The Mandie Collection (40 page)

“I'm sure they'll help,” Mandie replied. “It won't take but a couple of minutes, because everyone is anxious to dig for rubies.”

John put his hand on Uncle Ned's shoulder. “Please don't let these young people out of your sight for one minute,” he cautioned. “You know how fast Amanda can get into trouble.”

Mandie looked up at her uncle. “I promise to be real good this time,” she said. “And Uncle Ned will be there to make sure I am.”

Uncle Ned grunted. “Papoose will keep promise this time. I see to that.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

THE SECRET OF THE MINE

Since there were six young people going to the mine, Uncle Ned took them in his wagon.

“I keep all together better,” he explained as they piled in for the ride.

“And this way we'll have something to bring back all those rubies in that we're going to find,” Joe joked.

“So far, Hilda is the only one who has found anything. And she won't take it out of her apron pocket, whatever it is,” Mandie said, glancing over at her.

Hilda immediately put her hand over her pocket and smiled at Mandie.

“I don't think that would be considered finding anything,” Celia concluded, “if it was just a piece of broken pottery.”

“But she is proud of it,” Dimar added. “And she is afraid we will take it away from her, so she keeps it hidden.”

“She does not know all of us well,” Sallie said.

Uncle Ned drew up near the entrance to the mine. “Go. Dig,” he told them. “I wait here. Watch.” He waved them on.

The boys lighted the lanterns, and the young people quickly scrambled down from the wagon to race for the entrance.

Inside, they grabbed tools and began to work. Joe pumped the water to get it going into the trough.

Hilda picked up a hoe and went over to a corner by herself. She began to dig in one spot.

“I'm glad we got all the work done that we could do, so we didn't have to go back to the farmhouse with the men,” Joe remarked.

“It is nice to get a chance to dig for rubies,” Dimar agreed. “Especially with so many pretty girls,” he added with a twinkle in his eye.

“I'm glad you fellas could come with us. There's no telling what we might need you for,” Mandie teased. “And Jake Burns is going to take over this mine soon, so we need to dig all we can.”

Celia straightened up from her digging for a moment. “Your uncle is being awfully nice to them after what they did to you and Joe,” she remarked.

“Uncle John believes that we should return good for evil,” Mandie said. “And so do I. We also believe that Mr. and Mrs. Burns are truly sorry for what they did. Uncle John and I talked about it.”

“Is that why he took you out of the dining room with him this morning?” Celia asked.

“No,” Mandie said, leaning on her hoe. “It seems that my father and Uncle John had a sister a long time ago that they didn't know about.”

Everyone stopped to listen as Mandie told them the story of Ruby May.

“And you say she had an accident on her pony and was killed?” Joe said. “I wonder where that happened.”

“I didn't even think to ask Uncle Ned about that. You see, he and Morning Star were living with Uncle John and his family when it happened,” Mandie explained.

“I told you my grandfather could keep a secret,” Sallie said.

“Oh!” Mandie said excitedly. “I forgot to tell you something about Ruby May. All those dolls on the stairs belonged to her. Can you imagine one girl owning that many dolls?”

“Well, if you're rich—and you like dolls,” Joe surmised. “Where'd the dolls come from?”

Mandie explained to the boys about the wardrobe in the attic.

“I'm glad you don't still play with dolls,” Joe said.

“Me? Why?” Mandie asked.

“Because that is a waste of time,” Joe replied. “There are so many other things that a girl should learn about—boys, too, for that matter—before they grow up,” Joe replied.

“Such as what? Mandie asked.

“Such as–”

Suddenly there was a loud scream from Hilda in the corner. She stood still, staring at a place where she had been digging.

The others rushed over to her. At first everyone stared silently at the dirt. Then Celia screamed, and Sallie backed off.

“What is it?” Mandie gasped, bending to inspect.

“Do not touch it!” Dimar warned. “Now we know. This is an Indian burial ground we are digging in!”

Uncle Ned, having heard the screams, came to see what it was all about.

When Mandie saw him, she called to him. “Uncle Ned, come see what Hilda has dug up.”

The old Indian walked quickly to the spot. Without inspecting the ground, he said sadly, “I know. It is the burying ground of my ancestors.”

Tears moistened Mandie's eyes. “Oh, Uncle Ned, we're sorry. We didn't know.”

“Someone should have told us,” Joe added.

“I knew there was something funny about this place, the way you and Mrs. Taft and that Jake Burns have been acting,” Celia said to Uncle Ned. “They knew all the time, didn't they?”

Uncle Ned nodded. “Cherokee tradition say you dig here, you disturb spirits of ancestors. In past, we worship Cherokee ancestors. We Christians now. Know this wrong. Worship only Big God. But must respect burying ground.”

Dimar stepped forward. “We will cover it back up,” he told him, picking up his hoe.

“Cover what up?” Uncle John asked as he came down the steps with Dr. Woodard and Jake Burns.

“Uncle John, we've uncovered an Indian burial ground,” Mandie explained, tears glistening in her eyes.

John Shaw and Dr. Woodard stepped forward to look while Jake Burns stayed in the background. Turning to Jake, John asked, “Do you know anything about this?”

Jake stuttered as he answered. “A l-l-little.”

“Well, what do you know about it?” John asked firmly.

“That is the reason this mine was closed,” Jake admitted, hanging his head. “Uncle Ned knew about that. But only that part of the mine over there is a burial ground. If you turn back this way, it's all clear.”

John shook his head slowly. “Now, Uncle Ned, I see why you called this a sad, bad mine,” he said. Then he looked back at Jake. “When you agreed to work it for us, were you planning to dig right through the graves under here?”

“Why, no,” Jake said. “Like I said, I knew about the burial ground. I was plannin' to expand in the other direction. I wasn't goin' to disturb the graves over that way.”

“I'm sorry, Uncle Ned,” John said. “If you had only spoken up and let us know about this, we never would have opened this mine again.”

“White man not understand Cherokee ways,” Uncle Ned replied. Mandie took hold of her old Indian friend's hand. “But, Uncle Ned, we're part Cherokee,” she said. “We would have understood.”

Jake stepped forward hesitantly. “That's not the only reason this here mine was closed up,” he said.

“What do you mean by that?” Dr. Woodard asked.

“My pa was killed here after he closed the mine. Nobody could ever figure out how or who did it, but the Cherokees claimed it was their ancestors takin' revenge on the white men who disturbed their spirits.”

“Did my father believe that?” John asked.

“Your pa didn't, but your ma did. Remember, she was full-blooded Cherokee,” Jake reminded him.

John Shaw turned to look at Uncle Ned.

The old Indian finally spoke up. “Cherokees have many superstitions about mine,” he acknowledged. “Ruby come here. She ride pony. Pony go wild and throw her. Your father close mine. Say it never be opened again.”

“I wish somebody had told me about all this,” John sighed. “I wouldn't have opened the mine for anything.”

“I not tell you what do, John Shaw. Your mine,” Uncle Ned told him.

“That's right, John. It's yours to do what you like,” Jake said.

“Uncle John, couldn't we go on with what Mr. Burns was planning?” Mandie asked. “We could put a wall around this side and close it off, and then work in the other direction.”

“Would that be agreeable to you, Uncle Ned?” John asked. “I don't want to do anything to hurt you. These are your ancestors buried here, and this place is as sacred as our own family cemetery.”

Uncle Ned thought for a moment. All the young people silently waited for his answer.

“Agree. Do not disturb graves of ancestors,” the old Indian murmured faintly.

“Thanks, Uncle Ned.” Mandie squeezed his hand hard. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

“All right, Jake, you heard the agreement,” John said. “This area is to be walled off and not disturbed.”

“Yes, sir,” Jake replied. “We'll find more rubies in the other direction anyway.”

Hilda, who had been crouching in a corner away from the others, walked slowly toward them. Putting her hand in her pocket, Hilda took out the object she had been hiding and handed it to Mandie.

The other young people quickly crowded around to see what it was.

Mandie looked in her hand, then shivered and tossed the object to Joe.

He caught it in midair. “Oh, no!” he cried.

“What is it?” Celia asked.

Joe examined it more closely. “I think it is part of one of Uncle Ned's ancestors,” he said.

The other young people stepped back. Joe handed the small bone to the old Indian, who inspected it closely. Walking over to the opening where Hilda had dug, Uncle Ned knelt down and laid the bone in the ground with the other pieces of the skeleton. Reaching for the hoe, he silently pushed the loose dirt back over the opening.

Sallie and Dimar knelt by Uncle Ned beside the freshly covered grave. Then as the old Indian raised his voice in Cherokee prayer, they all fell silent and bowed their heads.

When the Indians rose, Hilda stepped toward them and said, “Rest in peace.”

Everyone looked at her in amazement.

“How did Hilda know what they were saying?” Joe asked. “Does Hilda speak Cherokee?”

Dr. Woodard cleared his throat. “I'm beginning to wonder if Hilda is part Cherokee,” he speculated.

“Dimar said he was teaching her the Cherokee language,” Mandie told him.

“But I have not been able to teach her much,” Dimar stated. “I did not teach her those words.”

Hilda looked over at Dimar and smiled. “Cher'kee,” she said softly.

“You know, John, maybe that's our trouble with Hilda. She may not understand English,” Dr. Woodard said.

“But you said you met her parents. They weren't Cherokee, were they?” John asked.

“They spoke English, but they did look like they could have been Indian, come to think of it,” Dr. Woodard concluded. “I'll have to check that out.”

“I think we should all call it a day and go home now,” Uncle John decided.

The young people groaned in disappointment.

“Could I get just one more sieveful?” Joe asked. “Please?”

“All right, just one more sieve each, and then we'll go,” Uncle John agreed.

The young people rushed to fill their sieves and then hurried to the water trough. But again they each groaned as they emptied the gravel—all except Joe.

Joe suddenly called to John as he held his sieve over the water. “Mr. Shaw, please come and see what I have here.”

John picked up the object Joe had in the sieve, turned it over and over, and held it next to the lantern. “Looks like you've got a good-sized ruby there,” he stated, handing the stone back to him.

“A real ruby?” Joe exclaimed.

“An honest-to-goodness ruby, Joe,” John answered.

There was so much excitement among the young people that Uncle John finally allowed one more sieve each, but no one came up with anything but gravel and rocks.

As the group climbed back into Uncle Ned's wagon, Mandie sat next to Joe. “What are you going to do with your ruby, Joe?” she asked.

“I guess I'll get it cut and polished like you're supposed to do,” he replied, turning the stone over and over in his hand. “I can't believe I found a real ruby.”

“After you get it cut and polished, what are you going to do with it?” Celia wanted to know.

“I'll—uh—I'll just—I'll just keep it,” Joe said, glancing at Mandie.

But Mandie wasn't listening anymore. She was thinking of her lost kitten. She couldn't wait to get home to find out if he had come back.

When they all got back to the house, Liza let them in.

“Liza, has Snowball come home?” Mandie asked immediately.

“Missy, I ain't seed hide nor hair of dat white cat,” Liza told her.

“I'm afraid he's lost and can't find the way home,” Mandie said. “Just in case you happen to see him, will you let me know right that minute?”

“I sho' will, Missy,” Liza said sympathetically. “Supper bein' put on de table. Hurry now.”

After they all cleaned up and gathered at the dining table for the evening meal, the young people excitedly told the women about what had happened at the mine. The ladies were horrified at the thought of digging up graves.

“John, you're not going to let people go in there and dig now that we know about the burial ground, are you?” Elizabeth asked.

“No, of course not, Elizabeth,” John replied. “We're closing off that part.”

“May we go back and dig in the other part again before we go back to school?” Mandie asked.

“If you have time,” Uncle John said. “Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Morning Star will be here in the morning. We thought if everybody
got together then, we could get all the furniture moved into Jake and Ludie's house while the dinner is cooking. It would be a nice Thanksgiving gesture.”

Everyone approved the plan, and bright and early the next morning, Morning Star arrived and they gathered in the attic. Piece by piece, Uncle John approved the furniture that they were taking to the Burns's house.