Mandie walked out of the sanctuary pondering the happenings of about a half an hour ago. "What does he want from us?" Mandie asked herself. "What could he possibly want, to make him stare at us? Well whatever it is, I find out, or my name isn't Mandie Elizabeth Shaw!" she told herself as she climbed into the rig. On the drive, she fell asleep.
Mandie was sitting on her bed reading her Bible, with Snowball on her lap. She was reading through it from Genesis to Revelation, and she had started in January, and she was now in Philippians chapter 4. She had just read Philippians chapter 4, verse thirteen, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, when there was a knock on the door. She took Snowball off her lap, and closed her Bible. "Wait here Snowball," Mandie said to her cat. Snowball meowed. She walked over to the door and opened it, to see Joe standing there. "Yes?"
"I was just wondering," Joe paused. "Would you like to go for a short walk?" Mandie looked away, as Joe's brown eyes met her blue ones.
"Isn't really cold outside? I mean, won't that effect your cold?" Mandie asked. Joe shrugged.
"Not, my cold is mostly gone, and I'll just have to bundle up real good," Joe answered.
"Well then, I accept your offer!" Mandie said. She ran down to the hall tree to grab her coat and hat. Joe followed behind. Mandie and Joe went out into the street and started down to the right. Joe was about to ask Mandie a question when Mandie put her hand in front of him, and yelled, "Joe look! It's the man who came to our house a couple days ago! Do you see him?" she asked excitedly. Joe looked.
"Yes, I think. Is that him?" Joe asked. Mandie nodded vigorously.
"Yes! Yes! Come on let's follow him!" Mandie exclaimed. Joe shook his head, and they started to run after him, as fast as they could. They followed him down a couple of streets, and around lots of twists and turns. They were out of breath, and were panting. Mandie put her hand to her chest and felt her heartbeat. It was pounding faster and faster every second. Finally they caught up to the man, and he stopped. Just then, a police man, walked down the street, and just like that, the man was gone. Mandie crossed her arms.
"Drat! I wonder what that was all about?" Mandie asked tilting her head slightly.
"I...don't...know," Joe said in between coughs.
"We better get you home Joe. Your cold is getting worse again," Mandie said with concern.
"No, it's ok, really. I just inhaled a snowflake," he said.
Mandie laughed. "A snowflake? It would have to be more than just a snowflake to make someone cough like that."
"Well I guess so. But don't you want to follow that man some more?" Joe asked. Mandie shook her head.
"No, he's gone anyway. Come on, let's go. My stomach is telling me that it's lunch time," Mandie said. Joe nodded.
"Come to think of it, I'm getting pretty hungry to," Joe said. So they headed back to the house. As they were heading back, Joe remembered what he was going to say. "Mandie," he began. "I was going to ask you an important question. I..." He was interrupted by Liza impatiently calling, "It's dinner time! They gonna be in trouble if they be late." When Mandie heard Liza calling, her walk brook into a run.
"What be taking y'all so long to get here," Liza asked. "Dinner be ready 'bout ten minutes ago, and if yo don't get yourselves in there, Aunt Lou'll be mad."
"Ok Liza, we're going, we're going," Mandie said quietly laughing about the girls persistence. Mandie sat down next to Celia and told her the events of their walk.
"Do you think that he could be a wanted criminal? I mean, why else would he run off like that when he saw the police?" Celia asked.
"Your probably right, but if not I'll find out," Mandie said.
"Should we try to catch him?" Celia asked.
"Catch him!? Oh Celia, the only times we've ever caught anyone was when we had Uncle Ned or Joe with us, and even then we threatened to shoot them!" Mandie said. Celia shrugged.
"Well I guess I wasn't there those times. But anyway, don't you think we could see what he's up to?"
"Oh course! Celia, do you want to do some spying today?" Mandie asked smiling slyly.
"You bet! Let's hurry up and finish eating!" Celia said. They quickly finished eating, and got their coats on. They decided to sit on the porch swing and talk for a little while, and watch to see if the man passed by. When they had been outside for about forty minutes, they suddenly heard Mrs. Cornwallis calling out, "Thief! Robber! Somebody do something!" Mandie and Celia walked up to her.
"Who stole what? What did they look like?" Mandie asked quickly.
"And which way did they go?" Celia asked.
"There was only one. He was of average height and he was all dressed in black. Oh and he went to the left. Oh girls call the police! He stole some of my most valuable possessions."
"Come on Celia! He might be who were after!" Mandie squealed with excitement. Celia nodded.
"Don't worry, we'll catch him!" Celia exclaimed. Mrs. Cornwallis looked alarmed.
"But... WAIT! Girls!" They were already off and down the street. "I must warn Elizabeth. Those girls could be in great danger." Meanwhile, Elizabeth, Mrs. Taft and the others were getting slightly worried. The girls had left about an hour ago to go outside, and when Uncle John went out to get them, they were nowhere in sight.
"Oh, they should have been back by now. And if John can't find them, oh, what could have happened to them?" Elizabeth said in a worried voice.
"I'm sure they'll come back. Amanda is so adventurous. I'm sure she just went after a mystery or something," Mrs. Taft said. Elizabeth didn't look as sure as her mother did.
Then there was a knock on the door. "Oh maybe that's them! But why would they knock?" She walked over to the door and opened it. There was Mrs. Cornwallis, standing there looking as worried as they. "Why Mrs. Cornwallis, why do you look so worried? Is something wrong?"
"It's your daughter and her friend. I'm afraid they might be in trouble," Mrs. Cornwallis answered. Elizabeth's face paled.
"In trouble! What kind of trouble?" Elizabeth asked. Mrs. Cornwallis hesitated.
"Well they... They went after... A man. A robber," she said. Elizabeth gasped. "A robber! Oh John we have to find them!" John went over to her and gave her a squeeze. "Don't worry, we'll find them."
"I find papooses," Uncle Ned volunteered. Joe walked up next to him.
"And I will help!" he said. "I mean, you might need help." Uncle Ned nodded.
"We go now," he said. Mrs. Woodard came and gave Joe a hug.
"Be careful Joe! Thieves are often dangerous!" she said.
"Don't worry Mom, I will," Joe assured her. Joe got his coat on and went out with Uncle Ned to go find Mandie and Celia. Meanwhile, the two girls had caught up to the thief, and for following him. "Come on Celia, we've got to keep up with him!" Mandie said.
"Mandie are you sure this is safe? I mean, we are following a thief you know," Celia said.
"Of course this is safe! And it's fun! I wish Joe were here! Oh and course Sallie, Tommy and Robert," Mandie said. Oh no wait! Scratch that! This is not safe!" The thief had spotted them! He was coming toward them quickly. "Celia, RUN!" They started running in the opposite direction, but he caught them.
"You won't be going anywhere, or telling anyone!" he said in a rough voice. "Your coming with me!" Mandie and Celia squirmed to get free, but his grip only tightened on their wrists and he twisted their arms. The two girls winced in pain. Mandie kept on struggling until the man twisted her arm behind her back.
"You let us go! Someone will find us! And you'll be sorry!" Mandie said angrily.
"Shut your mouth!" he yelled, and he twisted her shoulder, so that Mandie yelled in pain.
"Mandie are you alright?" Celia asked with concern. Mandie shook her head. "No, my shoulder. I think he broke it," Mandie said. "Oh! Celia it hurts! I can't move it at all."
"I'm sorry Mandie. I'm sure someone will find us soon. Hey! I just thought of something!" Celia said lowering her voice to a whisper. "I can take out my hair ribbons and toss them on the ground!" Mandie nodded. "Do it!" Celia started taking out her hair ribbons and she dropped them on the ground one by one. "There! It's done!" They finally stopped in an old abandoned ally, where Mandie and Celia's hands were tied behind their backs. Mandie's shoulder hurt terribly but she didn't complain.
Mandie felt like it had been an hour since they had stopped, (though it had only been twenty minutes) when suddenly she heard light footsteps, and an arrow shot through the air. Her face lit up, and her lips curved into a slight smile. They were saved! The thief (and his boss, who's voice sounded very familiar to Mandie) stood up. But no sooner had Uncle Ned and Joe gotten there, Mandie was pulled up, and had a gun pointed at her stomach.
"If anyone moves this girl dies!" he said. Joe's eyes widened. "Mandie," he whispered. Mandie was shaking with fear, and she closed her eyes, waiting for the shot. But it never came. Joe had quickly bent down and grabbed a large rock, and he threw it at the bandit's hand so that he dropped the gun. Joe grabbed his gun and said, "Now if either of you move you're both going to die!"
"Joe! One of them still has a gun!" Mandie screamed. Thankfully the gun only had one bullet, and the one who held it wasn't a very good aim. So when he shot it only skimmed Joe's shoulder. But that was enough to cause him to drop the gun. In all of the commotion the 'boss guy' snuck out of the back of the ally and when the other had seen that his friend was gone, he left in a hurry.
Joe's arm, though it was not a terrible was bleeding a lot. Also Mandie's shoulder was sore and numb. Uncle Ned walked over to Mandie. "Papoose hurt?" he asked. Mandie nodded.
"Yes. I think my shoulder is broken. Mandie said turning her head to her left shoulder. Uncle Ned nodded. "I get doctor. Joe stay with papooses. Untie them." He left the ally and went to get Dr. Woodard. Joe went over and untied Celia. "Thank you Joe. My wrists were getting pretty sore," she said. Joe smiled. He went over to untie Mandie but she tried moving away from him.
"No Joe. My shoulder hurts too much. It might just be better to wait for your father," Mandie said. Joe looked slightly hurt. "So what you're trying to say is I can't be gentle enough?" he said.
"No Joe. I just, well you can try but if it hurt then your going to have to wait for your father," Mandie said. Joe agreed, and he carefully untied her. Mandie looked up at Joe's shoulder now. "Oh Joe!Your shoulder! It looks awful!"
"It's really not that bad. It's just a little cut," Joe said.
"A little cut!?" Mandie repeated. "It looks more like a deep cut that will get infected if we don't do something about it!" Mandie said.
"Well let's not worry about that right now. Look! My dad's back," Joe said. Uncle Ned and Dr. Woodard came into the ally. Dr. Woodard was carrying his medical bag. He came over and examined Mandie's shoulder. "Now, does it hurt when I do this?" he asked pushing on her shoulder.
"Yes it does!" Mandie answered. Dr. Woodard pulled up her sleeve. She winced at the movement. Her shoulder had a big bruise on it.
"Here, can you move it?" he asked. Mandie tried to move it but stopped instantly. "No I can't. It hurts too much, and I just can't move even if it hard," she answered.
"Yes, it does seem to be broken. I'll have to put a cast on it," Dr, Woodard said. Mandie sighed.
"Is her arm okay Dad?" Joe asked.
"It's broken but it's only a slight break. She'll be fine if she keeps her cast on for the right amount of time," he said. "Now to see about your arm."
"No Dad, worry about Mandie right now. I'm fine, and she's your patient."
"But you're also my patient. Come on now let's get going back to the house before your mother get's worried," he said. Joe finally agreed. They walked back to the house, and Joe walked beside Mandie.
"How's your arm?" he asked with a slight look of worry in his eyes.
"It's been better, but it could have been worse," Mandie answered. "How is your arm?" she asked.
"It hurts but it's definitely better than having a bullet stuck in my arm that's for sure!" Joe said said smiled. Mandie smiled back, then sighed. "A broken arm! What a perfect early Christmas present!" she thought to herself.
Elizabeth was pacing in circles until she heard the front door opening. She ran to the door and threw her arms around Mandie. "Oh I'm so glad you're back!" she exclaimed. Mandie winced.
"Ow Mother! My shoulder!" Mandie said. Elizabeth looked at her strangely. "Dr. Woodard what is wrong with her shoulder?" she asked.
"Her shoulder is broken, but it's only a slight break. It will be fine in a few weeks," he answered.
"Broken! How did that happen?" Elizabeth asked.
"Well, we got captured by a thief, and so I was moving around trying to get free and the thief twisted my arm behind my back, and then I told him that someone would find us and that when they did he'd be sorry, and after I said that he twisted my arm while it was still behind my back," Mandie said all in one sentence. By now she was out of breath from talking so fast.
"Oh, I see. Well we can talk about that later. Can I see your shoulder?" she asked. Mandie nodded. She pulled up her sleeve and tried to not move her shoulder. Her shoulder was slightly swollen and it had a big purple bruise on it.
"Oh! We need to put ice on it! It's so swollen!" she said.
"It's ok Mother, it looks worse than it feels," Mandie insisted. She tried moving it forgetting that it was broken. "Ow! Well maybe it looks worse than it feels but it's still not that bad."
"Well don't move it or it will never heal," Elizabeth said.
"Don't worry I won't move it," Mandie said. Suddenly Sallie, Liza, and Polly came into the room. "Oh Mandie, Celia, I'm so glad you're both back! What happened?" Sallie asked. Mandie spent some time telling the whole story and right after she was done, the other boys came over and asked what happened and she had to tell it all over again.
"Wow! Are you alright Celia?" Robert asked.
"Yes I'm fine," Celia answered smiling.
"You two sho' had a busy day," Liza exclaimed. "I don't think I'd be able to live thro' all o'that."
"I'm glad Polly wasn't in that. She might have been hurt," Tommy said.
"I'm glad Polly wasn't in that she might have been hurt," Tommy said. Mandie raised her eyebrows. "What's up with him? He couldn't possibly like her," Mandie thought.
"I'm sure glad Mandie is alright. Without her, we wouldn't have the Christmas Eve Ball," Polly said sarcastically. Mandie rolled her eyes. "Looks like Polly is getting back to her old self again," Mandie thought. Soon supper was announced, Celia and Robert went out to dinner, and so did Sallie and Dimer. Tommy was mostly talking to Polly so Mandie was glad that she had Joe to talk to.
"So, what exactly happened out there?" Joe asked. "How did you and Celia start following him? You could have been hurt worse than you already are. If I hadn't throne the rock in time, I don't even want to think what would have happened," Joe said softly.
"Well, it's like this. We had been sitting on the porch for a long time, and then we heard Mrs. Cornwallis yelling about a thief. So we went and asked what he looked like and which way he went, and she told us not realizing what we going to do. I thought it was safe to follow him, but I shouldn't have been so stupid. He caught sight of us and took us with him. I'm just glad you were there when I needed you," Mandie said, smiling. Joe took her hand in his, and Mandie felt that something had changed, and what she didn't realize, was that her whole life would change, from then on, and forever.
I hope you liked this one. I sure liked writing it! And Annefan, if you thought the last chapter was intense, what did you think of this one? If you liked it please review!