The Mandie Collection (55 page)

Just then, the bell in the backyard clanged. The two girls jumped up and quickly began to stuff the letters back into the envelopes, returning them to the box.

“But we didn't get to read all of them,” Joe protested, helping the girls with the letters.

“I know,” Mandie said with disappointment. “But Miss Hope said you'd be in town while your school is out. Can you come back tomorrow?” she asked. “It would have to be during our afternoon free period because we have to work in the attic in the morning.”

“Could you and Celia come to your Grandmother's tonight for supper?” Joe asked.

“And bring the letters with us?” Celia suggested.

“Sure,” Mandie agreed. “Just tell Grandmother we'd like to come. She'll have to send a note to Miss Hope.”

“Just don't forget the letters,” Joe said picking up Snowball, as they prepared to leave the attic.

Mandie hugged the candy box to herself. “We'll take these down to our room right now,” she said, quickly leading the way down the stairs. At the landing to the third floor Mandie and Celia said good-bye to Joe and Snowball, then ran into their room to hide the candy box in Mandie's traveling bag.

“I won't be able to concentrate on a thing today until I get a chance to read the rest of those letters,” Mandie told Celia as they hurried on down to the dining room for the noon meal.

“Me either,” Celia agreed. “This might turn out to be exciting.”

“And if that dangerous enemy is still around, it could be dangerous,” Mandie reminded her with a laugh.

“But no one knows we've found the letters,” Celia said. No one knew then, but someone would find out later.

CHAPTER FOUR

SECRET PLANS

As they sat around her grandmother's supper table that night, Mandie was glad for a chance to talk to Joe's father. “How is Hilda, Dr. Woodard? Have you seen her since you came to Asheville?”

“Why, yes, Amanda. As a matter of fact, I have,” the doctor replied. “She's healthier and more alert now, but she still won't talk to anyone. We aren't even sure if she
can
talk. But she seems as happy as a dead pig in the sunshine.”

Joe looked at his father with pride. “My father knows the doctors at the sanitarium,” he said, “and he really keeps track of how Hilda is doing.”

“I'm glad you were able to find some help for her. Thank you for all you've done, Doctor Woodard,” Mandie said. “I think about Hilda once in a while, and I wonder if she would know Celia and me if she saw us.”

“There's only one way to answer that, Amanda. We'll just have to take you girls to visit her.” He glanced across the table at Mrs. Taft. “If it's all right with your grandmother,” he said.

Celia looked worried. “What about Miss Hope? Do you think she'll allow us to go?”

Mrs. Taft smiled. “I'll send her word that you two girls will be accompanying Dr. Woodard to visit Hilda as soon as he lets me know when,” she said.

“Thank you, Grandmother,” Mandie said.

“That would be wonderful, Mrs. Taft. Thank you,” Celia echoed.

Mandie changed the subject. “How is the work going on the hospital for the Cherokees, Dr. Woodard?” she asked.

Celia looked puzzled. “What hospital?”

Dr. Woodard laughed. “Why, Celia, I'm surprised Amanda hasn't told you about that.” He laughed again. “Your friend is quite a heroine among the Cherokees. She and her friends found a great deal of gold which belonged to the Indians, and they let
her
decide what to do with it.”

“Oh, I remember now,” Celia replied, “but go on. I like to hear about all Mandie's adventures.”

Joe took the plate of chocolate cake the maid offered him and continued the story. “There's not much more to tell. Mandie decided the Cherokees needed a hospital, and it's being built right now!” he explained.

“I think that's wonderful!” Celia looked at her friend with admiration.

Mandie blushed slightly, trying to ignore the praise. “Then the building is going all right?” she asked Dr. Woodard.

“No hitches at all,” Dr. Woodard assured her. “Everything is right on schedule. Maybe some day soon you can come and see for yourself what it looks like.”

“Could I, Grandmother?” Mandie asked excitedly.

“You know that is up to your mother, Amanda,” Mrs. Taft replied. “I'm sorry, dear, but I can't let you go without her permission.”

“Why don't you write and ask your mother about it?” Dr. Woodard suggested. “Then we could make arrangements for me to come and get you.”

“I will, Dr. Woodard. I think maybe mother will let me go,” Mandie replied.

When they had all finished their cake, Mrs. Taft called the maid to clear the table. “You young people may go on into the sitting room while Dr. Woodard and I stay here for our coffee,” she said.
“Just remember you must be back to school before the ten o'clock bell rings tonight,” she reminded the girls.

Mandie, Celia, and Joe hurried out of the dining room and down the hallway to the sitting room where Snowball waited for them.

“Did you bring the letters?” Joe asked.

“Oh, yes,” Mandie replied, finding her school bag in a corner by Celia's. “The candy box is under my books. Here.”

She handed the
Baker's Chocolates
box to Joe, and they all sat on the carpet to read the “epistles of love,” as Celia had begun to call them. Each of them took a letter and began to read silently. Snowball curled up on Mandie's lap and began to purr.

“I keep finding that ‘dangerous enemy' in the letters I read,” remarked Mandie, returning a letter to its envelope.

“Here it is again about the diamonds.” Celia began to read aloud. “ ‘The diamonds are not safe. I believe someone saw me last night when I checked to see that they were still there. We're going to have to find another hiding place for them, my love.' ” Celia looked up. “I wish whoever wrote these letters had been a little clearer about these diamonds.”

“So do I,” Joe agreed. “I have an idea this dangerous enemy must have been the one who saw him check on the diamonds. He was probably spying on them all the time.”

“I think so, too,” Mandie agreed, trying to keep Snowball from pawing the letter she was unfolding. “Snowball, behave yourself or I'll make you get down,” she scolded.

“Do you really think that someone was spying on them?” Celia asked.

“If we can get finished reading all of these letters, maybe we'll find out,” Joe said. “They seem to be in order by the month. If we read in that sequence I think we'll understand more.”

“We'd better hurry,” Celia said.

“Yes, we agreed that we wouldn't tell anyone about this, so that means that if my grandmother and Joe's father come in here, we'll have to hide these letters,” Mandie warned.

Joe opened another envelope. “This is only one page,” he said. “It just says, ‘Please make every effort possible to meet me tonight at the cabin in the woods, my love. My eyes haven't feasted on you for three days now. I can't eat or sleep until I see for myself that you are all right. I will be waiting, and I pray that God will show you a way to meet me.' ” Joe gave a low whistle. “That's some flowery language,” he said.

Mandie looked up suddenly. “Something just dawned on me,” she said. “There's no mention in any of these letters so far that the person who received them ever answered back.”

“Come to think of it, you're right,” Joe replied. “There isn't anything about receiving an answer.” He thought for a moment. “But maybe this person had no way of sending him an answer. Maybe she couldn't write to him without running the risk of her parents finding out.”

“Then how did she manage to receive these letters without their knowledge?” Celia asked.

“I'm wondering why the girl's parents didn't want her to see this man,” Mandie said. “What reason could they have had? What could have been wrong with him?”

“He was poor, Mandie, remember?” Joe reminded her. “There was a letter that mentioned his lowly existence and the other man's power and wealth.”

“Why should that make a difference?” Mandie asked, stroking her kitten.

“Oh, Mandie, I keep forgetting you were brought up in a log cabin way back there in Swain County, and you never mingled with the big world,” Joe said. “Now please don't take that the wrong way. That's what I admire about you—”

Mandie jumped up, knocking Snowball to the floor. “Joe Woodard, I'll have you to know that you were also brought up back there in Swain County. And just tell me what's wrong with that?” Her blue eyes flashed in anger. “I think these city people are all a great put-on with their silly social graces. They're not honest with
themselves or with the world. They're always pretending. At least I was always taught to speak the truth, whether it hurts or not.”

Joe caught Mandie's hand in his as she waved it through the air. “Now hold on a minute, Mandie,” he begged her. “I just said that's what I admire about you—your honesty and outspokenness. People always know where they stand with you. But you must remember, these city people, as you call them, have always had some strange ideas about marrying their daughters off. Society people have always hunted for a rich man to be their son-in-law—someone they thought would be able financially to take care of their precious daughter.” Joe waved one of the letters in front of her. “Evidently this man was not rich or in high society. Therefore, the girl's parents thought he was not good enough for their daughter, no matter how much the two loved each other. Money came first, and if they were fortunate, the money had love attached to it. Don't you understand?”

Mandie plopped back down on the floor and picked up Snowball. “I know what you mean. I just don't see how people can live like that. I don't think God meant it to be that way.”

Joe scooted closer to her and again took her small hand in his. “Mandie, I told you a long time ago that I wanted to marry you when we grow up—long before either of us knew that you would inherit your Uncle John's wealth someday,” he reminded her. “Everyone knew your uncle was already the richest man this side of Richmond, but when he married your mother with all her money, that probably made them the wealthiest couple in the whole southeast. But we didn't even know about any money when your father died and left you with that terrible stepmother.” He patted her hand. “I told you then I would take care of you, and I still plan to if you haven't changed your mind,” he promised.

Celia sat quietly, pretending to read more of the letters while Mandie and Joe talked things out.

“Oh, phooey on all that money, anyway. I don't want any of it,” Mandie insisted. “I just want my father's farm back from that
woman he married, and when he died you promised me you would get it back for me.”

“And I intend to keep my promise, Mandie,” Joe told her. “It may take a few years, but I promise you I will get your father's property back for you.”

Finally Celia shook her head. “Hey, come on. Draw the curtain. We'd better hurry and get these read.”

Mandie and Joe smiled at each other and then laughed, returning to their task of reading the faded letters.

“Money again,” Mandie fussed as she read on. “I wish I could have talked to this girl's parents to make them understand that love is much, much more important than all the money in the world.”

The three young people finished reading the rest of the letters and sat back to discuss them.

“We have to make some plans to solve this mystery—that's for sure,” Mandie told the others. “We'll probably be finished with the attic tomorrow, and then we'll have our free period free again.” She thought for a moment. “I think we should begin by asking Miss Hope a few questions,” she said.

“Like what?” Joe asked.

Mandie stared into space. “Like whether she was adopted or—”

“You don't think Miss Hope was the one who received these letters, do you?” Celia interrupted.

“You never can tell. You have to eliminate a lot of possibilities in order to find the right answer,” Mandie replied. “Even though she's old now, Miss Hope is still pretty. Some man could have been hopelessly in love with her.”

“What are you going to ask her?” Joe probed. “Are you going to tell her you've been reading some love letters that may have belonged to her?”

“Of course not,” Mandie replied. “We won't let anyone know we found these letters. But we could find out if she was adopted. And we could also ask her about the woman who owned this house before. Maybe the letters were written to her.”

“Sure, Mandie, I can just see a married woman with a daughter keeping her old love letters in the attic,” Joe teased.

“Joe, you have no imagination at all,” Mandie said. “Just remember they were locked up in a trunk with no key to be found. But on the other hand . . .” She paused to think. “ . . . if the letters belong to Miss Hope, the trunk would have been moved here from her parents' home, wherever that was.”

“In that case we'll never find the cabin in the woods the man wrote about,” Joe reminded her. “It would have been near some other house.”

“I think we ought to search near here for the cabin,” Celia told them. “There are woods beyond the flower gardens, and we've never been down there. We don't know for sure it
wasn't
near the school.”

“You're right,” Joe agreed. “If we can find the cabin we'll know the girl lived in this house.”

“Well, not exactly,” Mandie said. “We might just find any old cabin in those woods. We won't know for sure that it was the one where they met.”

“But like you said, we have to eliminate some possibilities to solve anything,” Joe reminded her.