Leppard, Lois Gladys - [Mandie 04] (13 page)

Miss Prudence thrust an envelope into Uncle Cal’s hand. “Take this note to Sheriff Jones,” she ordered. “Quickly, Uncle Cal!”

Uncle Cal smiled to himself and obeyed, while Miss Prudence scurried after Mandie’s grandmother.

When Mandie and Celia saw Mrs. Taft, they burst into laughter. “Oh, Grandmother!” Mandie cried. “I just knew you’d come.”

“So you two finally found the noise,” Mrs. Taft said. She looked at the youngster in the rocker.

The girl stopped rocking and stared at her.

“I’ve got help coming,” Mandie’s grandmother assured them.

Aunt Phoebe threw up her hands. “Lawsy mercy, Miz Taft, I guess we all be in trouble,” she said.

“Don’t you worry, Aunt Phoebe. Just leave everything to me,” Mrs. Taft replied.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door and Miss Prudence hurried into the room. “Amanda, your grandmother has come to take you and Celia home with her for the weekend,”
Miss Prudence announced. “You may get your belongings together—whatever you need for the weekend.”

Mrs. Taft faced the schoolmistress. “Mandie and Celia tell me they found this poor girl in your attic. Did you not know she was there?”

“Of course not, Mrs. Taft. I had no idea.”

“Who is she? What are you going to do about her?” Mrs. Taft asked.

“Evidently she can’t talk. They say she hasn’t spoken a word since they found her,” said Miss Prudence defensively. “I don’t know who she is. I’m going to turn her over to the authorities.”

“To the authorities? Do you know what they will do with her? They’ll throw her in one of those dirty old cells until they can find out who she is. Surely you don’t wish that on this poor child,” Mrs. Taft argued.

“That is precisely what I plan to do,” Miss Prudence replied. “I have already sent for the sheriff.”

There was another knock at the door. Aunt Phoebe opened it to find the newspaper publisher, his photographer, and the mayor standing there.

Miss Prudence drew in a sharp breath as she recognized the three men. “Good afternoon, Mr. Weston, Mr. Hanback, Mr. Hodges,” she greeted them. “Shall we go to my office?”

The three men pushed their way into the room so they could see the girl.

“No, thank you, Miss Heathwood,” said Mayor Hodges. “We didn’t come to see you. We came to see this girl who was found in your attic. And we want to talk to the young ladies who found her,” the mayor explained.

Before Miss Prudence could ask how they knew about it, Reverend Tallant came through the open door.

“Good afternoon, ma’am,” the minister greeted her. “I’ve
come to see the little girl who was found in your attic.”

Miss Prudence caught her breath sharply.

The four men crowded around the girl who had not moved since Mrs. Taft entered the room. Snowball still snuggled in the girl’s arms.

Mandie, Celia and Aunt Phoebe stood to one side while Mrs. Taft spoke to the preacher. “How are you, Reverend Tallant? They say the girl hasn’t spoken a word since they found her. Maybe you could get her to talk.”

He nodded, pulled up a footstool, and sat down in front of the girl. “We’re your friends, young lady,” he said gently. “How about telling us your name. Can you do that for us?”

Everyone watched in silence. The girl moved her eyes but did not open her mouth.

Just then Sheriff Jones strode into the small living room and walked straight to Miss Prudence, his hat in his hand. “Afternoon, ma’am. Now, where’s this girl you want us to take in?” he asked.

Miss Prudence froze as she felt everyone’s eyes on her.

The sheriff pulled a note from his pocket. “Your man came by and gave me this note to come over here right away to take in a strange girl,” he explained. “Where’s the girl, ma’am?”

Reverend Tallant rose to face Miss Prudence. “You sent for the sheriff to come and lock up this little innocent girl?”

Mayor Hodges frowned. “Do you intend to throw this little girl in jail?” he asked.

“What for?” asked Mr. Weston, the publisher.

Miss Prudence took a deep breath. “It’s all a mistake,” she managed.

Mr. Weston wasn’t satisfied. “These two young ladies
did
find this poor girl hiding in your attic, didn’t they?” he probed.

When Miss Prudence didn’t answer, Mr. Weston turned to Mandie and Celia.

“Yes, sir,” they said in unison.

“Tell us all about it,” Mr. Weston urged.

“Well, it was like this.” Mandie related the whole story, including the two girls’ ten-day suspension.

Miss Prudence ended Mandie’s story. “And since you young ladies have again broken my rules, the consequences will be much greater this time.”

At that moment Uncle Cal pushed his way through the crowd. “Stan’ back, please,” he announced. “De doctuh man be heah to see de girl.”

Everyone moved back as Dr. Woodard and Joe nudged through.

Mandie ran to the doctor. “Oh, Dr. Woodard, I knew you’d come. Please do something. This girl is sick, and we don’t think she can talk,” Mandie said.

“I know. Uncle Cal told me about it when we caught up with him down the road. I’ve been away and just got your note yesterday,” the doctor explained. “I had to come to Asheville today anyway, so Joe came with me.” The doctor glanced at the girl in the rocking chair and then around the room. “Uncle Cal, do you have a bedroom where I can examine the girl?”

Uncle Cal nodded. Mandie tried to get the girl to go into the bedroom, but she refused to budge from the rocker. The doctor ordered everyone to leave except Aunt Phoebe.

Outside, the photographer set up his equipment by the front door to take pictures for the newspaper. Miss Prudence stood apart from the others who were standing around in small groups, talking.

A few minutes later, Miss Hope joined the crowd outside without her sister noticing.

Joe caught Mandie’s hand and pulled her over to one side of the yard. “I’m glad you finally found out what was causing that noise. Who would have thought it was anything like this?” he said.

“I told you, Joe, something just urged me to find out what the noise was, and I’m sure glad I did. The poor girl is not well,” Mandie told him. “I hope your father can help her.”

Miss Hope came up quietly behind them. “So do we, Amanda,” she said gently.

Mandie and Joe whirled around and stared.

“This has all been such a shock to my sister, I don’t think she knows how to react.”

“I never thought about that,” Mandie replied. “I guess this could be bad publicity for the school.”

“And I’m sure we are both embarrassed that this poor child was shut away in our attic without our knowledge, but I think my sister feels a greater responsibility.” Miss Hope looked at Mandie with pleading eyes. “Oh, Amanda, if you had only come to us when you first suspected something.”

“I tried to tell Miss Prudence,” Mandie insisted, “but she wouldn’t believe me.”

“Maybe I could have helped,” Miss Hope offered.

Joe squeezed Mandie’s hand in support.

Mandie looked down at the ground. “I’m sorry, Miss Hope. I didn’t mean to cause trouble. I just had this feeling that I should find out what was making those noises. And something good
did
come from it.”

“I know your intentions were good, Amanda, and we are all thankful that the little girl is going to get some help.” Miss Hope slipped her arm around Mandie’s shoulders. “But you made some poor choices in how to solve the mystery. An adult could have been a great help. What if, instead of finding
a frightened little girl, you had found an escaped prisoner hiding in that attic?”

Mandie shivered at the thought. “I see what you mean,” Mandie said. “I guess maybe rules are there to protect us.”

Miss Hope smiled.

Just then Dr. Woodard came out of the cottage. Several people started to question him, but he held up his hand. “I can’t tell you much, except that the girl is badly undernourished,” he reported. “She can hear, but I don’t know about her speech. With proper diet and medical attention, it is possible that she could start talking.”

A murmur went through the crowd.

Miss Prudence stepped forward. “But, doctor, the girl can’t stay here,” she objected. “If you don’t want the sheriff to lock her up, someone will have to take her.”

Everyone suddenly became silent.

Dr. Woodard walked over to the schoolmistress and raised his voice so that everyone could hear. “Why can’t she stay here?” he asked. “Aunt Phoebe told me she would be glad to help the girl. We’ll try to find out who she is, but we certainly can’t put her in jail in her condition.”

Mr. Weston cleared his throat loudly. “My newspaper is going to run a big story on this. We hope someone will read it and identify the girl,” he said. “Would you like me to print a statement that you refused to keep the girl on your premises, even though your cook volunteered to care for her in her own house?”

Miss Prudence’s lips quivered. “No, Mr. Weston. What I meant was that the girl couldn’t stay here in the school with my students,” she argued.

Suddenly Miss Hope appeared beside the newspaper publisher. “We
are
concerned about the girl, Mr. Weston,” she said calmly. “Aunt Phoebe may certainly care for the
child. That would be wonderful. We are quite pleased that she is willing.”

“Yessum,” Uncle Cal spoke up. “We takes care o’ de girl ’til somebody find huh people,” he said.

Miss Prudence heaved a sigh of relief and everyone seemed satisfied.

With that settled, Mrs. Taft called to the girls nearby. “Amanda, Celia, bring whatever you need for the weekend out to the buggy. Please hurry. Joe and his father are coming with us.”

Mandie turned to Miss Prudence. “Are we still in trouble?” she asked.

The schoolmistress took a deep breath. “It was fortunate that the two of you were able to rescue the girl from the attic,” she began. “However, since you have broken school rules, you must pay the penalty. Perhaps we’ll take you out of the play as your punishment. Then you and Celia will take the responsibility of helping Aunt Phoebe with the girl.”

Mandie swallowed hard. “Yes, ma’am,” she replied. She hated losing out on the play, but she would enjoy spending time with the girl.

When the Sunday newspaper came out, it displayed bold headlines: “Unknown Girl Found in School Attic.” The front page article related the two girls’ part in the discovery and asked that anyone having information about the girl notify the newspaper office.

The following Friday, a poorly-dressed man and woman stopped by the newspaper office.

“We seen your story in the paper about the girl found in the attic,” the man said. “We think maybe she’s ours. You see, we’ve got a daughter that ain’t all there. We’ve had to keep her shut up all her life. Somehow, she got out about a month ago, and we ain’t seen her since.”

Mr. Weston asked them a lot of questions and finally took the couple out to the school. Miss Prudence sent Mandie and Celia to Aunt Phoebe’s cottage with them.

When the girl saw the people, she went wild with fright. There was no doubt about it. She knew them, but she was so terrified, she jumped out of the rocking chair, ran into the bedroom, and shut the door. In her haste, she dropped Snowball, and the cat hissed and slapped the man’s leg with his outstretched claws. The man tried to kick him, but Mandie snatched Snowball up in her arms.

Mr. Weston frowned at the couple. “Evidently that girl knows y’all but she’s afraid of you,” he said. “What have you done to her?”

“We ain’t done nothin’, mister. She’s our youngest. The rest of ’em done married and left home. But Hilda there, she ain’t jest right, so, like I said, we keep her locked up so she don’t run away.”

“You mean locked up in a room by herself?” Mr. Weston asked.

“Yep. That’s the only way we could keep her at home,” the man said with a shrug.

Finally the wife spoke. “We couldn’t let our neighbors know what a disgrace the Lord sent down on us. We ain’t never lived a bad life, and we don’t understand why God give us such a child.”

“What’s your name, feller?” Mr. Weston asked. “Where are you from?”

“Luke Edney, my wife, Mary. We live on a farm over near Hendersonville,” he said.

“Well, your daughter is under a doctor’s care right now,” Mr. Weston informed them. “I don’t think you can take Hilda home with you today. We’ll have to see what can be done for her,” he said.

A few days later, the whole town of Asheville, and the surrounding countryside, turned out for a parade to escort Hilda to the hospital.

Mr. and Mrs. Edney had been persuaded to commit Hilda to a private sanitarium. There she would receive medical attention, paid for by donations.

Uncle Ned came for the festivities, too, and as soon as Mandie could get a chance to talk to him alone, she confided in him. “I’m still concerned about April,” she said. “I’m really glad I never accused her of taking my things, but I have been mean to her,” Mandie confessed. “When she comes back to school, I’ll ask her to forgive me.” She sighed.

“Papoose need ask big people help more,” Uncle Ned reprimanded.

“That’s what Miss Hope told me,” Mandie said. “I guess I did make some bad choices,” she admitted, “and I’ve asked the Lord to forgive me. From now on I intend to stay within the rules and ask for help if there’s a problem.”

She looked thoughtful for a moment then said, “I might not get to be in the play, but I’m glad Hilda is getting medical help. Maybe someday she’ll be normal. I’ll pray for her every day, Uncle Ned,” Mandie promised.

“Yes, Papoose,” the old Indian said with a smile. “We both pray. Big God good.”

Mandie smiled. “He sure is, Uncle Ned,” she replied. “He sure is.”

Then Mandie went to find her friend Celia. Grinning mischievously she said, “Don’t you think it’s about time we investigate that trunk up in the attic?—After we get permission, of course,” she added.

Alarm spread over Celia’s face. But then she sighed, “Oh, Mandie, how can I say no?”

About the Author

LOIS GLADYS LEPPARD has been a Federal Civil Service employee in various countries around the world. She makes her home in South Carolina.

The stories of her own mother’s childhood are the basis for many of the incidents incorporated in this series.