Happy Almost Fall! Too bad the weather isn't cooperating. As soon as September hits, I'm ready for jeans and sweaters and campfires and hot coffee. Unfortunately, it seems like the weather is still really into dumb stuff like shorts and tanktops and heatstrokes. Like, you have nine days until the official beginning of Fall, weather. Get with the program. But I guess I shouldn't complain since I'm leaving for the Outer Banks on Saturday! Maybe being in Mandie's home state will inspire me to write while I'm there!
Thank you for waiting patiently for this chapter (I've been waiting not-so-patiently for Neon-Night-Light to update Thorns of Love). As always, I'm juggling approximately 873948757391 different writing projects, so sometimes it takes me awhile to find time to edit and post the next Mandie update (which is so dumb, I know. I mean, I barely ever edit it anyway haha). And thanks for bearing with all that random stuff in my last chapter about people's ages and stuff. Sometimes I just get dangerously hooked on the most basic, unimportant subject and there's just no going back. Anyway—the reviews!
Guest: I agree, Aunt Ruby is such an interesting and overlooked character! The Hidden Treasure was a really good book, and her history was so endearing. It does seem strange that Uncle John barely ever talked about her; I would have liked to know more about her, since she seems like the kind of person Mandie would have used as a role model. You should write a story about her! Thank you for your kind words about my work, they are so appreciated! And I hope, for everyone's sake, that one day I will understand the meaning of kindness and start updating on a regular basis :P
Neon-Night-Light: You have to go to Disney World, even if it's the last thing you do! I'd been before, years ago, but this last visit reminded me how amazing it really is. We had so much fun. I can't wait to go again! Now I hope you're true to your word, because I am updating, and therefore you must update.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who obsessively searched through the books to draw up an accurrate timeline of the characters—and I (very surprisingly) remembered to write it all down. Otherwise I would have 100% forgotten EVERYTHING by now. I'm so glad that you like Tsa'ni! He can be a total pain (and he typically is), but there's just something that I love about him! He's so cool and independent. Mandie and her friends only wish they could be so cool. But I agree, it's hard to pick a favorite character. Like you said, there are things I like about everyone. I like Mandie and Joe, of course. And Jonathan. And Celia and Sallie. And totally Dimar and Tsa'ni. And Uncle John and Uncle Ned... the only character I never really liked was Elizabeth, which is terrible, but I can't help it.
I was always sort of disappointed that Mandie and Polly grew so far apart, especially since Polly was the first friend Mandie made after she left home. I mean, I understand why, but still :/ Mandie can definitely be incredibly frustrating, and I've been irritated with her too many times to count—and you're right about New Horizons. Most of the stuff in the that book seemed so far off from what I'd come to know and expect from the series. Anyway, thanks for the review; now I think you have a promise to keep!
Mandie fan (guest): thank you! I can never say it enough: that's the best compliment I can receive! And I totally agree, UPDATE YOUR STORY NNL!
PrincessLeiaD: thank you! I'm so glad you're enjoying it, and I hope you like this next chapter (btw, I like your username)
Mandiefan (guest): thank you SO MUCH for your kind words, and yes, I absolutely will be writing more Mandie fanfics! Judging by my update habits, you'll probably all be in your 80s by the time I finally finished... but anyway, yes, I have several more mapped out, and actually, one of the things I do when I have writer's block is to just skip ahead and write future chapters/stories... I'm sure you'll all be interested in what I was working on the other day (hint: MANDIE AND JOE OMG)
Mandiefan (guest): thank you for reviewing! Here's the update :)
Annefan (guest): another interesting character pick! People do seem to forget about Hilda a lot (yours truly included, haha); she's definitely a fascinating character, though. I can't remember how her story ended up turning out... was she still with the Pattons in the end, or did she go somewhere else?
Okay there are now two Mandiefans and I am so confused! I know I sound ridiculous, but I don't want to get my reviewers mixed up... I think the difference is that one of you spells it as one word and the other separates it... if that's the case, then keep doing that so I can identify you! But moving on: here is the next chapter, and I hope you enjoy it. And there's not too much this time, but I promise that you will have some good, old-fashioned Mandie/Joe moments very soon (possibly in the next chapter)!
Dimar arrived the following morning at dawn, as promised, just as Uncle Ned, Uncle John, Elizabeth, and Morning Star were preparing to leave. Dr. Woodard had left nearly an hour earlier to head back to the hospital.
Mandie and her friends quickly finished their breakfast and while the boys went out to ready the wagon and horses, Mandie and Sallie cleared the table for Morning Star. When they were finished, they joined Dimar, Jonathan, and Joe outside. Celia followed them, toting the heavy lunch basket to pack in the wagon over her good arm.
"Let me take that Celia," Sallie offered, retrieving the basket from a grateful Celia. Mandie captured Snowball, who had followed them out after breakfast, and attached his leash and harness to him.
"Sorry, Snowball, but you will have to be dragged around on the leash today," Mandie told him. "No one will be home to watch you."
He looked up at her sorrowfully and meowed, prompting a chuckle from Joe.
"Sometimes I think that white cat of yours knows exactly what you're saying, Mandie," he said, leaning against the wagon.
"Of course he does," Mandie replied, bending down to pet Snowball. "He's a very intelligent cat."
"If there's anything that cat's good for, it's troublemaking," Jonathan said dryly, swinging himself up onto the wagon seat. "He had a definite knack for that in Europe."
Mandie ignored their teasing and turned to see of the adults.
"Y'all be careful today, while you're out in the woods," Mandie's mother cautioned them as Uncle John helped her into their wagon.
"We will be," Mandie promised her. "I expect we'll join y'all in Bird-town sometime in the late afternoon."
"Sounds like a plan, blue eyes," Uncle John agreed, turning to assist Morning Star. He walked back over to his horse, preparing to swing himself up, and then paused, turning to look at Joe and Jonathan. "Either of you two bring a rifle along?"
Joe shook his head, as did Jonathan. "No, sir," Joe replied. "Remember, we returned yours to you the evening before we left."
"Rifle in cabin," Uncle Ned spoke up.
Uncle John nodded. "Thank you, Uncle Ned. Y'all should probably bring one, just in case."
"Good idea," Joe agreed, before hurrying back into the house.
"I have one as well," Dimar added, from his seat in the cart he had brought. "It is in the back of this wagon. We can share them back and forth between the three of us." He gestured to Jonathan beside him, and to Joe, who was returning with the rifle slung over his shoulder.
"Very good," said Uncle John, before mounting and nodding to Morning Star and Uncle Ned. "We'll see y'all later today, then."
Once they were gone, Mandie turned to Dimar and asked, "What is the plan for today? Do you have any ideas where we should search for Tsa'ni?"
"I am not sure where to look," Dimar replied, frowning. "The reality is that Tsa'ni could be anywhere. He could be in trouble, as you say, or it is also possible that he is simply avoiding us."
"More than possible," Joe agreed.
Mandie felt uneasy at that possibility. It was true that Tsa'ni had played these types of disappearing games before, and she wondered briefly if that was what he was doing now. She would have worried herself to death for nothing. "Well," she said, folding her arms, "We can't take that chance, so we'll just have to look for him anyway."
Dimar nodded. "You are right, of course. I was just warning you that it is a possibility. I suggest that we head for the schoolhouse. I am sure Riley O'Neal would be willing to help us search. I think it would be best if we split up into three different groups. We will cover more ground that way."
"Good plan," said Joe, nodding. "We can decide what groups and where they'll search when we get there."
"Yes, that is wise," Sallie agreed. "But we know that myself, Dimar, and most likely Mandie will each have to be in separate groups."
"Of course, since y'all are the best trackers," said Celia. "That makes sense to me."
"Good, we are all agreed then," said Dimar, smiling. "If we leave now, we should make it the schoolhouse before eight."
Mandie and Sallie helped Celia up into the wagon, before climbing in themselves, Mandie clutching an unhappy Snowball firmly under her arm.
Joe joined the girls in the back of the wagon, sitting with the rifle lying across his knees. There was a slight jerk as Dimar urged the horse to a start, and in no time at all they were winding through the forest on the way to Riley O'Neal's schoolhouse.
"Oh, good, he's at home again!" Mandie said, when around an hour later, Dimar drove the wagon off of the main road and pulled it to a stop in front of the Cherokee schoolhouse. Riley O'Neal was standing outside, painting the front door, but he turned when he heard their approach.
"Well, now, I'm glad you all came back to visit me," he said, brushing his hands on his loose-fitting shirt.
"Hello, Mr. O'Neal," Mandie greeted him, scooting out of the wagon behind Joe and Sallie. "We've come to ask for your assistance."
"I'd be pleased to help," he said immediately. "What can I do for you folks today?"
"We're planning to search for Tsa'ni," Mandie explained, "And we could use all the help we can get."
"Tsa'ni still hasn't shown up, then?" Riley confirmed. "I see you've found Dimar, though," he added, greeting the Cherokee boy.
"He found us," Mandie corrected, smiling at Dimar.
"Will you come, then?" Sallie asked him.
Riley nodded. "Of course. Just let me change out of these stained painting clothes and I'll be right with you." He disappeared into the building.
"Right," said Jonathan, abandoning his place in the wagon. "What's the plan? Who's going with who?"
"Like Sallie said," Joe began, "She, Mandie, and Dimar should probably each be in separate groups, since they're the ones most likely to know where they're going."
"Yes," Dimar agreed. "I will take Celia and Mr. O'Neal, and Joe and Jonathan will go with either Sallie or Mandie."
"Jonathan may come with me," Sallie inserted, with a sly look at Mandie, before either of the two could claim Mandie.
"And Joe will come with me," Mandie finished. "Now, we should plan to meet back up somewhere. Any ideas? Dimar?"
Dimar frowned. "I was just thinking that we probably should have brought along a horse or two. If we want to search as much as possible, it will be slow going on foot. I did not think of that earlier."
"Well, it's too late to worry about that now," Mandie replied, shrugging. "Besides, Mr. O'Neal has a cart. So that means only one of the three groups has to do it all on foot." She gestured to Celia's wrist. "Y'all should probably take the wagon, to let Celia be more comfortable. You can always get out and then come back to it later if it gets to difficult for driving a wagon."
"That is what we will have to do," said Dimar. "I am sorry I did not think the horses through. You and Sallie must decide who will take Mr. O'Neal's cart."
"I think we should all plan to meet at the hospital," Sallie spoke up. "That way, with our three different groups, we will cover almost everything from here, all the way up and around to the northern borders, and then back down to the hospital."
"That is a good plan, Sallie," Dimar agreed. "And the hospital is closer to Bird-town, so we will not have a long trip to make afterwards."
"I'm glad you thought of that, Sallie," Mandie said, smiling at her friend. "That way I will be able to visit the hospital after all. And we might even be able to catch Dr. Woodard before he leaves."
"Here's Mr. O'Neal now," Celia interjected, nodding towards the schoolhouse. Riley hurried toward them, dressed in a clean shirt and trousers.
"Good," said Dimar. "We must decide how to split up the ground we are covering." He turned to Riley and said, "We are splitting into three groups so we can fit in more searching."
"That's a smart idea," said Riley. He turned to Mandie. "I hope I'm in your group, then, Miss Amanda," he added, flashing her a smile.
Mandie quickly looked around at the others. "I, er…" she began in a panicked tone, hoping that one of them would intervene.
Dimar frowned briefly, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "I was going to take you and Celia along with me, but I guess it does not really matter."
"Splendid!" said Riley. Mandie waited for Joe to insert his opinion, but she was surprised when he said easily,
"I suppose that's alright. If Riley O'Neal goes with Mandie, then I can head back to Uncle Ned's and get his horses like you were saying, Dimar. I'll catch up with Mandie and Mr. O'Neal afterwards. It's a bit of a silly waste of time, but Dimar's right. It'll make the going faster in the end. "
I can't believe Joe is making me team up with Riley O'Neal! Mandie thought, though she refused to look at him. For some reason, she felt almost disappointed at Joe's unusual lack of jealousy. She couldn't let him know that, however, so she said, "That's settled then. Mr. O'Neal will come with me, and Joe can return for the horse. Sallie, you and Jonathan can take Mr. O'Neal's wagon."
"Certainly," Riley said. "I'll go and hitch it up."
Sallie and Celia cast her sympathetic glances, but Mandie refused to let her disappointment show. She turned to Dimar and said, "Which ways should we all go?"
"Celia and I will go up along the mountain in that direction," Dimar replied, pointing west, near Bird-town. "Sallie and Jonathan can cover the south, towards the Cherokee Hospital. Mandie, you and Mr. O'Neal can head north from here. If you follow some of the trails off of the main road, you should head in an almost straight direction up towards where those men are. It is probably the most difficult Celia and I will be covering the farther west side of that area." He squatted and drew some lines in the dirt with a stick to demonstrate.
"That means Sallie can take Mr. O'Neal's cart and he and I will go on foot," Mandie decided.
Joe frowned at her. "Now, Mandie, don't you think you ought to take the cart?"
Mandie made a flippant gesture with her hand. "Oh, Joe, if you're worrying after my ankle again, leave it be," she said, smiling sweetly. "I feel perfectly fine. It hasn't bothered me at all, and I don't want to be stuck in a wagon all morning."
Joe raised his eyebrows, so she added, "I'll be careful, I promise."
"I'll head back to Uncle Ned's now," Joe said, after a moment, studying Dimar's drawing. "If I take a shortcut through the woods and hurry, I should make it within an hour."
"Yes, you should be back in plenty of time," Dimar agreed. "Then all you have to do is pick a trail to follow. The horse will speed the process up."
Joe nodded, but his gaze cut back to Mandie. She held it, and willed her expression to remain indifferent. "I'll be sure to leave a clear trail," she said.
His mouth quirked up in a half-smile. "Be careful," he replied, addressing everyone but still holding Mandie's gaze. He turned around and headed back the way they had come. Even if he moved quickly, it would be a good amount of time before he reached Uncle Ned's. Mandie and her friends would be spread out all over the reservation by then, searching for signs of Tsa'ni. Hopefully, though, with a horse, he would be able to overtake Mandie and Riley O'Neal on foot.
"Has Joe already gone?" Riley's voice sounded behind them, along with the creaking of wheels. Mandie turned around. He was leading his team of horses, and the small wagon hitched to them.
"Yes," Dimar answered him. "I hope he will make good time. The more people we have looking for Tsa'ni, the better chance we have of finding him."
"I was going to give him a waterskin before he left, but I suppose he'll be alright," Riley explained, gesturing to the skins on the seat of the wagon. "We can carry a couple with us, Miss Amanda."
"That's fine," Mandie agreed. "I'll have to bring Snowball as well. He'll most likely be a nuisance, but he has his leash and harness on."
Riley looked doubtfully at her, probably imagining the hassle it would be to lose Snowball in the mountains. Mandie offered him a reassuring smile and went to get her cat. She'd dragged Snowball now practically all over creation. Riley didn't need to worry about it. She hurried to Uncle Ned's rig and retrieved her dozing cat. He blinked up at her, looking in no mood for an adventure at the moment. Oh well. It looked like she would be carrying him for a little while.
Riley handed her one of the waterskins when she rejoined them, and she pulled it over her head and shoulders so that it rested against her back. He did the same with the other two.
"We should start," Dimar said, helping Celia back up into the wagon. "We will have a long day of searching, and we should make the most of it. We are meeting at the hospital, remember," he added, as he swung himself into the seat beside Celia. He urged the horses forward, in the direction of Bird-town. Sallie and Jonathan climbed into Riley's wagon. Sallie was much more skilled in driving a team than Jonathan, so she took the reins and nodded to Mandie and Riley as they passed.
"Good luck, Mandie," she said. Mandie smiled in return and waved at Jonathan, and then turned to Mr. O'Neal.
"Right," she said brightly. "We'll have the slowest going, on foot as we are. Let's get going." She set out for the main road, Riley walking beside her, and followed Dimar's instructions to one of the foot trails that led north into the mountains. The trees soon swallowed up the view of the road behind them, and they kept a slow pace, since Mandie didn't want to miss anything by rushing by in a hurry.
"Remember to keep your eyes peeled for anything unusual," she reminded Riley, adjusting Snowball on over her shoulder. "Broken branches, bruised leaves, hair or fabric snagged on a bush—things like that."
"Of course," said Riley, from behind her. The path wasn't big enough for them to walk side-by-side anymore. "But I was wondering..."
"Yes?" Mandie prompted, clambering over some rocks jutting up from the ground. Carrying Snowball with one arm made such things much more difficult.
"I don't pretend to be on... well, friendly terms with Tsa'ni," Riley continued, putting stress on the word friendly. Mandie grinned. No, she didn't imagine the missionary was friends with her haughty Cherokee cousin.
"But I do know that he is quite the... well, he's a skilled, if young, Cherokee brave. He probably knows these mountains like the back of his hand. What makes you think we'll stumble upon some sign of him? I don't see your cousin leaving broken twigs or hair snarled on branches, Miss Amanda."
Mandie sighed. "No, I don't imagine Tsa'ni would be one to blunder around leaving trails," she agreed. "But if he's in trouble, I think there might be signs of distress. Maybe he got hurt and had to drag himself somewhere. That would leave a trail. Or maybe we'll just run into him at some point today. We just don't know, and until we do, I can't give up."
"Certainly, I understand," Riley said. "If he is hurt, than it's imperative that we find him."
"Yes, that is exactly what I think," Mandie agreed. "But it does no good worrying about anything until we find him, so let's change the subject. How is the school going for my Cherokee kinspeople?"
"Well now, Miss Amanda, that is a much more encouraging subject," Riley began, and then preceded to talk of nothing else for the next hour. They followed the general line that Dimar had mapped out for them, Mandie taking care to leave a trail and combing each area for signs of Tsa'ni—or any signs at all, for that matter. Riley followed close behind her, talking endlessly, and happily indulging in the frequently one-sided conversation. Mandie replied now and again, but mostly she let him talk, since it was too hard to concentrate on the search if she was busy chatting.
Snowball was finally interested enough in walking, so she let him down and kept a firm hold on his leash, though he hadn't tried any daring escape attempts yet. They stopped about two hours into their search and rested for a couple of minutes. Mandie was very grateful that Riley had thought to bring water along.
"Still no sign of Tsa'ni," Riley said, after they had started searching again.
"Still no sign of anything," Mandie added, stooping to brush some leaves aside for a clearer view of the soil. "I was thinking that maybe at least we'd come across some clues about those strangers. We're heading north, closer to them than any of the others."
"I never thought of that," said Riley. "Do you suppose they have anything to do with your cousin's disappearance?"
Mandie shrugged, snapping a branch as she passed it. "It's hard to tell with Tsa'ni. Sometimes he just disappears. It sure is frustrating, but there's nothing for it, I suppose. If those men are involved, then he might be in real trouble. I think Dimar is worried, and that worries me."
"And what you do think about those men, Miss Amanda?" Riley asked her. "I assume you're curious about them."
Mandie smiled ruefully, even though he couldn't see her expression. "Very curious, Mr. O'Neal. I think they're up to something, but I'm not sure what. They've been awfully suspicious, and there was an incident back in Franklin that leads me to believe that whatever they're doing, it's not good."
"What happened in Franklin?" Riley questioned, his breathing slightly uneven as they made their way up a steep slope.
"Oh, just a bit of trouble on my uncle's property," Mandie answered him, not wanting to get into a long explanation. "There were two Indians—Choctaw, we think—who warned us from coming here and interfering. We think they must be involved with those men. They've given the Cherokee some trouble in the past."
"Yes," said Riley, "I remember the story about the hospital. Dr. Woodard told me about it. I'm glad we weren't given so much difficulty with the school."
"Me too," Mandie agreed, then fell quiet so she could concentrate on her tracking again. Riley talked for awhile longer about the classes he hoped to introduce in the fall, but Mandie didn't pay him much attention. She was beginning to recognize some of her surroundings, and she supposed that they must have been near here the day before, when Dimar took them to see the strangers.
"We must be nearing the northern border of the reservation," Mandie informed Mr. O'Neal, when he had paused a moment in his opinion on modern schooling. "I recognize some of this. I haven't been all over the reservation, of course—nowhere near, in fact—but I've been up aways this direction before, with Dimar and Sallie and Uncle Ned. I think there's a ridge farthur to the west of us, and those men can't be farthur then a few miles."
"Really?" said Riley. "Which direction?"
"Northeast, I guess," Mandie answered. "We didn't go exactly this way with Dimar, but I have a good idea of where we are." She sat down on a rock to rest for a minute, and took a drink of water.
"I take it you've seen them, then," Riley guessed, leaning against a tree.
She hadn't meant to tell him, but she supposed it didn't matter. "Yesterday," she said. "We didn't learn much though. And Dimar's been watching them for days now."
"And Tsa'ni as well," Riley added. "That's why you're worried that the men may have had something to do with him."
"That's right," said Mandie. She glanced at him, an idea forming. "I don't suppose you'd be up for going down there? I mean, if we don't have any more luck searching. I know it's out of our way, but..." she shrugged. "We might as well get something out of our search."
"Well now, I don't know," said Riley slowly, lowering himself onto a rock. "What if we get caught?"
Mandie waved an unconcerned hand. "We'll be fine," she said. "We don't have to get too close. I just want to see if they've moved on."
"I suppose it makes sense," Riley agreed, "since we're already up here, like you said. But remember, we're supposed to meet the others back at the hospital in the afternoon, so we might not have time once we're finished searching."
"We'll see what happens," Mandie decided. "I would like to get another look at those men, but you're right, we'll need to starting heading back eventually." She paused, suddenly, and glanced at Snowball, who also seemed alert. What was that? "Did you hear that?" she asked Riley.
He frowned. "No. What?"
She held up a hand. "It was like muffled rattling." She strained her ears.
"You mean like a snake?" said Riley, looking quickly around.
Mandie shook her head. "No, not like that. It must be some ways away, but it sounded big, whatever it was—there it is again!" She shot to her feet. "It must be someone up near the ridge! I bet it's Tsa'ni!"
"Why would your cousin be rattling?" Riley asked, looking confused. He had drawn up his feet and was still glancing around uncertainly.
"I don't know," said Mandie impatiently. "It sounded like... like a wagon! I've got to catch up to it—here, Mr. O'Neal, you take Snowball." She quickly handed him the leash. "I've got to be fast and I can't go running after whoever it is with him. Wait here, okay?"
"Do you think that's a good idea?" Riley asked doubtfully. "It doesn't seem safe to me, you going off by yourself."
"I'll be fine," she answered hurriedly. "If I need you, I'll whistle. See you in a bit!" She dashed off before he could continue protesting, her heart pumping with excitement. She ran through the woods, trying to be careful not to stress her bad ankle, but too determined to uncover the source of the noise to pay it much mind. She felt sure that whoever it was was heading for the ridge, and she thought she might be able to cut them off just before they reached it.
Mandie pushed on a few more minutes, stopping only to listen for the sound. It was louder now, and she knew she was getting close. She could hear the faint creaking of wheels and the hooves of a horse. It was definitely a wagon. She wasn't sure now that it was Tsa'ni—it could be one of the strangers. But whoever it was, something told her that she was about to find the first clue to unraveling this mystery!
Alright, so like I said, I'm headed off to the beach this week. I'll try and update again maybe by the end of the month or the start of October. And I swear that the next chapter will have a bit more of Mandie/Joe!
Since these questions seem to be good conversation starters (in fact, I think I'll keep them in mind for future dates. I'm sure that won't be weird or anything. [this is why I'm still single]), Mandie and her friends have been debating Senator Morten vs Mr. Guyer. Who do you guys think Grandmother Taft would pick (if she ever did pick). Like I said in my story, I'm definitely inclined towards Senator Morten (just because he's such an awesome old guy).