Mandie Collection, The: 8 (11 page)

“Do you live here alone?” Joe asked as they started forward. He paused.

“Sure do, always have, just me and Mud, and he’s getting on in age now,” the woman said. “Don’t know what I’ll do if he passes on to dog heaven one of these days. Won’t have no bodyguard.”

“Don’t you worry about that, Miss Metts. We’ll get you another watchdog if that happens,” Mandie told her.

Joe quickly said, “I was just thinking. My dog, Samantha, had several puppies a while back, and they’re old enough now that you could train one of them to be your watchdog. Would you like my father to bring you one next time he comes to see you, Miss Metts?”

“Oh, you don’t mean that!” the old woman exclaimed with a big toothless grin. “You mean I could really have one of those puppies?”

“Why, sure,” Joe said, smiling back. “Only thing, you’d have to train Mud there not to hurt the puppy until they get acquainted with each other.”

“Don’t worry about Mud. I would keep the puppy in the house if your father brings me one,” Miss Metts said, still smiling. “Now, wouldn’t that be something? A brand-new addition to my family. That would make three of us.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Joe said and started to walk on again. “As soon as I find my father, I’ll tell him you want one of the puppies. If you happen to see my father, Miss Metts, I’d appreciate it if you would tell him everyone at Mandie’s house is wondering where he is.”

“I certainly will, and I certainly thank you ahead of time for the puppy,” Miss Metts said, then humming to herself, she turned and disappeared through the bushes in front of the house.

As Joe and Mandie continued down the road, Mandie said, “That was an interesting woman, wasn’t she?”

Joe looked down at her and replied, “She sure is. I’ve heard my father speak of her. At one time she came from a wealthy family. Come to think of it, she has a college education, Mandie, and that’s unusual for a country woman like that.”

Mandie grinned mischievously as she looked up at him and said, “Why, Joe Woodard, that’s not unusual for a country woman to have a college education. You are looking at a future one right now.”

“I know,” Joe said, grinning back. “What I meant was that it’s unusual to find a woman living in poverty like that with a college education.”

“Does your father think she’s all here, you know what I mean? Is she slightly off somehow?” Mandie asked.

“Mandie Shaw! What a silly question!” Joe teased her. “What made you think such a thing? That is a woman ahead of her time, with a mind of her own.”

“If you say so,” Mandie replied, still holding Snowball tightly. “Joe, do you remember she said there were only bootleggers and beggars living in the mountain? I hope we don’t run into any of them.”

“I know,” Joe said with a sigh. “I should have brought my rifle, but I didn’t even think about it. We forgot to ask Miss Metts if there was a man with my father, you know, the man who came to your house to get him.”

“She didn’t mention anyone else, so I would think she didn’t see him,” Mandie answered as they hurried on. “So maybe the stranger didn’t go all the way to where the sick man was. Maybe he just told your father how to get there, and Dr. Woodard went on alone.”

“Could be,” Joe agreed. “But if the injured man was the stranger’s friend, you’d think he would be going back to see what the doctor had to say about him.”

“This whole thing sounds all mixed up to me,” Mandie said. “I’m pretty sure the man who came to our house was the same man Sallie and I saw in the store.”

“You mentioned that before,” Joe said, looking down at her. “Just when did you see this man? When were you in the store where you saw him?”

Mandie looked back up at him and decided it was time to explain
about the store. She would have to give away her secret, but it might help in locating Dr. Woodard. She took a long breath and said, “Joe Woodard, I never can keep a secret from you.” She grinned.

Joe gave her a puzzled smile and said, “That’s right, so you might as well tell all.”

“Well, it’s like this,” Mandie began. “Sallie and I went to the store yesterday afternoon while you and Jonathan were over at Polly’s house.” She paused.

“And?” Joe asked.

“And we went to the store to do some shopping.” Mandie tried evading the real reason. “We thought it might be fun to give you a going-away present or something.”

“Oh, Mandie, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have insisted. Now I’ve ruined your surprise,” Joe apologized.

“Not all of it. And you can just pretend to be surprised when we give you the presents,” Mandie told him. “Anyhow, this man in the store bumped into me, and I apologized, but he didn’t say a word. He just kept walking right on through the store. I thought he acted awfully strange. Sallie did, too.”

“And you believe that’s the same man who came to your house after my father?” Joe questioned. “You know what I’m thinking? That man may be an outlaw of some kind. I hope my father is safe.”

“Joe, I’m sorry,” Mandie said, suddenly stopping in the middle of the road. “Joe, we need to say our verse.” She reached for his hand as he, too, paused there.

Holding hands, the two recited Mandie’s favorite verse, “ ‘What time I am afraid I will put my trust in Thee.’ ”

Mandie looked up at Joe and smiled. “Now I feel better. Your father is going to be all right.”

“Yes, I think so,” Joe agreed and gave her a quick squeeze around the shoulders and then started on down the road.

Mandie hurried along at his side, wondering what they would find ahead, but not as worried as she had been. Everything would work out just fine, she was sure.

CHAPTER NINE

DANGER!

As Mandie and Joe walked along the road, they began to meet a few people, most of whom, judging from the clothes they were wearing, were headed into town to church services. And there were several people going in their direction. The two young people tried flagging down the vehicles traveling toward Franklin, but most of the occupants either thought they were just waving at them or didn’t seem to notice them.

Finally an old wagon, with half its top cover missing, carrying an old man, a young woman, and six children, slowed down as it met up with Mandie and Joe.

“Hello!” Mandie began yelling and waving for them to stop.

Joe started making signs, too, as he stepped toward the middle of the road when the wagon rolled to a stop. He looked up at the man and asked, “Sir, have you seen Dr. Woodard back down the road you just came up?”

Mandie came to his side and quickly added, “We’re trying to find Dr. Woodard.”

“You’re trying to find a doctor? Is someone sick?” the old man asked, squinting and leaning forward to look at them.

Before Mandie or Joe could reply, the young woman quickly spoke, “No, Papa, don’t you recognize this young fellow? He’s Dr. Woodard’s
son. I’ve seen him with his father several times when the doctor came to see Mama. He always stayed outside.”

“Is this so?” the old man asked, leaning closer to look at Joe. “In that case, I must ask what you are doing walking way out here in the country looking for the doctor?”

“I remember you, Mr. Harrison,” Joe told the man. “And I remember Mrs. Harrison.”

“May her soul rest in peace,” Mr. Harrison murmured in a sad voice. “Now, you didn’t answer my question. What are you doing walking out here in the country looking for your father?”

“My father left the Shaws’ house last night after supper to go see a man who was injured somewhere near the mountain. A stranger came to the Shaws to ask him to go, and my father has not returned.”

“I’m Mandie Shaw,” Mandie explained. “I think I saw the stranger in Stovall’s store yesterday. I don’t believe he is from around here.”

“Oh dear!” the young woman exclaimed. “Did Dr. Woodard not tell you exactly where he was going? He didn’t give you anyone’s name?” She looked from Mandie to Joe.

The six children in the back of the wagon had all been quiet and seemed to be listening to the conversation. Now the oldest boy, about twelve years old, pulled on the woman’s sleeve. “Mama,” he said so low that Mandie could barely understand what he was saying, “Henry Stone told me this morning when I saw him in his yard that his father saw Dr. Woodard go past our houses last night and that his father was wondering if someone was sick.”

“He did?” Mandie quickly said.

“Julius, are you sure?” the woman asked, and turning to the two young people, she explained, “The Stones live across the road from us.”

“Yes, ma’am, I’m sure that Henry told me that,” the boy replied.

“Do you remember whether your friend Henry said my father was alone or not?” Joe asked, stepping closer to the side of the wagon where the boy was sitting.

Julius thought for a moment and then said, “I don’t believe he said whether Dr. Woodard was alone or not.”

“Why don’t we go on and stop and talk to Mr. Stone?” she asked Joe.

“Mr. Stone left before I saw Henry this morning,” Julius explained.
“Henry said his father would be gone on a hunting trip for two or three days.”

Mr. Harrison leaned back to ask the boy, “Do you know where he went to hunt?”

“No, sir, Henry didn’t say,” Julius replied.

Mr. Harrison turned back to Joe and said, “I would advise you to go on and talk to Mrs. Stone. She may know something. I’m sorry about your problem, but if we don’t go on, we’ll be late for church.” He tightened his hold on the reins, which he had let slack off.

“If there’s anything we can do, you just let us know, you hear?” the woman called to them as Mr. Harrison drove the wagon on toward town.

“Thank you,” Joe and Mandie both called to her.

“I suppose you know where the Harrisons live in order for us to find the Stones, who live across the road from them?” Mandie asked.

“It has been a long time, maybe four or five years,” Joe replied, “but I know they live on this road. We’ll just keep going until I see a house that I recognize as theirs.”

“At least someone saw your father, but we still don’t know whether that stranger was with him or not,” Mandie said.

The two hurried on down the road. With the weight of Snowball on her shoulder, Mandie had trouble keeping up with Joe’s long strides, but she didn’t complain. She knew Joe was worried about his father. They walked for what seemed like several miles before they even saw a house of any kind.

“I see a building up ahead on the left side,” Mandie said, pointing up the road and squinting to see.

Joe stopped and held his hand over his brow to shade his eyes as he, too, gazed in that direction. “That may be a barn,” he said.

“If there’s a barn up there, wouldn’t there be a house somewhere nearby?” Mandie asked.

“Most likely,” Joe agreed. “We’ll soon find out.”

The two hurried on and were soon near enough to see that the building was a barn. And farther back from the road were the remains of a house that had burned to the ground a while ago and was now sprouting weeds between the burnt timbers.

“Oh, I wonder what happened to the people who lived there?”
Mandie asked, catching her breath as they stood on the road looking at it. “It looks so sad.”

“Yes, it does,” Joe agreed. “I don’t remember anything about that house. My father never visited it when I was with him that I can remember. And there’s nothing across the road, so there’s no one to ask about it. Let’s move on.”

They finally sighted another house in the distance, and as they approached it, Mandie saw another house across the road from it.

“The Harrisons must live in one house and the Stones in the other,” Mandie remarked as they came closer. The houses were similarly made of hand-hewn logs and with enormous rock chimneys running up the end of each one.

“Yes, the Harrisons live on the left and the Stones on the right,” Joe confirmed. “I remember the place now.” He stopped in front of the Harrisons’ house to look. “I remember they had lots of chickens running all over the yard and the road. While I waited in the buggy when my father went inside to doctor Mrs. Harrison, I wondered if any of the chickens ever got run over. They had a dog tied up over at the end of the porch there.” He pointed to the right.

“I don’t see any chickens or a dog now,” Mandie remarked.

“No, neither do I, but let’s go over here and see if the Stones are home,” Joe replied, walking over to the pathway that led to the Stones’ house.

Mandie quickly caught up with him, holding tightly to Snowball. “I hope they don’t have a dog anywhere near,” she said.

At that moment a ferocious bark came from somewhere behind the house. Snowball dug his claws into the shoulder of Mandie’s coat, and Mandie stopped to look around.

“He’s tied in the back. I can see him,” Joe told her as he went ahead toward the front door.

Mandie followed, and when she reached the end of the porch, she could see a huge black dog straining against the rope that had him tied to a small tree trunk. She quickly went up the steps behind Joe.

Joe knocked on the front door. Mandie tried to soothe Snowball as the dog continued barking. There was no answer, and finally Joe turned back to her.

“There must not be anyone home,” he said in a disappointed voice.

“Julius said Mr. Stone left on a hunting trip, remember?” Mandie reminded him. “So Mrs. Stone and the others are most likely gone to church.”

“Probably,” Joe agreed. He started back down the front steps. “Well, I suppose we can just keep on walking because we know my father did come this far and went on past, according to Julius.”

Mandie caught up with him, and they walked back to the road. “Maybe there’ll be someone home at the next house,” she said.

But the next house was a long way off, and when they finally got to it, they found it deserted, too. On the left side of the road, which had become narrower, was an old wooden shack that had its roof falling in, its window lights gone, and the porch across the entire front leaning lopsided with one of the support posts dangling in the air. Weeds and underbrush covered most of the yard, but the walkway to the back of the house seemed to have been cleared off recently.

The two young people stood and stared at the house from the road. “Well, shall we look inside?” Mandie asked, looking up at Joe.