The Mandie Collection (45 page)

Uncle Ned only smiled back at her.

As soon as the noon meal was finished, Mandie, Joe, and Celia went back to the schoolhouse with Riley to finish their job of printing lessons for the Cherokee children.

True to Riley's estimate, they finished a couple of hours later. They carefully inspected what they had done and gave the papers to Riley.

“Let's have a cup of coffee before we return to Uncle Ned's,” Riley suggested, rising from the table. “I'll put these in my room, where no one will be able to get them ahead of time.” He took the papers and started toward the door to his room.

Mandie happened to glance at him and saw one of the papers flutter to the floor as he went. She jumped up, retrieved it, and followed him to the doorway. “Here, you dropped one,” she said, glancing beyond him into the room. Suddenly she exclaimed loudly, “Oh no!”

Joe and Celia came hurrying to see what was wrong. Riley had gone on into the room, but Mandie had paused at the doorway.

“Look!” Mandie cried, so excited she could barely speak. “The quilt!”

Her friends looked, and there on Riley's chair was the missing quilt.

Riley turned back to look at them. “What is it? What's wrong?” he asked.

“You have my quilt!” Mandie exclaimed, walking into the room and to the chair. She ran her hand over the half-folded quilt.

“Your quilt?” Riley asked. “That's the quilt Tsa'ni left on my back doorstep. Does it belong to you?”

Mandie could tell Riley was completely confused about the quilt. She tried to explain how they had found it in her attic at home and Uncle Ned had taken it off to Uncle Wirt to read the message.

“And Uncle Ned brought it back to me and wouldn't tell me what the message is on the quilt,” Mandie said, out of breath with excitement. “That's why we came to visit here. I thought maybe I could get one of my Cherokee kinpeople to translate the message on the quilt for me.”

“The quilt has a message?” Riley asked, quickly shaking out the folds of the quilt. Then he also became excited. “It certainly does.”

“Do you know anyone who would tell us what it says?” Mandie asked.

Riley looked at her and said, “You don't need anyone to do that. Remember, I have been here long enough to have learned to read the Cherokee language myself—but not to speak it.” He turned back to the quilt.

“What does it say, Riley?” Joe asked.

“Do tell us,” Celia added.

Mandie held her breath, waiting for Riley to speak. When he turned back to her, he asked, “Who made this quilt? Where did it come from?”

“My grandmother, Talitha Pindar Shaw, made it. She died in 1863. If you can read it, what does it say?” Mandie asked impatiently.

Riley cleared his throat and said, “I hate to tell you. However, you do have a right to know, if she was your grandmother. She was full-blooded Cherokee, and your grandfather was a white man, right?”

“Yes, what does it say?” Mandie asked again.

“There is the date on here, 1838, which was during the Cherokee removal,” Riley said.

“Yes, that's when she met my grandfather. They were married later,” Mandie explained. “The quilt was made before she met him. I know that much about it.”

“All right, then, here's the message,” Riley finally agreed to tell her. He bent closer to examine the quilt.

Mandie stared at the quilt, which had a black background with various symbols and birds scattered over it. How could anything like that be translated into English?

“It is a message to the effect that all white people should be killed in this land of the Cherokee people because white people are stealing their land,” Riley said. “It has many hate symbols on it.” He straightened up to look at Mandie.

Mandie felt pains go through her heart. Her grandmother had hated white people. She was Mandie's father's mother, and she hated white people. Mandie suddenly felt like throwing up.

Riley reached for the percolator on the stove, poured a cup of coffee, and held it out to Mandie. “Sit down. Drink this,” he said.

Mandie sank into the nearest chair and took the cup. With shaking hands, she managed to sip the coffee.

No one said a word for a few minutes. Then Joe spoke, “Mandie, remember, this quilt was made before your grandmother met your grandfather.”

“But she hated white people. How could she marry a white man?” Mandie argued.

“I understand now what all the secrecy about the quilt was,” Celia said. “No one wanted you to know the message for fear it would hurt you.”

“You say you found this quilt in your attic at home,” Riley said. “Do you live in the same house where your grandmother lived when she was married to your grandfather?”

“Yes,” Mandie said, trying to control her sobs.

Joe explained, “Mandie's great-grandfather built the house, and he had lots of Cherokee friends. When the removal started, he built a special tunnel in his house to hide his Cherokee friends from the white soldiers who were forcing them to move out of the country there.”

“And it was then that Mandie's grandmother and grandfather met,” Celia added.

“And she probably married my grandfather to keep the white soldiers from forcing her to leave the country there,” Mandie said. “And all the time she hated him and all his white kinpeople.”

“Isn't Uncle Wirt her brother? I'm sure he and his wife love you,” Celia smiled.

Mandie suddenly jumped up. “Uncle Wirt,” she said. “Would you please take me by Uncle Wirt's on the way back to Uncle Ned's?” she asked Riley. “He's the one who tried to keep this a secret from me. I want to talk to him now.”

“All right, I'll take you by Uncle Wirt's, but let's don't go rushing
off,” Riley said. Looking at Joe and Celia, he added, “I think we should all sit down and have another cup of coffee, and I do believe I have some cookies left.”

“Sounds good to me,” Joe agreed.

“Yes,” Celia added.

There was still enough coffee in the percolator for the three of them, and they sat at a small table in Riley's room and drank the coffee and finished the cookies. By then Mandie had calmed down.

“I believe I have a bag large enough to put that quilt in,” Riley said, getting up to go look in a cabinet. He took a large feed bag from a shelf inside. “This ought to be large enough.”

He carefully rolled up the quilt and stuffed it into the bag while the others watched.

“I'm ready,” Mandie said, standing up.

“Mandie, I'm going to say something to you that Uncle Ned always says,” Joe said as he followed her out of the schoolhouse. “Think before you act. Think how much all your Cherokee kinpeople love you. That's why they didn't want you hurt by the message on the quilt. Think about that before you confront Uncle Wirt.”

Mandie knew Joe was right, but she wouldn't admit it. “I'll see what he has to say,” she said.

And she did wonder exactly what she would say to Uncle Wirt and what he would have to say to her. She knew he was known for his loud voice and his stubborn ways. But she wanted to know the whole story about her grandmother and was determined to get it.

CHAPTER TWELVE

HOME AT LAST

As Riley drove them to Uncle Wirt's house, Mandie held on to Snowball and finally remembered the strange quilt in her valise in Sallie's room.

“I suppose Tsa'ni was the one who switched the quilts,” Mandie said. Looking at Riley, she explained, “My valise with this quilt in it disappeared from Sallie's room when I first came, and then yesterday my valise was back but with a strange quilt in it. So that must be the quilt Aunt Saphronia gave Tsa'ni to give you. I don't know how Tsa'ni managed to take my valise with the quilt in it.”

“A lot of things he does can't be explained,” Riley said. “But if you will give me the other quilt when we get back to Uncle Ned's, I'll take it home with me.”

When they got to Uncle Wirt's house, Aunt Saphronia told Mandie that Wirt was at Ned's house.

“I wanted to see him about something. We're going home tomorrow,” Mandie told the woman as she stood by the cart talking. Celia held Snowball.

Aunt Saphronia reached to hug Mandie. Mandie stiffened at first, also angry with Aunt Saphronia, but then she thought better of it and decided quickly that Wirt was the boss and Saphronia was not to blame. She hugged her back.

“Come back soon,” the old woman told her. “Love.”

“Love,” Mandie replied as she got back in the cart and Riley drove on down the road.

When they arrived at Uncle Ned's house, Mandie walked ahead of the others as they went in the back door. She was carrying the Cherokee quilt. Celia held on to Snowball and finally put him down. He ran to the woodbox. Sallie was studying the books at one end of the long table. Uncle Ned and Uncle Wirt were drinking coffee at the other end. Morning Star was stirring pots on the cookstove.

“I am glad to see you back,” Sallie greeted them as she closed her books.

No one spoke. Mandie walked directly to Uncle Wirt, pulled the quilt out of the feed bag and shook it out. “This says that the woman who married my grandfather hated white people and that they should all be killed,” she yelled at the old man.

Uncle Wirt and Uncle Ned both jumped to their feet. Mandie's friends stayed by the doorway. Sallie and Morning Star said something hurriedly in Cherokee as they backed away from Mandie.

“Yes, that what say!” Uncle Wirt yelled back at Mandie.

“Where you get quilt?” Uncle Ned demanded in a loud voice, something unusual for him.

“Why did y'all keep this a secret from me? This woman married my grandfather, and I have a right to know what she was like,” Mandie screamed back.

Joe crept through the crowd and came to Mandie's side. He grasped her hand and yanked as he whispered, “Think before acting.”

Mandie took a deep breath and said in a calmer voice, “I want to know why y'all have been keeping secrets from me. Tell me. Now.” She looked from Uncle Ned to Uncle Wirt and watched them closely as they glanced at each other.

“Not want to hurt,” Uncle Ned finally spoke.

“Message not truth. Message a lie,” Uncle Wirt told her.

“What do you mean, the message is a lie?” Mandie demanded. Joe still held one of her hands.

“Talitha love your grandfather, and he white man,” Uncle Wirt said sadly.

“Then why did she put a message on here that all white people
in Cherokee country should be killed?” Mandie asked, shaking the quilt at him.

“Quilt made before Talitha meet your grandfather,” Uncle Ned tried to explain. “Your grandfather make secret tunnel to save his Cherokee friends. Talitha stayed in tunnel to be safe. Where you get quilt?”

“Tsa'ni gave this quilt to Riley O'Neal and said Aunt Saphronia sent it,” Mandie explained. “And where did Tsa'ni get the quilt? I brought it with me when I came here. It was in a valise in Sallie's room, and it disappeared, valise and all. Then the valise came back with another quilt in it. I want to know what's going on.”

“I tell you truth, Papoose,” Uncle Ned said. “How this happen. I took quilt in your valise because I take quilt back to John Shaw's house and tell you to put away and you do not. I put in my room and it go away. Now I see Tsa'ni must find it and take it.”

“Uncle Ned! You took the quilt?” Mandie was crying by this time. “How could you do that?”

Joe moved closer and put an arm around Mandie. He whispered to Celia by her side, “Please go upstairs and get the other quilt.”

“All right,” Celia replied and hurried from the room.

“Yes, I take quilt,” Uncle Ned said firmly. “Quilt not belong to Papoose. Quilt belong to John Shaw. I will take to John Shaw, was his mother's.”

Mandie was shocked with the remark, that she did not own the quilt, that it was her uncle's property. “But I found the quilt in the attic,” Mandie argued.

“John Shaw know quilt in attic. He know message on quilt,” Uncle Ned replied. “He know his mother made another quilt when she met his father, and it has love sewn into it.”

“Uncle John knew about this quilt? And he has another one his mother made? He never told me,” Mandie argued.

Uncle Ned stepped forward and reached out to take the quilt. Mandie jumped away from him and squeezed the quilt in her arms.

“No, no, it's mine!” she declared.

Uncle Ned was shocked with her behavior. He said, “I promise Jim Shaw I watch over Papoose, but Papoose not want me.” He sat down at the table and bowed his head.

Mandie felt her blue eyes flood with tears, and she started to reach out to the old man. But then she quickly changed her mind. He was in the plan to keep her from knowing anything about the quilt. Breaking loose from Joe's grasp on her arm, Mandie rushed out the back door and ran into the yard to a fallen log, where she sat down and collapsed.

“Mandie,” Joe said, catching up with her and sitting on the log. “Come on. Let's go for a walk so we can talk.” He reached for her hand, and she didn't pull away. Instead she clutched the quilt with the other hand as she got to her feet.

Joe, holding tightly to her hand, led the way slowly down to the road. They walked and walked, silently, for a long time.

All the time, Mandie was trying to sort things out in her head. She knew she had hurt Uncle Ned, and she knew she had done a great wrong. But how was she ever going to straighten things out? Would he ever forgive her?

Finally Joe spoke. “Here comes Dimar,” he said, motioning toward the approaching cart.

“Dimar,” Mandie repeated as the cart met them and stopped in the road.

“Where are you going?” Dimar asked, jumping down from the cart.

“No place really, just walking,” Joe replied, glancing at Mandie.

“I was coming to Uncle Ned's house to ask if you would like to go hunting tomorrow,” Dimar said.