the two quietly left the room.

However, someone else was waiting for them. As soon as they stepped into the hallway, Liza appeared from the direction of the kitchen and said, “Lawsy mercy, Missy 'Manda, thought y'all never was goin' to go to dat arbor place. I been waitin' ever since we cleaned up de kitchen. We needs to git goin' so's we kin have time to sleep a little bit tonight.”

Mandie smiled at the girl and said, “Sorry, Liza, but I had to wait until my grandmother went to bed to be sure she didn't bring
up plans for the summer.” She and Joe walked down toward the back door. Liza followed.

“Besides, we didn't know you were waiting. You didn't let us know,” Joe added.

“All right, den, next time I let you know,” Liza replied.

“Is Snowball still in the kitchen?” Mandie asked as she came to the door.

“Last time I was in dere he be dere,” Liza assured her. “And I was de onliest one left in dere, so I sho' ain't gwine let him out.”

The moon was shining through the new leaves of the trees and lighted the way down to the rose arbor. Then they discovered if they sat inside the arbor they would be in shadows but could see the old house down the hill by the light of the moon.