Leppard, Lois Gladys - [Mandie 03] (5 page)

“I have done this before, lots of times,” Tsa’ni bragged.

“Well, I don’t think I ever want to do it again,” Joe said.

“It is exhilarating up here in the air,” Tsa’ni replied, throwing his hands over his head.

Mandie glanced quickly over her shoulder. “Tsa’ni!” she cried. “Please be careful!”

At that moment the Indian boy lost his footing and slipped between the crossties. Thrown off balance, he dangled in the air, trying to grasp the framework beneath the tracks.

The sudden fall jerked the others. Joe, being next to Tsa’ni, had to sit down on the crossties to keep from being pulled down with him. Mandie frantically clutched Snowball and swayed as she tried to keep from falling. Sallie and Dimar, ahead of her, did not feel the jolt quite as badly.

Dimar immediately took over. “Please sit down!” he told Sallie and Mandie. He unfastened the rope from his waist. “Hold on, Tsa’ni, hold on. I will help you.”

The girls carefully sat down on the crossties next to Joe.

“Why does Tsa’ni always have to make trouble?” Joe muttered.

“Because he is a bad Cherokee,” Sallie replied.

“Pray for him,” Mandie urged, “so that he doesn’t fall.”

Dimar gingerly stepped past the other three to get to Tsa’ni.

Sallie hung her head in shame, then raised her face toward the sky. “Please, God, do not let him fall.”

Mandie was looking heavenward, too. “Please take care of him, dear God,” she prayed.

As Dimar knelt on the tracks and tried to reach Tsa’ni’s
hand below, Joe knew he had to help, too, even though he didn’t like Tsa’ni.

“Untie the rope from around y’all,” Joe told the girls.

“But we might fall, too,” Sallie protested.

“You won’t if you sit perfectly still,” Joe answered. “I need the rope for Tsa’ni.”

“Of course,” Mandie answered, as Sallie quickly untied the rope from her waist and passed the end to Mandie, who immediately pulled it loose from herself and passed it on back to Joe.

Dimar changed positions. “I still cannot reach you, Tsa’ni,” he said.

“Wait. I’m getting the rope free,” Joe told Dimar. “Then we can pull him up.” He rolled up the rope and crawled back to where Dimar was stooping, trying to reach Tsa’ni.

The other end of the rope was still around Tsa’ni’s waist, but it wasn’t doing any good because he was hanging onto the bottom of the track with his hands, and his feet were kicking at the huge wooden post supporting the track. He kept trying to catch his toes on the post to take some of the pressure off his hands. So far he had not said a word.

Dimar helped Joe tie the rope around a crosstie and then called down to Tsa’ni.

“We have the rope secured up here and we are going to throw the end down to you. Watch for it,” Dimar called to him.

Tsa’ni did not answer except to call out, “Hurry up!”

The first streaks of light began to brighten the sky. The two boys could see Tsa’ni hanging below and they threw the rope down over the side of the tracks, but it didn’t go anywhere near Tsa’ni. They tried again and again but it wouldn’t fall near enough for him to grab it.

“I cannot hold much longer,” Tsa’ni finally said in a hoarse voice.

Mandie and Sallie sat holding hands, helplessly watching as the boys kept throwing the rope toward Tsa’ni. They silently prayed that he would be able to reach the rope.

Suddenly, Tsa’ni’s hands gave way and he fell. The rope, too, broke, and the others watched in terror as he disappeared into the gorge below.

“Tsa’ni!” the boys yelled in terror.

Mandie and Sallie burst into tears, holding onto one another for comfort. Dimar and Joe looked at the dangling piece of rope. Dimar silently pulled it up and unfastened it from the crosstie.

Joe took command. “We’ve got to get across this thing,” he said. “Then when the track is back on the ground again, we can get off and climb down there and see if we can find Tsa’ni.”

“That is exactly what I was thinking,” Dimar replied.

Mandie wiped her tears on her apron with one hand and held tightly to Snowball with the other. “Are Sallie and I going down after Tsa’ni, too?” Mandie asked.

Dimar looked at Joe. “Joe and I will search for him as soon as the track gets back on the ground,” he answered.

“If you and Joe are going, then so am I,” Mandie insisted.

“Me, too,” Sallie added. “I do not wish to be left alone.”

Joe looked at Dimar. “I suppose it wouldn’t be safe to leave them alone, would it?”

“I guess not. They will have to go with us,” Dimar agreed. “However, it will probably be very steep and rough down there.”

“I’ll be all right,” Mandie assured them.

The sky had begun to lighten and in the growing daylight they could see that they were about halfway across the gorge. The crossties were more visible now, but the young people could also see how far below the land was.

The remaining piece of rope was not long enough to tie around them again, so they held onto it between them as they carefully walked single file down the tracks. It was a slow, scary process, but they were even more afraid of what they would find in the ravine.

Chapter 6 - Searching

As the young people neared the end of the railroad bridge, the ground gradually came up to meet them, and they breathed a little easier. The awesome trek in open space was over.

Dimar stepped from the tracks onto the ground and led the others to safety.

“Whew!” Mandie blew out her breath. “Dimar, is there any more of that kind of tracks between here and where the baggage car wrecked?”

“I do not think so,” Dimar assured her with a smile. “It will get steep down the side instead.” Now that it was daylight he looked at her with admiration.
She is beautiful, in spite of her grimy, tear-streaked face
, he thought.

Dimar had often looked at Mandie that way, and Joe was jealous. He spoke up quickly. “Well, suppose we try to find Tsa’ni now,” he suggested.

Suddenly there was a noise on the gravel. They all turned to see Tsa’ni climbing up the hill through the thick brush.

“That will not be necessary,” he said, coming toward
them. He was swinging the piece of rope that had been tied around his waist when he fell.

Everyone stared at him, unable to speak. Was that really Tsa’ni?

“I told you the rope would protect me,” he laughed.

“Oh, Tsa’ni, what do you mean?” Mandie asked.

“When my hands slipped, the rope broke and I fell a great distance. But luckily, I landed in the top branches of a tree. All I had to do was get untangled and climb down,” he explained, still swinging the piece of rope. “I escaped with hardly a scratch.”

“And here we’ve been mourning for you all the time,” Joe complained. “What a waste of tears!”

“You see, God did protect you,” Sallie told him.

“I didn’t need God. The tree broke my fall,” Tsa’ni tossed back at her.

“No, Tsa’ni. God protected you. He used the tree to save you,” Mandie explained.

“The
tree
saved me,” the Indian boy insisted.

Joe began to walk ahead on the tracks. “There’s no use in arguing with the ignorant dumbhead,” he said. “We’ve got more important things to do, like finding Uncle Ned and the gold. Besides, I’m hungry. Let’s go.”

Dimar agreed. “Yes, we must hurry.”

The girls followed Joe and Dimar, trying to keep up with their rapid pace. Tsa’ni lagged slightly behind the others.

“I wonder if my mother and Uncle John and Uncle Wirt got to Asheville all right,” Mandie said.

“I don’t imagine they stayed in Asheville if they got there,” Joe told her. “They’ll be out looking for us and Uncle Ned.”

“I pray that my grandfather is all right,” Sallie said, her voice shaking.

“Do you think he was still in the baggage car when it went off the tracks, or do you think the bandits captured him?” Dimar asked.

“I do not know what to think. It was all so sudden,” Sallie answered. “But either way is bad. If my grandfather was still in the baggage car when it derailed, he may have been badly injured.” She swallowed hard. “But if the bandits captured him, they may have harmed him.”

“Especially since he is an Indian,” Tsa’ni said bitterly.

“I can’t understand why people are so prejudiced against certain other people. God made us all, and in His sight we are all equal,” Mandie reasoned as they hurried along the railroad tracks.

“There are lots of people who think they are living as Christians, but they commit that sin,” Dimar joined in.

“I do not claim to be a Christian, so I can say that I think the Indians are much
better
than the white people,” Tsa’ni declared.

The other four were shocked.

“How can you say such a thing, Tsa’ni?” Dimar questioned.

“I am ashamed of you, Tsa’ni—as one Indian to another,” Sallie told him.

“Why did you come with us in the first place?” Joe asked.

Tsa’ni did not answer.

After several moments of awkward silence, Mandie spoke. “I think the best thing we can do is to quit talking until we get to where we’re going. That way, there won’t be any hard feelings,” she suggested.

The others agreed. Tsa’ni remained silent and trailed along behind.

At last the sun came up and the air grew warmer as the young people trudged along. Birds sang their greetings as they flew hither and yon among the trees. Now and then a butterfly flitted across their path, and once in a while a colorful wildflower peeked out of the underbrush. It was a beautiful day, but the youngsters were tired, hungry, and worried.

After a while the river and the railroad tracks came together and traveled side by side. The rushing water invited the young people to soak their tired feet, but they could not relax.

Ignoring their blisters, scratches, bruises, and sore limbs, they marched forward. At last they came around a curve where the tracks turned away from the river. And there, in the ravine below, lay the wrecked baggage car, splintered against the mountainside.

“There it is!” Mandie cried.

As exhausted as they were, they all broke into a run.

Sallie ran ahead of the others. “Grandfather!” she exclaimed, racing to the edge of the ravine.

Mandie was right behind her. When Mandie’s father died, Uncle Ned had promised that he would look out for “Jim Shaw’s Papoose,” and now it was her turn to look out for Uncle Ned. “Please, dear God, let him be all right. Please let Uncle Ned be all right,” she prayed silently.

Dimar and Joe came up behind the girls as they paused to look.

“We must go down together,” Dimar told them.

“Yes,” agreed Joe. “It looks kind of steep.”

Tsa’ni stood alone on the tracks and watched as the others descended into the ravine. They slipped and slid
until they finally reached the train car. The car lay on its side. It looked as though it had rolled over several times.

“It’s so broken up I don’t see how we can get inside to look for Uncle Ned,” Mandie said.

“Simple,” said Joe. “Dimar and I will crawl in through that hole in the side.”

“But, Joe, suppose it turns over while you’re in there. It’s just hanging on the side of the mountain,” Mandie cautioned them.

“Let it turn over,” Joe answered. “It won’t hurt us. We’ll just tumble with it.”

“May I go with you? My grandfather may be in there,” Sallie begged.

“No, it is too dangerous,” Dimar said. “If we find him inside we will bring him out.”

The girls waited and watched while the two boys went through the hole in the train car. As the boys disappeared inside, Mandie, with Snowball on her shoulder, reached for Sallie’s hand and held it tightly.

After what seemed like hours, the two boys reappeared, empty-handed. They shook their heads as they approached.

“Grandfather!” Sallie began to cry.

“Uncle Ned, where are you?” Mandie moaned.

Joe stepped forward and took Mandie’s hand in his.

“I’m sorry, Mandie. He isn’t there,” he said to her softly. “And neither is the gold. Everything inside is completely smashed. Uncle Ned must have managed to get out somehow. Either the bandits took him or he got out on his own.”

Tsa’ni, listening from where he stood, came forward to join the group. “I suggest we search immediately. If the old man is injured, he cannot be very far. That is,
if
he is still alive,” he added.

At Tsa’ni’s cruel remark, Sallie began to cry louder.

“Let us separate and search the surroundings,” Dimar said.

“Immediately, please,” Sallie begged through her tears, still holding Mandie’s hand.

“Dimar, suppose you take Sallie with you, and Joe and I will go with Tsa’ni,” Mandie suggested.

“Fine,” Dimar replied. “If you find anything, Tsa’ni, give me a call. I will do the same. And please do not forget to watch for the bags of gold, also. They may be hard to find since they are so small.”

“I would think the bandits took the gold,” Joe said. “That is probably why they wrecked the train. But it wouldn’t hurt to keep our eyes open.”

“I will give you a whistle, Dimar, if we find anything,” Tsa’ni agreed. “We will go to the left of the car and you and Sallie go right. We will meet back here when we have covered all the ground,” he said.

The group separated. Mandie, with Snowball on her shoulder, followed Joe and Tsa’ni down the incline, through bramble bushes and rocks. She didn’t mind the pricks and scratches. She was set on finding her dear friend, Uncle Ned.

Tsa’ni walked bent over to watch the ground for footprints or other clues. Joe and Mandie watched the bushes and trees for any sign of a trail. In the dense forest the trees grew so close together it took time to look at all of them.

“No one has come this way,” Tsa’ni called over his shoulder. “But maybe we will find a trail ahead.”

Mandie turned to Joe, who was walking behind her.
“Then Uncle Ned could not have come this way,” she said.

“What Tsa’ni means is that no one came directly down the path we’re taking,” Joe explained. “Uncle Ned could have taken a path even two feet from where we are. We just have to keep walking up and down in order to cover all the area around the wrecked car. Don’t give up yet.”