The Mandie Collection (64 page)

“Sure,” Celia answered. “We have our Sunday school classes in the basement.”

“Through this doorway here by the choir loft,” Mandie said, pointing.

She opened a door to a hallway with Sunday school rooms opening off the sides and a stairway at the far end. The windows in the rooms shed a little light into the hallway.

Joe looked around. “This sure is a big church,” he remarked. “They have classrooms back here and more in the basement?”

Mandie laughed. “There are a lot of good people in Asheville, so it takes a huge church to hold them,” she said. “Besides, most of the people who belong to this church have a lot of money.”

Joe headed down the stairs and the girls followed. At the bottom, they came to a door that opened into a hallway much darker than the one above. Since the basement was half sunk into the ground, the rooms off the hallway only had small windows near the ceiling.

“It's so dark down here I think we should all stay together,” Celia suggested. There was a little quiver in her voice. “Someone could be hiding in this basement.”

“You're right, Celia,” Joe agreed. “Let's start on this side over here.”

Starting with the first classroom on the right, they searched each room up and down the hallway.

“The only things in these rooms are a few chairs and a table,” Joe observed, “so there isn't really any place for anyone to hide.”

“That thumping noise could have been caused by almost anything, though,” Mandie said.

They all shook a few of the chairs and tables along the way to see if any of them were wobbly. In one room they found an easel, but it seemed to be standing on strong legs. On the easel stood a piece of cardboard with a map roughly drawn on it in various colors. Nearby were several small cans of watercolor paint.

“What's down there at the end of the hall?” Joe asked, heading in that direction.

“It's the room where all the classes gather for a song every Sunday before we go upstairs for the preacher's sermon,” Mandie replied.

Joe surveyed the room. In the front there was a piano with a swivel stool on claw feet. Numerous chairs filled the rest of the room. “I think we've cleared the basement,” he said. “Let's see what we can find in the classrooms upstairs.”

The girls followed Joe back upstairs, searching each room that opened off the hallway. At the far end they came to the pastor's study.

Joe tried the door, but it wouldn't open. He looked puzzled. “I wonder why the preacher locked his office,” he said.

“He farms way out in the country,” Mandie explained, “so he probably does all his pastor work in his house. As far as I know, he comes to the church only when there's a service.”

“Well, he still didn't have to lock the door,” Joe said in exasperation.

“Joe, this isn't Swain County, where everyone leaves their doors open and unlocked,” Mandie reminded him. “This is a big city. There are all kinds of people in this town. The church doors are unlocked all day. Anyone could come in.”

“Yes, even strangers, like the man and woman we saw here the other day,” Celia added.

“Oh, well,” Joe said with a sigh, “if we can't get inside that locked room, then neither can anyone else.”

“Unless they have a key,” Mandie said. “And I imagine the only people who have keys are the pastor, and the sexton, and maybe some of the deacons.”

“All right, let's go,” Joe said.

Inside the sanctuary they wandered toward the back. Then suddenly all three of them noticed something down at the altar.

“There's a flag or something there,” Celia said, pointing.

“Or a banner.” Mandie hurried forward.

Joe said nothing but took quick strides down the center aisle.

There, tied around the altar, was something that looked like a large piece of a white bed sheet with big red letters painted on it—just one word—HELP! The three young people stood there for several seconds just staring at it.

Mandie walked closer to inspect the cloth. “I'd say this is a piece of one of the choir robes,” she said, feeling the material.

Joe bent to look at the lettering. “And the red paint came from the watercolors we saw by the easel in one of the rooms downstairs,” he said.

“Where do they keep the choir robes?” Celia asked. “Don't the choir members take their robes home with them?”

Mandie thought for a moment. “I imagine they do most of the time, but someone could have left one in the church,” she said. “Or maybe it was an extra one that no one was using.”

“Should we take this thing down?” Joe asked.

“First, let's look for the rest of the robe,” Mandie suggested. “It looks like that's only half of it.”

“But, Mandie, we've been all over the church,” Celia protested.

“I know we've been everywhere, but I don't believe this was here when we came in,” Mandie argued. “We would have noticed it.” “You mean someone is here in the church?” Celia's voice was barely a whisper.

Joe puzzled over the matter. “Why would anyone put the word help on half a choir robe and hang it on the altar?”

“If we could find whoever did it, then we'd know,” Mandie replied. “So I think we ought to look for that person.”

“Let's stay together,” Celia warned, “now that we know someone else is in the church.”

The three young people again went through the entire church, finding nothing and no one.

As they returned to the sanctuary Joe spoke up. “I suppose we might as well remove that thing from the altar,” he said.

But as they started down the aisle, Mandie caught her breath. “Look!” She rushed forward. “It's gone!”

Joe and Celia ran after her. Sure enough, the piece of cloth was gone. They looked all around, but there was no sign of it anywhere. Then the bells started ringing.

The young people stood still to silently count the rings. It was twelve noon, but how many times would the bells toll?

“Eleven, twelve,” Mandie finished her count aloud. “It was right this time.”

“We'd better go,” Joe said. “Your grandmother will have dinner ready by now.”

“I feel like having a good meal, myself,” Mandie replied. “Me, too,” Celia agreed.

When the three returned to the rig, Ben was fast asleep under the lap robe, and they had to wake him.

The Negro driver sat up and yawned. “Y'all gone so long I jes' had to take me a nap,” he said.

“Well, it's time to eat, Ben,” Joe told him as the three piled into the rig.

When they got back to the house, they related their morning's adventures to Mrs. Taft and Dr. Woodard. No one had any explanations.

The conversation turned to other matters, and Dr. Woodard assured the young people that Hilda was resting comfortably—no worse, but no better than when they had left that morning.

Caught up in the excitement of their adventure, the young people counted the hours until they could return to the church that night.

When the time finally came to leave, Mrs. Taft gave the Negro driver strict instructions. “Now, Ben, you be sure you keep close tabs on these young people to see that no one harms them.”

“Yessum, I will,” Ben promised.

The young people didn't tell Mrs. Taft that Ben always stayed outside the church and that he even went to sleep.

It was dark when they reached the church, but the full moon shone brightly, and Joe had brought a lantern and plenty of matches to look around inside.

Ben stayed outside in the rig while the three noiselessly entered the church. Inside the vestibule, they looked around the sanctuary, which was dimly illuminated by the moonlight shining through the stained-glass windows.

Joe took charge. “Let's not light the lantern until we have to,” he suggested, heading for the stairs to the gallery.

“It'll be pitch dark on the stairways and in the basement,” Celia said.

“And remember, we don't have very long if we're going to get to Aunt Phoebe's house in time to see Uncle Ned,” Mandie reminded him.

“Y'all come on with me upstairs,” Joe said, opening the door to the gallery. “I'll run up in the belfry and check it out.”

Once upstairs, the three crossed the gallery in the dim light.

Joe opened the door to the belfry. “Wait right here,” he told the girls, handing Mandie the lantern.

After disappearing up the rope ladder for a few minutes, he called softly to them, telling them he was coming back down. Landing with a jump, he said, “There's nothing going on up there. Let's look through the classrooms.” He took the lantern from Mandie and headed down the stairs.

They hurriedly inspected the classrooms behind the altar, then turned to go down to the basement.

Mandie stopped at the head of the stairs. “It's too dark to see, Joe,” she said. “We're going to have to light the lantern.”

“I guess we'd better,” Joe agreed. “We don't want to fall.” Taking a match from his pocket and striking it on the sole of his shoe, he lit the lantern.

The light seemed bright after their eyes had become accustomed to the darkness of the church. Joe descended the stairs first, holding the lantern high so the girls could see. At the bottom of the stairs, the hallway was even darker. Thick shrubbery outside the small, high windows in the classrooms blocked the moonlight, and the lantern light threw weird shadows.

“It's spooky down here,” Celia said.

Neither Joe nor Mandie responded, but the young people stayed close together as they crept from room to room, searching for clues. They ended up at the far end of the hallway.

“Nothing,” Joe said with a sigh.

Just then there was a loud banging noise overhead. The three young people froze.

Celia grabbed Mandie's hand. “W-what was th-that?” she stuttered.

“Let's go find out,” Joe whispered. Leading the way back down the hallway, he pushed on the door to the stairs. It wouldn't budge. “I'm afraid someone has locked this door,” he said softly.

“Oh, goodness!” Celia cried. “What are we going to do?”

Mandie tried the door, too. It was definitely locked.

“Now we know someone is in the church,” Joe said, pushing hard against the door again. “And that someone has locked us in here.”

Mandie's heart pounded. “What are we going to do, Joe?” she asked. “We've got to get out of here and go to Aunt Phoebe's house.”

Just as Joe was about to say something, the lantern dimmed and went out. Everyone gasped.

“Don't worry,” Joe said. “I have some more matches.” He struck a match to relight the lantern and touched the match to the wick. The lantern sputtered and went out. He tried another match. When it did the same thing, he lit another match to examine the lantern by its light. “Oh, no!” he exclaimed. “The lantern is out of oil! I'm sorry. It's my fault. I just grabbed a lantern out of your grandmother's pantry, Mandie, and I didn't bother to see how much oil there was in it.”

“Oh, Joe, we really are in trouble!” Mandie cried.

“We could try the windows,” Joe suggested, turning back to a classroom.

“They have bars on the outside,” Mandie explained. “And they're awfully small, anyway.”

Again the banging noises began overhead. The young people huddled together in the darkness. Mandie's heart pounded so loudly that she was sure the others could hear it. Her legs buckled beneath her. All three of them plopped down on the floor by the locked door.

Then there was complete silence upstairs.

“We've got to get out of here!” Mandie cried. “There may be someone dangerous up there.”

“It must be someone who has some keys,” Joe said. “Otherwise, how could they lock that door?”

“These locks have a thumb latch,” Mandie said nervously, “and the thumb latch on that door happens to be on the other side, so all they had to do was flip the latch to lock us in here.”

Celia squeezed Mandie's hand tightly. “Oh, Mandie, whatever are we going to do?”

“Let's say our verse that always helps when we get in trouble,” Mandie said.

The three young people joined hands and repeated the Bible verse that always gave them strength. “What time I am afraid,” they recited, “I will put my faith in Thee.”

Mandie took a deep breath and rose to her feet. “Now I won't be afraid because I know God will help us get out of this predicament somehow—” she said. “He always does.”

“I wish I knew what was going on upstairs,” Joe said.

“Me, too,” Celia agreed. “Whoever is up there could be a dangerous character.”

The three walked about, softly discussing possibilities. Mrs. Taft would be worried when they didn't return, and Uncle Ned would be waiting under the magnolia tree in the cold for nothing.

Somehow they had to get out!

CHAPTER SIX

NO WAY TO ESCAPE?

“I wish I hadn't suggested we leave our coats in the sanctuary,” Mandie said, briskly rubbing her arms to warm herself. “Too bad there's nothing down here to build a fire in that big stove in the hallway.”

“I'm cold, too,” Celia complained, “and it's so spooky down here. What are we going to do?”

“We can't stay here all night,” Joe said. “We've got to get out somehow.”

Celia shivered as she paced back and forth on the cold concrete floor. “I wonder why Ben hasn't come looking for us.”

“He probably fell asleep in the rig again,” Mandie answered.

“Well, we've got to do something,” Joe announced. “Let's try the windows. We might find some loose bars on one of them or something.”

Celia looked up at the high windows. “I don't think we can reach them,” she said.

“You're right, Celia,” Mandie agreed. “I don't believe Joe can reach that high, either.”