The Mandie Collection (41 page)

Stepping out of a clump of bushes for one last look at the log cabin, she took a deep breath. Then she turned toward the mountain to go to the cemetery where her father was buried.

As the path grew steep, Mandie stopped for a moment. Setting down the flour sack and her kitten, she tucked the hem of her long skirt into the waistband to get it out of her way. Climbing over the rough rocks and boulders ahead of her would be hard enough without tripping on her skirt.

Nearing the summit of the mountain, she found clusters of bright Indian Paintbrush blooming along the way. Halting once more, she gathered a handful of the blooms, tucked them in the fold of her upturned skirt, and went on.

At the top, she was completely exhausted. It took every ounce of her strength to stumble over to her father's grave. Fresh flowers in a jar full of water stood by the head marker.

Mandie looked around her. There were no weeds over the grave, and the grass had been trimmed. She smiled through the tears that started to come. “Joe
has
kept his promise to look after it for me,” she said, adding the Indian Paintbrush to the jar of fresh flowers.

As memories of her father filled her mind, Mandie fell to the ground weeping, heedless of the kitten who had finally won his freedom. “Oh, Daddy, I loved you so much!” she cried, burying her face in her arms. “So much!” She sobbed uncontrollably as Snowball rubbed against her shoulder.

Totally exhausted from the long night's journey and overcome with grief, Mandie lay there on the grass and cried herself to sleep.

The next thing Mandie knew, Snowball was pushing against her arm. She woke with a start and rolled over, shading her eyes from the glare of the sun. “Oh, Snowball.” She grabbed for her kitten and propped herself up on one elbow. “How long have I been asleep?”

Snowball stretched and meowed.

Mandie glanced up. Judging from the sun's position in the sky, she guessed it had not been long. Jumping to her feet, she untucked the hem of her skirt and shook it out. “Snowball, we need to get going. Come here.”

The kitten led her in a chase around the cemetery, then stopped next to the flour sack just long enough for his mistress to grab him.
“Snowball!” Mandie scolded. “We don't have time to play around. We've still got a long journey ahead of us. Now you behave.”

Snowball meowed in reply and clung to the shoulder of Mandie's dress as she snatched up the flour sack and hurried down the mountain. The path that would take them back to the river and on to Bird-town led through the woods. Before they had gone very far, Mandie's stomach growled loudly. She suddenly realized that she hadn't eaten anything since that bite of cheese and bread during the night.

Finding a place where the bushes and underbrush weren't quite so thick, she sat down on the ground and took out their food. As soon as Snowball smelled it, he began meowing and rubbing against her hands.

“Wait, Snowball,” she scolded. “I know you're hungry. I'm hurrying, but I can't get you anything to eat if you keep getting in my way.” Breaking off a small hunk of cheese, she set it on the ground for him. “Now behave yourself and don't run off while I eat,” she said.

Snowball looked up at his mistress and meowed, then began eating his food.

Keeping an eye out for danger, Mandie ate quickly. As she finished her food, she looked over at her kitten, who was licking his paws. “Let's go, Snowball,” she said. “We have to find some water.” Picking up her flour sack, she reached for him, but he darted off and disappeared into the woods.

“Snowball, come back here!” Mandie yelled, racing after him. “Here, kitty, kitty. Snowball, where are you?” she called as she searched the bushes. There was not a sound in reply.

Once again tears filled her blue eyes. “Snowball, where are you? Please don't be lost!” she cried.

Suddenly, she heard Snowball's angry growl close by. Mandie crept forward, trying to locate him without being seen. She didn't want him running off again.

Then she heard another growl, louder this time. She looked off to the right and saw Snowball with his fur standing up, his back arched.

Mandie eased forward, then froze. Directly in front of Snowball a huge snake stood coiled, ready to strike. Mandie recognized the brown and gold markings of a deadly timber rattler. Her heart pounded. What should she do? The snake could strike at any minute.

If she yelled at Snowball to run, the startled snake would surely strike. Mandie was afraid to move an inch. Feeling drained of all her strength, she could hardly breathe.

Snowball growled again and swiped his paw in the air. The snake hissed and moved its head.

Mandie had to do something. That snake was going to kill her kitten. Racing forward, she snatched up Snowball by the scruff of his neck and flew down the path as fast as her feet could carry her.

She heard the snake moving behind her but didn't dare look back. “Please help us, dear God,” she prayed. Out of breath, she could say no more, but she kept running for a long time.

Finally, as they came to the river, she got a catch in her side and stumbled to a halt. She fell to the ground just inches from the water. Snowball meowed and reached over and brushed his head against his mistress's face.

Unable to say anything, Mandie just smiled. She was sure that her kitten was thanking her for saving him from the deadly snake. After washing her face in the shallow water of the riverbank, Mandie let Snowball drink. Then she picked up her flour sack, and they continued on their way.

“Thank you, dear God. Thank you,” she murmured as she followed the riverbank.

Before long she came to more woods that grew thick right down to the river's edge. There was no way to avoid them and not much of a path going through. Mandie struggled to push heavy limbs out of her way, and briars kept snagging her long, full skirt.

“There must have been a better way to go, but I just don't know where,” Mandie said. Clutching Snowball, she hurried on. “I sure hope there's not much more of this.” It was hard to believe it could be so dark in the woods when the sun shone so brightly overhead.

Snowball didn't try to get down, but he meowed every time they ran into a limb. There were so many branches running every which way, it was impossible to dodge them all. Mandie tried to shield her face, but she kept getting scratched.

All at once her head snapped back. She was stuck! Glancing back over her shoulder, she saw that her long blond braid had gotten tangled in a prickly branch. Afraid to let Snowball down, she dropped her flour sack and tried to free herself with one hand.

Suddenly, she noticed small animals scattering and birds taking flight as if startled. Then she had the strange feeling she was being watched. Turning her head in the other direction, she gasped.

Two young Indian men stood, partially hidden in the brush, watching her.

Mandie's heart skipped a beat, and she clutched Snowball tightly. “Are y'all Cherokees?” she asked hopefully.

The two Indians looked at each other and mumbled something that didn't sound like the Cherokee language. Then they started toward her, their faces serious.

Mandie bit her lip and frantically tried to free herself from the prickly branch.

The Indians tramped through the brush and stood in front of her, their dark eyes boring into hers.

Mandie's heart thumped loudly.
What do they want
? she wondered.

The Indians looked at each other and mumbled something again. Then the shorter of the two grabbed Mandie's flour sack and rummaged through it. Turning to the other man, he shrugged.

Mandie trembled in suspense. These Indians obviously weren't Cherokees. But were they friendly or hostile? If only they spoke English . . . So far they hadn't tried to harm her, but could they be trusted?

Snowball dug his claws into the shoulder of Mandie's dress.

Mandie struggled again, trying to free her long blond braid from the branch.

Suddenly the two Indians started toward her. Mandie froze. The taller Indian extended both hands, pointing to Mandie's neck. Her heart beat wildly. She cringed.

Then the Indian reached behind her and began to loosen her blond braid from the prickly branch that held her in its grasp. With the Indian's face only inches from her own, she hardly dared to breathe. But in seconds he had freed her, and she collapsed on the ground with relief.

The Indians helped her up, their eyes filled with concern.

Somehow Mandie managed a weak smile. “Th-thank you,” she stammered. “Thank you very much.” She still felt faint.

The Indians patted her gently on the back and mumbled something in their language.

“Snowball, I think we'd better get going again,” Mandie said, grabbing her flour sack.

Grateful, but still not sure of the Indians, she waved to them as she headed off. “Goodbye,” she called over her shoulder.

She didn't want to look back, but she could feel their eyes on her, watching until she came to a curve in the path. When she was sure she was out of their sight, she finally started to relax. “Whew!” She let out her breath noisily. “That was a close call,” she said to her pet. “You didn't like them, either, did you, Snowball?”

The white kitten looked up at her and meowed.

CHAPTER SIX

DANGERS!

Mandie trudged on, and some time later her weary, blistered feet brought her to the Tomahawk Trail where it crossed the Little Tennessee River. Following that trail, she came to the Tuckasegee River.

Mandie surveyed the shallow part of the river where she would cross on a foot bridge. “Snowball, let's get into the water and cool off,” she suggested.

As Mandie hurried down the bank, Snowball jumped out of her arms and ran ahead of her. Sitting down on the bank, Mandie took off her shoes and watched Snowball dip his paw in the flowing water as he drank. Then he shook his head to get the water off his whiskers.

Mandie tucked up her long skirt and waded out into the cool river. “Oh, Snowball, this feels so good,” she called back to him at the edge. “Come on, get in the water.”

As she waded back toward the bank, she reached out for him. Snowball tried to escape her grasp, but the pebbles he was sitting on scattered under his weight, and he tumbled into the water.

Tired and full of tension, Mandie started to giggle, then burst into gales of silly laughter as she watched. She knew he could swim, so she wasn't worried about that. The kitten managed to right himself in the water and tried paddling back toward the riverbank. But the current was too strong for him.

When Mandie finally reached him, she patted his wet head. “Come on, Snowball. Let's have some fun.” She tried to coax him to follow her, but he kept treading water and violently shaking his head to clear his ears.

He looked up at his mistress with sad eyes. “Meow!” he whimpered.

“All right, you silly kitten.” Mandie finally gave in. “Come here. I'll hold you.”

As though he could understand what she was saying, Snowball immediately paddled his way toward his mistress. Mandie snatched him up and shook him gently to get rid of some of the water. His fur stuck to him, and he wiggled his ears, trying to get the water out of them.

“Oh, Snowball, you look pitiful,” Mandie said. Holding his drenched little body close, she rubbed her face against the wet fur. “I'm sorry you fell in, Snowball,” she told him. “I'll get you dried off.”

Stepping out onto the sand of the riverbank, she hurried to get Aunt Lou's apron out of her flour sack. After putting the remaining food back in the sack, she sat down in the dirt and used the apron as a towel to dry her kitten. Snowball didn't protest.

“All right, that's the best I can do,” she said after a few minutes. “You finish.” She released the kitten, saying, “Now I have to dry my feet.”

While Snowball licked his paws, Mandie rubbed her own feet with the wet apron and tugged her stockings and shoes back on.

Suddenly Mandie heard the sound of horses and a wagon in the distance. She looked up. Downriver, she saw a rig crossing the bridge. It was headed in the direction of Bird-town. Mandie jumped up. Sure that it was a Cherokee wagon, she started waving Aunt Lou's white apron and yelling.

She squinted and shaded her eyes from the sun. She couldn't tell who was driving. The wagon was too far away. But to her surprise, after it reached the other side of the river, it turned and came toward her.

Snatching up Snowball and the flour sack, Mandie raced across the foot bridge toward the wagon. She reached the other side just in time to see who was driving.

“Tsa'ni!” she cried, recognizing her troublesome cousin.

The Indian boy was Uncle Wirt Pindar's grandson. He lived in Deep Creek, near Uncle Ned.

Tsa'ni hated white people and had a way of making life miserable for Mandie. But she was desperate for a ride. Tired and hungry, she didn't know how she would ever make it the rest of the way before dark.

Her Cherokee cousin stopped the wagon beside her. Eyeing her curiously, he smirked. “What are you doing out here all alone?” he asked. “You and that white cat?”

He scowled at her tucked-up skirt.

Embarrassed that her legs were showing, Mandie dropped the hem of her skirt and straightened the folds. “Tsa'ni, I am on the way to Uncle Wirt's house,” she explained. “Would you please give me a ride the rest of the way?”

“I am not going to Bird-town,” Tsa'ni said curtly. “I am going home to Deep Creek. Why do you want to see my grandfather? Why do you not stay at home with that white woman who is your mother?”

Mandie didn't want to start an argument. “I just want to visit your grandfather for awhile,” she said. “School is out for the summer, and my mother is home with her new baby. Please, Tsa'ni, couldn't you go around by Uncle Wirt's and drop me off there?”

“How did you get this far?” Tsa'ni sneered. “By yourself?”