Hi everyone! Back with chapter 10! Sorry this took so long. I had a lot of tests and a lot of activities. I also entered a writing competition that took some time.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please, please, please review! I love hearing your opinions on how you like my story!

Chapter 10: The Heirloom

"Dinner be on duh table! Come n' git it!" Liza called from downstairs.

"Thank goodness! I'm starving!" Jonathan cried.

"Me too", Joe agreed. Mandie and Celia rolled their eyes. Celia and Jonathan headed downstairs and Joe picked Mandie up and carried her out the room.

Adrian was already at the dining table. Mandie suddenly noticed 3 new figures sitting at the dining table.

"Sallie! Uncle Ned! Morning Star! So good to see you all!"

Joe set Mandie down near the Cherokee Indians. Mandie embraced each of them.

She sat down and explained that they were going to look for the treasure after dinner. Sallie glanced at Adrian, confused.

"Why is he here?" she whispered.

"I don't know either!" Mandie whispered back.

Sallie nodded.

"Miss Amanda!" Adrian called. "Would you like to sit next to me?"

Mandie hesitated. "Maybe next time. I'd like to catch up with Sallie. You remember her don't you?"

Before Adrian could reply, the front door opened and Polly busted in.

"Mandie! How good to see you again!" she gushed. "Mother said I could eat dinner with y'all! I heard about your adventure! Do tell me everything! Oh is this Adrian?!"

Mandie smiled grimly and took Polly aside.

"Can we talk?" Mandie asked.

"I was about to say the same thing", Polly replied to Mandie's surprise.

Polly shuffled and looked down at the floor.

"Mandie, I'm really, really sorry about all the trouble I've caused you. You've always been nice to me but I let jealousy overlook that".

Mandie was shocked to hear Polly's confession.

"Really? Well I'm sorry too. I haven't always been nice to you either".

"Friends?" Polly mumbled.

"Friends," Mandie agreed, giving Polly a hug.

Polly pulled away and said, "I have an extra credit summer report to finish. I'm supposed to interview someone from a different country. Maybe I could interview that young man

from Ireland".

Mandie grinned. "Of course! You'd be doing me a huge favor." She lowered her voice and told Polly about the Cherokee Heirloom and how they planned to find it.

"I don't want Adrian tagging along. He's just going to make things harder for me", Mandie explained.

"So, does that mean I can interview him?"

"Yes! In fact, try to interview him for as long as possible".

"Alright though on one condition: You have to show me the treasure as soon as you find it! It all sounds so exciting!"

"Definitely will."

The two girls joined the others back inside the dining room. Mandie ate as fast as she could. She simply couldn't wait to figure out what the clue meant.

"Y'all be eatin' fast today," Liza commented as she took away the plates. "Like you're in a hurry to do sumpin".

"Yes we are. And the food is delicious!" Jonathan said, stuffing the last of his chicken inside his mouth. Mandie got up and limped across the room motioning to Celia, Sallie, Joe

and Jonathan. Adrian started to follow but Polly stopped him.

"Hi! I'd like to ask you a couple questions. It will only take a few minutes, okay?"

Adrian looked at Mandie and her friends already going up the stairs.

"Um, okay. As long as it doesn't take too long", he said.

"Quick! While Adrian's distracted!" Mandie mouthed. Joe helped her upstairs and they all gathered to discuss the clue.

"So what happened with Polly down there?" Celia asked.

"Yeah, she seemed different somehow when she got back", Jonathan commented.

Mandie grinned. "Polly and I are friends now. She and I made a deal that will keep Adrian busy for at least an hour or so".

"That's great! So, any ideas about the treasure?" Sallie asked.

Mandie reached inside her pocket and fished out the crumpled piece of paper.

"It may help to read it over again."

The group silently reread the words: White man's house, shelves of books, hidden door, where is the treasure?"

Suddenly it dawned on Mandie. "That's it! The treasure is in this house! In the library!"

Sallie slowly nodded. "Yes, that is possible. But how do we know it's your uncle's house, Mandie?"

Mandie thought for a moment. "Well I think it's very possible the heirloom is in this house. After all it's an heirloom and what other place to hide it than in Talitha's very own

house?"

"It's worth checking," Joe said with a shrug.

"So we should check the library?" Celia asked.

"Yeah. There could be something there!" Mandie exclaimed, growing excited. The group traveled upstairs and arrived at the quiet library. The young people began inspecting the

place.

"I'm not seeing anything." groaned Jonathan. "Maybe it's not here."

"I'm sure it is. We just have to look harder." Mandie said, determined.

Celia walked to the back of the room. "Mandie! Isn't this your grandmother?" she asked, pointing to the picture of the young Indian woman.

"Oh! Yes it is!" Mandie replied, limping over to look.

The others crowded over to take a look.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Mandie exclaimed.

"She sure is pretty", Jonathan said.

"Almost as pretty as you", Joe teased Mandie.

Mandie blushed and smiled at him.

"Do you think we can take it down to have a closer look?" asked Sallie.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to take it down for a bit." Mandie said.

Joe, who was the tallest, took the picture off the wall and set it on a nearby table.

As the young people admired the picture, Mandie noticed it wasn't lying flat. She turned it over to get a closer look. Glued to the picture, was a white envelope similar to the

ones that had been found before.

"Well what do you know? An envelope stuck to the picture!" Jonathan exclaimed.

Mandie excitedly opened the envelope with her hairpin. Reaching into it, Mandie began removing old photos. She spread them all out on the table. Most of them were Indians

she didn't recognize. One of the photos caught her eye. It was an old photo of her grandfather, Talitha, a young boy, and a red-haired baby in Talitha's arms.

Tears came to Mandie's eyes as she looked at the picture. The group silenced and took a moment to remember Mandie's father, Jim Shaw, who had died several years ago. Joe

patted her shoulder comfortingly.

Jonathan reached across the table and took the envelope. He peered into it and noticed some writing inside the envelope.

"Hey look! There's something here!" he exclaimed. Mandie dried her tears and glanced at the envelope. She took it from Jonathan and pulled the envelope open. "It says: Great

Work. You have almost found the heirloom. Now just figure out where it's hiding. Hint: Wall of the tunnel." she read.

Sallie took the envelope from her and unfolded it. She pointed out a faint sketch near the bottom. "I think this is a map."

Mandie took a look at the sketch. "Yes! A map of the third floor of this house!"

Celia glanced at it. "And X marks the spot. It seems to be on a wall."

"Or maybe in a wall", Joe said.

Mandie began marking the map. "These are the stairs, this is Uncle John's office, this is the library, and this is the secret tunnel."

"I think the X is on the wall of the library." Sallie commented. Mandie grew excited.

"Yes! The wall between the library and the secret tunnel!"

Mandie followed the map stopping at the hidden door where Hilda had hidden her Christmas presents. "The map says the X is right here."

She pushed open the secret door. "We never really explored this place, did we?"

"Yeah, you were too anxious to get out," Joe said. Jonathan lit the lantern and passed it to Joe who walked into the little room carefully. The others filed in after him. "I don't see

anything", Celia muttered.

"Oh wait! There's a keyhole here! But it certainly is in an odd shape." Mandie said.

Everyone crowded around to see it.

"The shape does look familiar", Celia said, puzzled. "But where have I seen it before?" The group thought for a moment.

"I know! It's Mandie's locket!" Joe exclaimed.

"My locket?"

"Yes! It's Mandie's locket turned sideways!" Celia declared.

Mandie reached up to her neck and took off the locket her father had given her. With trembling hands, she inserted the locket into the keyhole. It fit perfectly.

"Turn it!" Sallie encouraged her.

Mandie did as she said. A section of the wall slid open revealing a trunk and a large picture. Everyone gasped. Sallie carefully retrieved the picture and brushed the dust off. "Oh!

This is a picture of the great warrior Tsali!" Mandie looked at the picture. "He definitely looks like a hero to me."

Joe, Jonathan, and Celia took a moment to admire it. Mandie turned her attention to the trunk. "I wonder what's inside here?" Jonathan tried to lift the lid.

"I think it's locked", he declared, panting.

"Let me try," Joe offered. He lifted the lid with ease. Celia held the lantern over the chest. There was gold, jewels, diamonds and other precious items. In the middle of the chest,

lay a book with a leather cover labeled, 'Tsali's Journal'. Sallie was the first to recover from the excitement.

"Let's go tell my grandfather and everyone else!" she exclaimed.

"Great idea! This stuff looks so old that if we touch it, it may crumble. Better to leave it there," Mandie decided. Joe picked Mandie up and everyone headed downstairs chatting

about their discovery. Suddenly, Mandie froze. A young man was standing in the sitting room talking to her grandmother.