The Mandie Collection (10 page)

Mandie led the way, and the four quickly ran in and out of every room on the first floor, finding one maid, who had not heard anything.

Next they went upstairs and went through the bedrooms, then on up to the third floor, and then on to the stairs to the attic. Ben and Cal were coming down.

“Ain’t nuthin’ up dere,” Ben told them with a big grin as the young people waited to pass him and Cal on the narrow steps.

“Did you turn the light out?” Mandie asked.

“Nope, done went out by de time we got dere,” Uncle Cal explained.

“Where is Aunt Phoebe?” Mandie asked.

“She gone to our house out in the backyard,” Cal explained.

The men went on, and the young people climbed the staircase.

When they reached the top, Mandie pushed the door open and reached to light the lamp that was kept just inside the door. Then Joe went forward and clicked the switch on the overhead light that hung down on a wire.

The four quickly searched in between all the furniture, boxes, trunks, and other discarded items. They didn’t find a trace of anyone.

“They must have left before Uncle Cal and Ben got here,” Mandie said, walking around. She went over to a window to look out. Suddenly she noticed an opened latch on the window. “Look! This window is unlocked.” She tried to see outside on the roof.

The other three came running.

“So whoever it was went out the window,” Joe said with a big grin.

“Yes,” Mandie agreed.

“Then they must still be on the roof,” Jonathan said. “Shall we go out there and look, Joe?”

Joe smiled at him and said, “Sure.”

Mandie wanted to go, too, but didn’t dare. She might mess up her clothes, and if her grandmother found out she had been on the roof, there would be trouble.

“We’ll stay right here. Please hurry,” Mandie told the boys.

“You girls stay in here and do not come outside,” Joe instructed them.

For once Mandie didn’t take that as a dare. She and Celia waited while Joe and Jonathan disappeared on the roof.

Celia was almost shaking with fright. “What if the person comes back in here and Joe and Jonathan are still out there? What will we do?”

“I’ll throw something at them and scream as loud as I can,” Mandie said with a big grin.

Finally the boys returned and climbed back inside the attic.

“No one out there,” Joe said, brushing off his pants.

“No sign of anyone,” Jonathan added.

When the four returned to the parlor and explained what they had found, Miss Prudence said she was glad they got away. Otherwise the girls might have been injured.

“Amanda, I think it’s time we go home,” Mrs. Taft said as she stood up. “Miss Prudence, we will be in contact with you tomorrow after we see the preacher. I take it you are not going to church.”

“Oh no, ma’am, I can’t go to church until we find my sister,” Miss Prudence replied. “I just couldn’t face the questions.”

“Will you be all right here? I mean, if there was someone up in that attic, they might come back,” Senator Morton said. “Maybe we should call the sheriff.”

“I’ll be fine. Aunt Phoebe and Uncle Cal have been sleeping in the house here since my sister left,” Miss Prudence replied. “They just go out to their little house in the backyard to check on it now and then. And we have other servants with quarters in the house here.”

As they left, Mandie wondered whether Miss Prudence was really afraid because of the light seen in the attic or whether she was just nervous over her sister being missing. She hoped Uncle Ned’s men would soon find Miss Hope and everything would settle down.

Mandie woke early the next morning. The sun was just beginning to shine through the tall trees surrounding Mrs. Taft’s house. Snowball, at her feet, sat up and began washing his face. Mandie quickly jumped out of bed. She wanted to catch the new maid, Dobie, before she had to go to the dining room for her breakfast and then on to church.

Pulling down a blue voile dress from the huge wardrobe, Mandie turned to see Celia right behind her.

“Isn’t it a little early to get up?” Celia asked, rubbing her eyes as she moved to select a dress for herself.

“Not really, Celia,” Mandie said, going over to a chair with the dress and quickly removing her nightclothes to put it on. “Remember, I want to catch Dobie before Grandmother gets us all tied up today.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Celia agreed with a yawn. She took down a white lacy dress trimmed with bright green flowers.

Standing before the bureau mirror, Mandie quickly brushed her long blond hair and pinned it up off her shoulders. They were going to church later, and she would have to wear her hat.

Celia joined her and yawned as she also put her hair up. “I don’t feel like it’s time to get up, Mandie,” she said.

“You could go back to bed and I could come back and wake you later,” Mandie suggested, retying her long sash. “But I want to look around and see if I can find Dobie.”

“No, I’ll go with you,” Celia replied.

As soon as they were dressed, Mandie silently opened the door and stepped out into the hall. Celia followed. Snowball shot by them too fast to catch, but Mandie knew he would be heading to the kitchen where the food was.

There was not a sound anywhere. “Let’s go see if the boys are up yet,” Mandie whispered. She didn’t want to wake the adults.

The two went to the main staircase and looked around. The boys were nowhere in sight.

“Joe and Jonathan must not be up yet,” Mandie decided in a whisper. “Let’s go downstairs and look for Dobie.” She softly stepped down the long staircase. Celia followed.

They looked in the main parlor and found it empty. There was no one in the back parlor, either. Going on down the hallway, Mandie pushed open the kitchen door. At last they found someone. Ella was in there making coffee. Snowball was already eating from a plate by the stove.

“Good morning,” Mandie said, and she and Celia stepped into the kitchen.

Ella looked at them and smiled. “My, my, y’all jes’ sit down over there and we’ll have some coffee shortly.” She put the percolator on the iron cookstove, opened the door on the side of the stove, and added some sticks of wood to the fire burning inside. After she poked at the fire with the poker, she shut the door on the stove and opened the damper wide.

Mandie and Celia went to sit at the table by the window.

“Ella, has that new maid, Dobie, come to work yet?” Mandie asked as Ella set cups and saucers down from the cupboard.

“No, she don’t come on Sunday,” Ella replied. “Be back tomorrow.”

“Oh, shucks!” Mandie said to Celia.

Ella was filling the sugar bowl with sugar, and she turned to look at Mandie. “What you be wantin’ wid her?” she asked.

Mandie quickly decided not to tell Ella the real reason. “I just wanted to ask her something,” she replied. “Has Uncle Ned been in here yet?”

“No, y’all de firs’ ones up,” Ella said.

Just as the coffee was ready and Ella was filling their cups, Uncle Ned came to join them. He sat down at the table, and Ella gave him a cup full of steaming coffee.

“Uncle Ned, are you going anywhere today? Like maybe out to the farm?” Mandie asked, sipping her coffee.

“Not out to the farm but to visit more friends in the mountain,” the old man replied.

“Will you be gone all day?” Mandie asked.

Uncle Ned nodded and said, “All day, all night, long way.”

“But you will be back in the morning, then, won’t you?” Mandie asked.

Uncle Ned nodded and said, “Yes, early.”

“I suppose Grandmother will talk to the preacher at church today,” Mandie said. “Maybe he will know whether Miss Hope was in the churchyard that night Annie thought she saw her.”

“But unless preacher knows where Miss Hope went that night, still not much help to find her,” Uncle Ned reminded Mandie.

“That’s right,” Mandie agreed. “At least we will be able to find out whether there was anything going on at the church that night. If there was, maybe Miss Hope had gone to it, whatever it was.”

The old man stood up. “Must go now. Back tomorrow, early,” he said as he walked toward the back door.

“We’ll see you then, Uncle Ned,” Mandie said as he went out the back door. Turning to Celia, she said, “I hope he is going to see his braves and maybe find out something they may have learned about Miss Hope.”

Ella was bustling about the kitchen getting things ready for breakfast. She took a stack of plates down from the cupboard, placed them on the table, and said, “Where dem boys? Dey don’t want coffee dis morning?”

“They weren’t up, Ella, when we came downstairs,” Mandie said. Then she rose, looked at Celia, and said, “Come on. They may be waiting for us on the stairs, not knowing we are already down here.”

“Thank you for the coffee, Ella,” Celia said as she followed Mandie.

Mandie stopped and looked back. “Yes, Ella, thank you.”

Ella nodded and smiled at the girls as they left the room.

They hurried down the hall and up the main staircase. Joe and Jonathan were sitting in the alcove at the top. They both stood up when the girls came up.

“Where have y’all been? Here we are waiting for y’all, and y’all have probably been in the kitchen drinking coffee,” Joe teased.

“You didn’t even let us know,” Jonathan complained with a sly smile.

“Y’all weren’t out here when we went downstairs,” Mandie said as she and Celia sat down nearby. “Uncle Ned has gone to visit people over in the mountains and won’t return until tomorrow.”

“So what is your grandmother planning to do today?” Jonathan asked.

“If she talks to the preacher at church and he knows anything at all, maybe we will be able to figure out what to do next,” Mandie said.

“I hope the men he’s got spying on the farm hurry up and find out something to put an end to this round and round we go,” Jonathan said, grinning at Mandie.

“Yes, I hope we can find Miss Hope soon, too,” Mandie agreed.

“The only thing about solving this mystery is Mandie will find another one just as soon as we end this one. It’s an endless business,” Joe said, smiling at Mandie.

“Now, wait a minute. I didn’t initiate this mystery. Remember, it was Grandmother who got us involved,” Mandie quickly told him.

“And Miss Hope started the whole thing by deciding to just disappear,” Celia said.

At that moment, Mrs. Taft came down the hallway to the staircase. She stopped to say, “Breakfast will be served shortly, Amanda, and then we will go on to church a little early in hopes of catching Preacher Tallant before the whole congregation gets there.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Mandie said. Turning to her friends, she said, “Let’s go to the parlor.”

They followed Mrs. Taft down to the parlor. Senator Morton came in as soon as they were seated.

After greetings were exchanged, Mrs. Taft said, “I do hope I will be able to speak to Preacher Tallant for at least two or three minutes before the service starts and he gets too busy. If we go a few minutes early, perhaps we can find him in his office.”

“Yes, that’s the right thing to do,” Senator Morton agreed.

“Grandmother, if he did see Miss Hope that night, then what are we going to do?” Mandie asked.

“Well, I hope he knows where she was going or what she was doing out at night like that,” Mrs. Taft replied.

“Then are we going back to visit Miss Prudence today?” Mandie asked.

“I suppose so,” Mrs. Taft said. “We need to keep in close touch with her in hopes that she might have learned something about her sister.”

After breakfast Ben drove them to church in the rig. Theirs was the first vehicle in the parking lot. Mrs. Taft hurried everyone out and into the church.

“Let’s hurry now,” Mrs. Taft told the young people. “We’ll just see if Preacher Tallant is in his office.” She led the way to the side door, which opened into a hallway. The preacher’s office was at the end of the hall.

“You young people just wait out here,” Mrs. Taft told Mandie and her friends. “The office is too small to hold all of us.”

As Mandie and her friends stood back, Mrs. Taft knocked on the closed door. When it opened, it was not the preacher who stood there but the assistant preacher. “Good morning, Mrs. Taft,” he greeted her.

“Good morning,” she replied. “I’m looking for Preacher Tallant. I need a few words with him.”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Taft, but he is under the weather this morning,” the young man said. “He’s been visiting so many members this week and eating all kinds of food that he has come down with an upset stomach and can’t be here today. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Oh, I’m sorry he’s ill,” Mrs. Taft said, looking surprised at the news. “When did you return? I believe you’ve been on vacation for the last several weeks, haven’t you?”

“Yes, ma’am, I went home to visit my parents in Tennessee for my vacation time,” he said. “Are you sure I can’t help you, ma’am?”

“Thank you, but I suppose I’ll just have to wait and see Preacher Tallant when he recuperates,” Mrs. Taft said, turning back to the others. “Come along, Amanda, we’ll just go back outside and enter through the main doors. There may be someone out there we ought to speak to.” She led the way back out into the yard, where she stopped to talk with the senator.

“That was so unexpected I couldn’t decide whether to ask him about anything that might have been going on here at the church that night that Annie thinks she saw Miss Hope,” she said. “Then I realized he was on vacation then and wasn’t even here.”

“The preacher shouldn’t be out too long with just an upset stomach,” Senator Morton said.

“Shucks,” Mandie whispered to her friends. “We just can’t seem to catch up with that preacher.”

“It’s almost like he’s dodging Mrs. Taft,” Jonathan remarked.

Mandie looked at him and said, “You’re right, Jonathan. Maybe he is trying to avoid us. But I wonder why.”

Other vehicles were arriving in the yard, bringing members to the service. “Come along, Amanda, we’ll go in and sit down now,” Mrs. Taft said, starting toward the main front door.

“Yes, ma’am,” Mandie replied. She and her friends quickly followed.

Mandie had a hard time keeping her mind on the service that day. She kept thinking about Miss Hope, wondering where she was and hoping that she was all right. When they stood to sing the last hymn, she wanted to rush back to Mrs. Taft’s, eat, and go on over to see Miss Prudence. Maybe the lady knew something to tell them this time.

But when they arrived at the school that afternoon, Miss Prudence was waiting for them and had not learned a thing about her sister’s disappearance.

They sat in the parlor and the adults talked.

“I still haven’t been able to catch Preacher Tallant. He’s slightly ill today,” Mrs. Taft said and explained what had happened. “So I will keep trying.”

“I hope we can learn something and find my sister,” Miss Prudence said, “It’s awfully quiet and lonely here without her.”

“Yes, it is quiet,” Mrs. Taft agreed. “Where are the girls who stay throughout the summer? Come to think of it, I didn’t see any of them when we were here before.”

“They have gone on a field trip with Miss Cameron. They left the day before my sister disappeared,” Miss Prudence said, twisting her lacy handkerchief as she dabbed at her eyes.

“Miss Cameron is a good teacher. I’m sure they are in good hands,” Mrs. Taft said.

“Yes, they’ve gone to visit the capitol and won’t be back for another two weeks,” Miss Prudence explained.

Mandie had a sudden idea. She waited to get a word in and then asked, “Miss Prudence, is it all right if I go to my room to get something?”

“To get something?” Miss Prudence asked.

Mrs. Taft looked at her sharply.

“Yes, ma’am, I left a necklace in my room when I went home for the summer that I’d like to get if you don’t mind,” Mandie explained.

“I suppose you may go, then,” Miss Prudence said, looking doubtful as to Mandie’s reason.

“Don’t be gone too long now, Amanda,” Mrs. Taft told her.

As she stood up to leave the room, Mandie looked at Celia and said, “Come with me.” She then looked at Miss Prudence for permission.

“All right, Celia, you may go, too, but please hurry back,” Miss Prudence told her.

As she left the room, Mandie looked back and said, “Sorry, Joe and Jonathan, you are not allowed in girls’ rooms.”

“Now, who wants to go to girls’ rooms anyhow?” Jonathan replied with a big grin.

Joe smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

The two girls rushed up the main staircase to the third floor, where Mandie and Celia’s room was. Mandie quickly pushed open the door, ran over to the bureau, opened a drawer, and took out a necklace, which she put in her pocket. Turning back to Celia, she said, “Come on, let’s go up in the attic.” She hurried out the door.

Celia reluctantly followed her. “Mandie, why are you going to the attic? We’ll be in trouble if Miss Prudence finds out we went up there,” she said.

Mandie silently raced up the steps to the attic and pushed open the door. It was pitch black in the attic, and she ran forward to grasp the electric light hanging down from the ceiling and snapped it on. It swung around in the air, casting shadows across the room. She closed the door so no one would know they were in the attic.

Celia stood watching Mandie. “What are you doing? I don’t understand why you wanted to come up here, Mandie.”

“I just wanted to see those papers we found up here,” Mandie said, rushing over to the old wardrobe where they had been stored. She quickly opened the double doors and reached for a handful of the papers.

“What is it, Mandie?” Celia asked, coming to read over her shoulder.

“These are old bills,” Mandie said and then shuffled through the contents. “In fact, they’re all mixed up, different kinds of papers, bills, newspaper clippings, letters, and all kinds of things. I thought maybe I would be able to tell what that paper was that I picked up and put in my pocket.”