Mandie Collection, The: 4 (69 page)

A movement on the bed caught her attention. She gasped. There was Snowball—turning round and round, as he did sometimes when he couldn’t decide which way to lie down.
Where did he come from?

Celia quickly shook Mandie. “Look, Mandie! Snowball’s back!”

Mandie was wide awake at once, and sat up to find her white kitten curled up next to her.

“Snowball! How did you get back? Where have you been?” she asked all at once, picking him up and smoothing his white fur. Tears of joy filled her blue eyes.

Celia was excited and happy for her friend. “He found his way back somehow, didn’t he?”

“Thank goodness,” Mandie replied. “We’d better let Jonathan know.”

The girls jumped out of bed and quickly dressed, then hurried down the hallway to Jonathan’s room where they tapped lightly on his door. Mandie held Snowball securely, even though she had put his leash on him.

Jonathan came to the door immediately. He was already fully dressed. “Where did you find him?”

“We didn’t find him. He found us. When we woke up this morning he was on our bed!” Mandie explained.

“Well, you silly cat, causing all that trouble and then calmly showing up on your own,” Jonathan said, ruffling the fur on Snowball’s head.

Snowball didn’t like the fur on his head ruffled, and he batted at Jonathan with his paw.

“I’m just glad he’s all right,” Mandie said.

“Me too. Let’s go downstairs and see if breakfast is ready. It’s almost time,” Jonathan reminded the girls.

The three hurried down to the dining room and found Gretchen setting the table.

“Good morning, Gretchen. Do you mind if we sit down and wait?” Mandie asked the girl.

“That you may do,” Gretchen said with a smile and a wave toward some chairs. “I will bring the coffee while we wait for madam and the gentleman.”

She left the room, and the young people sat down at the table. Mandie tied Snowball’s leash to the table leg.

“Grandmother and Senator Morton should be along soon. We’re going to Delfshaven Port, remember?” Mandie remarked with a yawn. “And I do hope Grandmother will take us to see the windmill. I want to go all the way across the canal.”

“We forgot to look out our window this morning to see where the blades were stopped on the windmill,” Celia told her.

“Some detectives you girls make,” Jonathan teased.

“With all the excitement we’ve had, I don’t believe you would have remembered to look out at the windmill this morning, either,” Mandie answered.

Jonathan’s face sobered. “No, I don’t suppose I would have. And I’m glad your cat came back from wherever he was.”

“I’d like to know who left our door open and let him out,” Mandie said. “And I’d like to find out who it was that saw us in the dark and then ran when we went to look at the windmill.”

“Maybe we’ll be able to solve these mysteries,” Jonathan said. “And we should also find out who set the blades on the windmill at an odd position, and then moved them back to normal. Uncle Ned was right. There are mysteries here in Holland, too.”

“Well, he couldn’t have known about all this,” Mandie said.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that he never knows too much about any mystery in particular,” Jonathan said. “He just knows you will find one wherever you go.”

Celia smiled. “Mandie is always chasing unexplained happenings.”

Before Mandie could defend herself, Gretchen brought the tray, set it down, and poured their cups full of steaming fresh coffee. Mandie breathed deeply to inhale the delicious smell.

“As soon as madam and the gentleman arrive, I will bring the food,” Gretchen said with a smile. Then she left the room.

In fact, she met Mrs. Taft and Senator Morton at the door.

After exchanging morning greetings, they sat down with the young people, and Gretchen returned shortly to serve their breakfast. Then, without comment, she took Snowball to the kitchen to feed him.

“Did y’all sleep well?” Mrs. Taft asked as she buttered a fresh roll.

“Yes, ma’am,” Celia and Jonathan answered as they sipped the hot coffee.

“I dreamed of my father,” Mandie said with a sad expression on her face. “I was back at Charley Gap with him and Snowball.”

“Snowball!” Mrs. Taft spoke as if the kitten’s name brought something to mind. “Amanda, you’re going to have to do something about that cat.”

“What do you mean, Grandmother?” Mandie asked, her heart pounding at Mrs. Taft’s stern voice.

“I’ll tell you what. Sometime in the middle of the night that cat jumped onto my bed and almost scared me out of my wits. I was sound
asleep, and to be awakened like that was very unsettling,” Mrs. Taft explained.

The three young people quickly looked at one another, and Mandie recalled the thump on her stomach in her dream.

“Grandmother, did you put Snowball back in our room?” Mandie asked anxiously, leaning forward.

“Yes, I did. When I put him on the floor he jumped right up on your bed,” Mrs. Taft said. “I was surprised he didn’t wake you. How did he get out, Amanda?” She waited impatiently for an answer.

“I—I—don’t know,” Mandie began, twisting the napkin in her lap. “Someone left our door open, and we had to search the house for him—”

“When did someone leave your door open, Amanda? You had Snowball with you when we went on our walk after supper, and when we returned for the night,” Mrs. Taft said.

“I know, Grandmother,” Mandie replied, then quickly added, “We went back outside to look at the windmill, and left him in the room. When we came back he was gone and the door was standing open—”

“You all went back outside after we said good-night?” Mrs. Taft asked in disbelief.

“Yes, ma’am,” Celia answered for Mandie.

“We only went to look at the windmill,” Jonathan offered.

“And we came right back,” Mandie added rapidly. “It isn’t far. You can see the windmill from our window.”

“At that time of night you could have gotten lost,” Mrs. Taft said firmly. “This is a strange place to all of us, and I will not allow the three of you to be running around after dark. Is that understood?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Celia replied.

“I understand, Grandmother, and I’m sorry,” Mandie said.

“I apologize, too, Mrs. Taft,” Jonathan added.

“Now finish your breakfast. We’ve got some sightseeing to do,” Mrs. Taft said briskly, draining her coffee cup.

“Is it all right if I take Snowball with us, Grandmother?” Mandie asked, cleaning up her plate.

“I suppose,” Mrs. Taft consented. “I don’t know what else we can do with him but leave him in your room. And then there’s the chance that
someone may let him out again. But you’ve absolutely got to hold on to him, Amanda. I will not have him interfering with our pleasure.”

As they all stood to leave, Gretchen stuck her head in the door with Snowball on his leash.

“He acts up very much,” Gretchen told Mandie. “He has a big taste for food.”

The three young people laughed at the maid’s appraisal of Snowball.

Mandie took the cat in her arms and wrapped the leash around her wrist. “Oh, he’d eat all the time if you gave him the food. Thanks, Gretchen.”

Mrs. Taft and Senator Morton led the way outside to the carriage where William was waiting for them. The young people lagged behind to keep their conversation out of earshot.

“Whew, that was close!” Jonathan blew out his breath, making the dark curls on his forehead fly.

“Yes, but we still don’t know who let Snowball out, or who it was that we saw in the field last night,” Mandie remarked as they waited for her grandmother and the senator to enter the vehicle. “Or who changed the windmill blades.”

“Mandie, we barely managed to get by with leaving the house after dark,” Celia reminded her in a low whisper. “I sure hope you don’t intend to pursue any of those questions further.”

“Maybe we won’t have to pursue anything. Maybe it’ll all come to us,” Mandie said with a smile as she stepped into the carriage.

CHAPTER FIVE

ALBERT APPEARS

The countryside was in full bloom. Brightly colored flowers filled the air with many scents as a soft breeze swayed their petals. The golden sunshine glistened on the waters of the canals. Now and then a bird call could be heard above the scrunching of the carriage wheels in the loose pebbles of the road, and the clopping of the horses.

“Oh, it’s all so perfect,” Mandie exclaimed as she leaned on the window. “So beautiful and so refreshing! It makes me want to get out and walk.”

“I’d rather just sit here and float through it all,” Celia said with a little laugh as she gazed outside.

“And just think, my ancestors left all this for New York,” Jonathan remarked. He quickly turned to Mandie and added, “According to your grandmother, your ancestors left here for the United States. You know, we could have some mutual relatives way back in history.”

Mandie quickly told him, “But you are from the North and we’re from the South. My ancestors may never have traveled north for all we know. Anyway, my Cherokee ancestors were already in the southern part of the country before the white man ever came to the United States.”

“What about before that, Mandie? Where did the Cherokees come from?” Celia asked.

Mandie was at a loss. She had never thought about that. “I really
don’t know,” she said slowly. “But I’ll ask Uncle Ned when we see him. He’ll know.”

“But he’s not your real uncle,” Jonathan said. “He was just your father’s friend.”

“Yes, but he’s full-blooded Cherokee. Therefore all his ancestors were there before the white people came,” Mandie said. “And speaking of Uncle Ned, I do hope he shows up sometime soon. He might be able to help us solve some of the mysteries we’ve run into.” She quickly glanced at her grandmother to see if she had heard, but she was deep in conversation with Senator Morton.

“Oh, Mandie, we haven’t run into any real big mysteries here,” Jonathan remarked. “At least not like the ones we came across in some of the other countries we visited.”

“That’s because they haven’t been fully developed yet,” Mandie assured him. “Give it some time, and we’ll have an intriguing adventure on our hands with the mystery of the windmill blades. Just wait and see.” Her blue eyes sparkled with excitement as she thought about the possibility of becoming involved in the solution to the puzzle.

Mandie was anxious to visit the miller and ask about the position of the blades the night before. Her grandmother had insisted they go see the port today, but maybe there would still be time left for the windmill. Mandie thought the house help was kind of mysterious too. With Anna deaf and Dieter not able to say a word, that left Gretchen to talk for everyone. And she didn’t seem to be very interested in anything except her duties as a maid. There was William, their driver, but he was not from the area, so he wouldn’t know anything about the windmill.

“I don’t see how we’ll ever find out who set the windmill blades to that unusual position,” Celia said, looking puzzled. She glanced out the window then, and said, “Looks like we’re coming into a village.”

Mrs. Taft explained, “This is the little port town. Most of these buildings and houses are very, very old. Some of them were probably built before our ancestors sailed for America.”

Mandie and her friends watched, intrigued, as they passed quaint structures built low to the ground. The people walking along the way were dressed in native Dutch costume. The women and girls wore full skirts with laced bodices, and headpieces with wide brims that turned back, leaving the pointed ends floppy. The men and boys were dressed
in full, gathered pants and bloused shirts. Everyone wore wooden shoes.

“Look at their shoes!” Mandie exclaimed as she gazed at the people’s feet. “I’ve just got to buy a pair of wooden shoes to take home!”

“Me too,” Celia echoed.

“I can assure you they are not comfortable to wear,” Jonathan told them. “I tried a pair when I went to school here.”

“I don’t care, I like them,” Mandie said. “I wonder how they are made?”

“They take a block of wood, usually willow, and carve the shoe from that,” Jonathan explained. “What I’d really like to have is one of their windmills in my backyard.”

“A windmill?” Mandie frowned at the boy. “It would be impossible to take one of those home.”

Mrs. Taft, having heard her remark, spoke to Mandie: “No, dear, not entirely impossible. Even stone buildings can be moved from country to country. They dismantle it, stone by stone, and then reconstruct it at the new location.”

Mandie turned to Jonathan. “Well, in that case, tell your father to buy you a windmill. He can afford it.”

Jonathan smiled at her and said, “You don’t know my father. He may have the money, but he’s awfully particular as to how he spends it. Besides, I’m always gone away to a school somewhere, and my father is always traveling on business, so why buy a windmill?”

“I’m sorry your mother is not living, Jonathan, so you could stay home in New York instead of being educated all over the world,” Mandie consoled. Then with a laugh she added, “But then we never would have met you and had the benefit of your knowledge in our travels here in Europe.”

Senator Morton was listening to the conversation, and he told Jonathan, “I’ll check just as soon as we get back to the house to see if your father has sent a wire telling us when he’ll join us.”

“Thank you, sir,” Jonathan said. He paused and then added, “What I’d really like to do is spend some time with my aunt and uncle in Paris. I haven’t seen them in a long time.”

“Perhaps they will have sent us a message before we leave

Holland, as to when they’ll be back home in Paris,” Senator Morton said with a smile.

“Please don’t worry about it, sir,” Jonathan said. “I’m really and truly enjoying traveling with you people.”

The driver was bringing the carriage to a halt near a wharf. Mrs. Taft told the young people, “We’ll be getting out for a walk about the port.”

Holding Snowball in her arms, Mandie quickly looked around as they stepped out of the carriage. The town seemed small, but the harbor was full of ships with various flags. Evidently the place was a busy, thriving seaport. Her grandmother had told them Delftshaven Port was part of Rotterdam, but that they would not explore anything other than the port for lack of time.