The Mandie Collection (42 page)

“It might have been considered valuable by a ten-year-old,” Joe said.

“Maybe it was money,” Sallie suggested.

“Or jewelry,” Mandie said. She lifted the map from the floor, and a small fragment fell off the corner where the tack had made a hole. “This map is so old it is beginning to crumble,” she said, pointing to the corner.

“Then we must hurry and find the treasure,” Sallie said.

“Where do we begin?” Mandie asked the others.

“We should find the path by the cemetery,” Joe stated.

“Or we could talk to my grandfather,” Sallie said. “He was living here then with your grandparents, remember?”

“Let's do both,” Mandie agreed, getting up from the floor. “Let's find your grandfather and see what he knows, and then we can go to the cemetery across the road.” As she held the map, another corner crumbled from the paper.

Sallie gasped. “The map is disintegrating!”

“Why don't we make a copy and put this one back in the drawer?” Mandie suggested. “If this falls apart before we find the treasure, we might not be able to piece it together again. Joe, you can draw better than I can. Will you copy it for us?”

Joe smiled. “Where is the pencil and paper?”

“I'll run down to my room and get some. I'll be right back.” Mandie handed him the map and wove her way through the old furniture again.

On the way down the stairs, Mandie met Sallie's grandfather coming up the steps. “Uncle Ned, I'm glad you're coming up to the attic. We have lots of questions we want to ask you,” she told him. “I have to go to my room for something. I'll be back up in a minute. Sallie and Joe are up there now.”

Uncle Ned smiled at the blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl and continued his way up. “I wait in attic, Papoose.”

Mandie rushed into her room, grabbed paper and pencil from her desk, and ran back up the steps, close behind the old Indian. “Here, Joe,” she said, holding out the supplies.

“I'll draw right here,” Joe said. He knelt to use the top of an old trunk for a table and spread out the map and his supplies. Snowball hopped upon the trunk to watch. “Sit down, Snowball,” Joe ordered him. The kitten perched on the edge of one corner.

“Joe is making a copy of the map because the old one is crumbling,” Mandie explained to Uncle Ned. “You might as well sit down because we've got lots of questions to ask you.”

Uncle Ned smiled and sat on top of another old trunk nearby. Mandie and Sallie sat down on a dusty, faded settee near him.

“Now, Papoose, question,” the old Indian said.

“Did you ever know of anyone named Hezekiah?” Mandie asked.

“Hezzie—ky?” the old man asked, unable to pronounce the name. “No, Papoose, I not know.”

“Look here on the map.” Mandie jumped up and pointed over Joe's shoulder. “You see, it says, ‘My House' there, and then it shows a path to Hezekiah's house. It goes across the road, and it must run right next to the cemetery. Do you know if there's a path like that?”

Uncle Ned shook his head. “Not know, Papoose. May be. Not remember.”

Sallie moved closer. “My grandfather, do you know whether the ‘Your House' on the map is the same house the Burnses live in?”

“My granddaughter, people live in that house long ago, work for father of John Shaw in mines, plant crops. Same house Jake Burns live in now,” Uncle Ned replied.

“Who were they, Uncle Ned?” Mandie asked eagerly.

“Not remember.” The old Indian frowned for a moment as if trying to recall. “Man called Scoot,” he said after a moment.

Joe looked up from his drawing. “But why would Ruby put that house on her map?”

“Daughter of Scoot same age Ruby. Good friends. Ride ponies together,” Uncle Ned told them.

“Then I'd say that whoever the girl was, she must have known about Ruby's map and probably about the treasure, too, whatever it is,” Mandie said.

“Yeh, and she could have dug it up years and years ago,” Joe reminded her.

Uncle Ned shook his head. “No, no, no. Mine close when Ruby die. Scoot move far away.”

Mandie looked down at the map Joe was copying. “What about all these other things—the rock pile, the persimmon tree, and the rhododendron bush?” she asked. “Do you know where they are?”

The old Indian laughed and said, “Papoose, on this land find many, many trees, bushes, rocks.”

“If we only knew where Hezekiah's house was, then we could count the feet from there,” Sallie said.

Just then Mandie looked up. There in the doorway stood Polly Cornwallis, Mandie's next-door neighbor. Polly's long, dark hair was
neatly tied back with ribbons, and she was wearing an expensive-looking pink silk dress.

“Hello, everybody,” Polly greeted them. “Mandie, your mother told me y'all were up here looking for treasure.”

Mandie sighed. “No, Polly,” she replied, “we are not looking for treasure up here. We have an old map we found that we're trying to decipher.”

Polly squeezed through the furniture maze to look over Joe's shoulder. He looked up at her without speaking, then continued drawing.

“That map?” Polly questioned. “Hey, that looks awfully interesting. Can I help y'all find the treasure on it?”

The other three young people looked at each other.

Mandie hesitated. “Sure, Polly, but I warn you. It may be a tiresome, dirty job, and I know you don't like to get dirty.”

“Oh, that's all right. I don't have anything else to do until I go back to school Monday,” Polly told her, smoothing her fancy dress.

Mandie caught Uncle Ned's eye and he smiled. Mandie smiled back. Uncle Ned knew Mandie didn't especially like Polly because Polly was forever trying to be too friendly with Joe. He also knew it had taken a lot of self-control for Mandie to include Polly in the treasure hunt.

“You must go home and put on an old dress,” Sallie told Polly. “We will be searching through weeds and bushes.”

“Never mind about my dress. If I ruin it, I have lots of others,” Polly said, twirling her full skirt. “When do we start?”

“You mean where do we start, Polly,” Joe said. He turned to Mandie. “How are we going to get started on this silly adventure, anyway?”

“It's silly, is it? Then why did you beg your parents to let you stay over the rest of the weekend to help Sallie and me look for whatever this treasure is?” Mandie asked.

Joe grinned. “Because I have to be here to get you out of all the silly messes you get into.”

“Joe Woodard!” Mandie exclaimed. “I can take care of myself!”

“But it always helps to have a boy along,” Sallie spoke up. “Remember, Mandie, we have met up with some dangerous people before.”

Polly gasped. “Are there any dangerous people involved in this search for the treasure?”

“Who knows? We don't even know how to start on this yet,” Mandie said. “If we only knew who Hezekiah was and where he lived. . . . Uncle Ned, is there anybody still living around town who was here back then?”

Uncle Ned thought for a moment. “Me, Morning Star live in this house with father of John Shaw. Long ago. Long, long ago.”

Polly looked at the map again and saw the date. “April 30, 1850!” she exclaimed. “My goodness! You mean the map is that old? Why, my mother wasn't even born then!”

Mandie told her all about finding the map tacked to the back of the sideboard, where it had been hidden all these years.

Then Uncle Ned continued his recollections. “People named Massey live in house next to father of John Shaw.”

“My house,” Polly agreed. “And my mother bought the house from them after my father died. I was just a little baby then.”

“What happened to them? Are they still living in Franklin?” Mandie asked.

The old Indian shook his head. “No, move way up north.”

“Is there no one at all in Franklin who lived here back then?” Mandie asked.

“Hadleys,” Uncle Ned said. “Hadleys live here then. Same house they live in now. Papoose go see Hadleys.”

“The Hadleys? Where that strange girl Hilda ran away to? Away over beyond the ruby mine?” Joe asked.

Mandie shot Joe a look of disapproval for talking that way about the disturbed young girl Mandie and her friend Celia had found hiding in the school attic.

Uncle Ned nodded. “Yes,” he replied. “Maybe Hadleys know this Hezzie—ky for you.”

“I know where they live. May I go with y'all?” Polly asked quickly.

“I know where they live, too,” Joe replied. “I've been there with my father when he had to doctor them for one thing or another.”

“When are you going?” Polly was insistent.

“Whenever my mother gives us permission, Polly. Don't you ever have to get permission from your mother to do things like going on this search with us? Your mother might not want you to do that.” Mandie secretly hoped that Polly would not be allowed to go.

“No, most of the time Mother lets me do whatever I want,” Polly said. “She says I'm growing up and should learn to make decisions for myself. I don't think she'll mind if I go with y'all.”

“You will have to ask her first, Polly. We don't want you going off with us unless your mother agrees,” Joe spoke up.

“I'll ask her. Just tell me when you're planning to go,” Polly said.

“I'll let you know. Right now, Joe has to finish copying the map before we can go anywhere,” Mandie told her.

A moment later, Joe stood up, waving his new map in the air. “Here it is. All done.”

Mandie and Sallie looked at it and agreed he had done a good job.

Carefully picking up the old map, Mandie returned it to the drawer in the bottom of the wardrobe. “Uncle Ned, are you going with us to the Hadleys?” she asked.

“We see,” the old man said, standing up.

“Please do, Uncle Ned,” Mandie pleaded, taking his old wrinkled hand in her small white one. “Remember, my mother said I couldn't go anywhere without an adult for the rest of my holidays at home because I disobeyed her and got in trouble at the mine.”

Uncle Ned smiled down at her. “We see, Papoose.”

“Must be time to eat. I'm hungry,” Joe said.

Sallie laughed. “You are always ready to eat, Joe, whether it is time or not.”

“It's about noon,” Polly said. “I'll go home and eat, and ask my mother if I can go with y'all. Then I'll come back and let you know. You won't go until I get back, will you?”

“Not if you don't take too long,” Mandie told her. “I'll ask Mother if we can go just as soon as we eat. We're going to the Hadleys first of all. And Polly, please wear something sensible.”

“All right. I'll hurry,” Polly called back. She ran out the door and disappeared down the steps.

“Let's go,” Mandie said, picking up Snowball and leading the way down the stairs. “I suppose we'll have to eat since Joe is hungry.”

In the parlor they found Elizabeth, Mandie's beautiful, blonde-haired mother, and John Shaw, Mandie's uncle, who had married Elizabeth after Mandie's father died.

Uncle John laughed when he saw them. “I knew you'd be along soon,” he said. “The wonderful aroma from that chicken Jenny is frying is all over the house.”

“Fried chicken!” Joe exclaimed. “Mmm!”

Uncle Ned sat down near John Shaw while the young people gathered on the settee.

“Have you figured out the map yet?” Elizabeth asked.

“Some of it, Mother,” Mandie replied. “Uncle Ned said we should go talk to the Hadleys to see if they know who Hezekiah was and where he lived.”

“Why the Hadleys, Amanda?” Elizabeth asked.

“They're the only people Uncle Ned can think of that were living here when Ruby made the map,” Mandie explained.

“And we need to ask them some questions,” Joe put in. “Amanda, you know I told you that you couldn't go off anywhere without an adult with you. Who is going with you?”

“Me go,” Uncle Ned volunteered. “Me go with Papoose after eat.”

“We'd appreciate that, Uncle Ned,” John said. “I know we can always depend on you to keep things under control.”

“Like when John Shaw little brave.” The old Indian's black eyes twinkled.

“Yes, like when I was little,” Uncle John agreed. “You did a good job of looking after me and my brother, Jim, when we were growing up. I don't know what we'd have done without you and Morning Star to get us out of our scrapes.” He chuckled.

“John and Jim not bad braves,” Uncle Ned replied.

Mandie went over and gave her old Indian friend a hug. “Thank you, Uncle Ned, for saying you'll go with us,” she said. “We'll be good and not get into any trouble. I don't know about Polly, but the three of us will behave.”

“Polly? Is she going with y'all?” Elizabeth asked.

“If her mother lets her,” Mandie said with a big sigh. “I just wish we could have slipped off without her finding out what we're doing. She's not much fun to be around.”

“Amanda!” Elizabeth scolded.

Liza, the young Negro maid, appeared in the doorway.

Elizabeth looked up. “Yes, Liza?”

“Dat Missy Polly, she done sent huh cook over heah to say wait fo' huh 'cause huh ma say she kin go,” Liza announced.

“Thank you, Liza.” Elizabeth smiled. “They'll wait for Polly.”

“Yessum,” Liza replied, still standing in the doorway. “And Miz 'Lizbeth, Aunt Lou she say de dinnuh on de table.”

As they rose and went to the dining room, Mandie whispered to Sallie, “We'll just have to pretend Polly's not there.”

“That may be hard to do,” Sallie whispered back.

CHAPTER TWO

OLD NEWSPAPERS

Jason Bond, the Shaws' caretaker, had ponies saddled and waiting for the young people at the gate when they finished their noon meal. Uncle Ned's horse was also at the hitching post.