The Mandie Collection (74 page)

Mandie and Celia followed the man into the vehicle without question, and the drive took off at a high speed. Snowball clung to his mistress in fright as they bumped and jolted along.

“What on earth could have happened to my grandmother and the senator?” Mandie said nervously.

“The man at the hotel said it was a small accident, so maybe they're not even hurt,” Celia consoled her, holding Mandie's hand. “I sure hope
we
don't have an accident the way this carriage is speeding along.”

“And that Jonathan, going off like that and not even bothering to come back. Just wait till I catch up with him,” Mandie threatened.

“He must have had some good reason,” Celia said. “I don't think he would deliberately keep us waiting all that time.”

“You know, Celia, I just thought of something–” Mandie said, glancing at the dark man sitting on the other seat. “I wish he could speak English—anyway, maybe someone told Jonathan about the accident when he left our room, and he went on to see about my grandmother and the senator. Do you think that could be why he didn't come back?”

“I just don't know, Mandie,” Celia replied. “It could be. But I don't see why he wouldn't have come back and told us first.”

“I suppose so, Celia. But maybe he didn't want to worry us.” Her voice began to tremble as tears flooded her blue eyes. “I'm so worried about my grandmother.”

Celia quickly pulled a handkerchief from her dress pocket and handed it to Mandie. “Here, Mandie, use this.”

Mandie took the handkerchief and dabbed at the tears. As the speeding carriage rushed through street after street, it seemed to Mandie as though they were traveling in circles. The driver hurried around corners so fast that the girls slid around on the seat. Snowball clung to his mistress and protested with angry meows.

“Aren't we ever going to get wherever we're going?” Mandie complained as she held onto Snowball with one hand and Celia with the other.

“Paris must be an awfully big city,” Celia said. “It didn't seem to be this large while we were sightseeing.”

Mandie glanced at the policeman in the seat opposite them. He seemed to be listening to their conversation, but the bellhop had said the man didn't speak English. When the policeman noticed Mandie looking at him, he smiled and looked out the window into the night.

The girls suddenly realized they had left the lighted business area and had entered what seemed to be a dimly lit residential neighborhood. The carriage slowed down and came to a jerking halt in front of one of the small houses.

“This is a house, not a hospital,” Mandie whispered to Celia. “The bellhop said the man would take us to the hospital.”

“That's right,” Celia whispered, sounding worried.

The driver opened the door of the carriage, and the dark man quickly stepped out, beckoning the girls to join him.

Mandie stayed put. “Where is the hospital?” she demanded.

The man spoke rapidly in French and reached inside to help the girls step out.

“Mandie, I don't like this at all,” Celia said under her breath, ignoring the man's offer of assistance.

Mandie stared straight at the man. “Where is my grandmother?” she persisted.

Instead of replying, the man grabbed both girls' hands and forced them to leave the carriage.

“Celia, we can't stay here,” Mandie whispered in her friend's ear. “Let's run!”

Mandie managed to break loose from the man, but he tripped her, and she stumbled and fell. Snowball whined loudly in protest as he clung to Mandie's cape.

Celia seemed frozen as she stood watching. Then as she reached out to help her friend rise from the road, the man grabbed Mandie's hand again.

Mandie dragged her feet as the man forced her and Celia toward the house. The sky was extremely dark compared to the lighted streets of Paris, and the girls had no idea where they were.

As they went through the gate in the wall around the house, someone opened the front door, and waited for them. When the girls came closer, the figure came forward and put an arm around each girl.

“How are you, dears?” the female voice said, leading them inside into the lamplight

Without speaking, the man turned and left.

The girls both looked up in shock. It was the strange woman from the ship!

Mandie exploded in anger. “You again! What do you want with us?” she demanded as the woman carefully locked the front door.

The woman in black smiled. “Sit down,” she told them, pointing toward a settee in the room. “Make yourselves comfortable. You have a long wait.”

Mandie stomped her foot. “Where is my grandmother?” she asked angrily. “That man who brought us here said my grandmother and the senator had an accident and that he would take us to them.” She looked around the dim room. “He also said he was a policeman, but he wasn't, was he?”

“Now, now, dear, don't get so excited,” the woman said sweetly. “How could that man say anything to you when he doesn't speak English and you don't speak French?”

“He didn't tell me directly, but that's what the bellhop at the hotel told us,” Mandie replied, refusing to sit down.

“He did,” Celia affirmed.

“Do sit down, dears,” the woman insisted as she stood waiting. “You see, you will have to wait here until the doctors say you can see your grandmother and the senator. You could have a long wait.”

“Why? I want to know why,” Mandie persisted.

“That's the way they do things here in Paris,” the woman explained, fingering the expensive-looking brooch she always wore. “Even though it was a minor accident, the patients cannot have visitors until the doctors give permission. Now I can guarantee you that your grandmother and the senator are not seriously injured.”

“I am going back to the hotel,” Mandie said emphatically. She started toward the front door, and Celia followed.

The woman jumped ahead of her, took the key out of the lock, and put it in her pocket. “You will wait right here, dear,” the woman said, smiling.

“If you don't let us go, you'll be sorry,” Mandie said, mustering all the confidence she could. “My grandmother has a lot of influence.”

“I know very well who your grandmother is, dear,” the woman replied. “Now why don't you two sit down like young ladies, and as soon as the doctors give permission, I'll take you to see Mrs. Taft and the senator.”

“Just how are you involved in this charade?” Mandie asked. “I don't believe my grandmother had any kind of accident. You're up to
something. I remember you from the ship. You were always following us around. Why are you so interested in us?”

The woman ignored her questions but kept smiling. “If you young ladies would just sit down, we could discuss this matter,” she insisted.

Celia nudged her friend. “We can't leave, Mandie, so we might as well sit down,” she whispered.

“All right, we'll sit down, but we're not staying long,” Mandie said to the woman. She and Celia sat on the edge of a small settee. Snowball curled up in Mandie's lap. But instead of going to sleep as he usually did, he kept his eyes on the strange woman.

The woman took a chair nearby. “Now, would you young ladies like some tea?” she asked.

“We don't want anything you've got, Mrs.–What is your name, anyway?” Mandie replied.

“My name is not important,” the woman said. “I'm sorry you won't have tea. Perhaps you'd like to lie down while you wait for word from the doctor.” She got up and started toward a hallway with a door visible to the parlor. Pushing open the door, she called back to the girls, “Come along, young ladies, and get some rest.”

Mandie didn't answer the woman, but whispered to Celia, “Let's go in there where we can talk.” She got up and Celia followed.

The room was meagerly furnished with a bed, a bureau, and a chair. Everything looked old and dilapidated, except for an electric lamp on the bureau. The woman stepped over and turned it on.

“Make yourselves comfortable,” the woman said. “I'll be right out here in the parlor, and I'll call you when the doctor says you can see your grandmother.” She left the room, closing the door behind her.

Mandie carefully tried the doorknob. She sighed with relief to find that the woman had not locked the door. She put Snowball on the bed and sat down next to him.

Celia joined her. “Mandie, what have we got ourselves into?” she said, nervously pulling her cape around her shoulders.

“I can't figure it out,” Mandie said. “I just wish I knew who that woman is, and why she would be following us all the time. And have you noticed how friendly she tries to be with us? What does she want?”

Celia shook her head. “I sure don't know. After all that nosing around on the ship, trying to make trouble for us. . . .”

The girls continued talking in hushed tones. “Celia, I'm really worried about my grandmother,” Mandie confided. “And the senator, too, of course. I know I said I didn't believe the story about the accident, but I really don't know
what
to believe. I wish somebody would hurry up and come for us.”

“Maybe they're not hurt, or they may not have even been in an accident,” Celia told her friend.

“I know. It's just that I thought we'd have a wonderful vacation in Europe, and look at all the mysterious things that have happened. Remember that note I found in my journal when we took the ferryboat across the English Channel? It said, ‘Be careful in Paris.' Someone was trying to warn me of something, but who in the world could it have been?”

“I suppose we haven't been careful enough since we got to Paris,” Celia replied softly.

“If somebody doesn't come for us pretty soon, I think we'd better try to find a way out of this house,” Mandie whispered.

“But how will we find the way back to the hotel?” Celia asked.

Mandie thought for a minute. “I spent all my money on presents for my mother and my Uncle John while we were sightseeing. Do you have any money left for a carriage?” she asked.

Celia opened her drawstring bag and held up two coins. “This is all I have, and I don't think they're worth much.”

Mandie examined them. “These are British pennies,” she said, disappointed.

“Right,” Celia replied. “I got them at the hotel in London to keep for souvenirs. But wouldn't the people here in Paris accept them?”

“I don't think so since every country has its own money,” Mandie said. “Even if they would, those pennies aren't worth enough to hire a carriage. Oh, what can we do?”

“Don't forget Jonathan should have returned by now and he'll come looking for us, especially if your grandmother and the senator haven't returned from the concert,” Celia suggested. “And if they're back, they'll definitely be looking for us.”

“But how could they find us?” Mandie sighed. “Celia, I think we'd better say our verse. We need some help.” Reaching for her friend's hand, she held it tightly as they repeated together, “ ‘What time I am afraid, I will put my trust in Thee.' ”

“Now let's just wait for something to happen,” Mandie said.

Hours dragged by, and the girls refused to lie down, afraid they would go to sleep. They wanted to be awake in case anyone came for them. They leaned against each other for support as they sat on the bed until sleep finally overcame them.

Some time later they both woke with a start and then realized where they were. “Sh-h-h!” Mandie cautioned Celia as they rubbed their eyes. They listened but couldn't hear a sound.

Mandie got up to examine the windows in the room. They were all tightly sealed. It would be impossible to open one. The girls' only way out would be through the door, which was in clear view of the woman in the parlor.

Celia crept quietly over to the door, opened it enough to peek out, and then closed it again. “She's reading—but she's also wide awake,” Celia reported.

“If she'd just doze off, I think we could get past her and try to find some way out of this house,” Mandie said. “She has the door key in her pocket, but there might be another way.”

The girls pulled back the heavy, coarse draperies and sat on the edge of the bed facing the windows. As they waited, the first streaks of dawn began to light up the sky. Mandie softly opened the door and saw that the woman had finally fallen asleep on the settee.

She quickly picked up Snowball from the bed and motioned for Celia to follow her. The house was still dark except for the parlor and the room they had been in. They had to move slowly to keep from bumping into something and waking the woman.

The girls checked each window they came to, but they were all secured. The house was much larger than it had seemed from the road, and there were many rooms to search for a way out.

Finally, arriving at the back door, Mandie examined it and sighed. “Locked—with two different locks. You must need a key for this one, too.” In frustration, she looked around in the dim light coming though the thin curtains. “Look!” She pointed. “There's another door. Let's try it.”

Mandie hurriedly turned the doorknob. To the amazement of them both, it opened! As Mandie slowly pushed open the creaking door, she could barely see steps descending into complete darkness. “It's the cellar!” she whispered to Celia.

“We aren't going down there, are we?” Celia protested, peering into the darkness. “There may be rats!”

“It's our only hope,” Mandie answered. “We've got to at least find out what's down there,” Mandie said, clutching her squirming kitten. “Besides, if there are any rats, they won't bother us because they'll be afraid of Snowball.”

“Oh, I wish I had never come to Europe,” Celia moaned.

“Come on,” Mandie urged. “I'll go first. Be careful and don't fall. You could get hurt.”