OFF HIATUS! I am so sorry that I made y'all wait like that! I had this on hiatus because I was writing four fanfics at the same time so it was just too much. But I am back now and here is the chapter!
Soon the men went out to look for Joe. The first place that they were going to look was the woods. If Joe wanted to get lost that would probably be the first place he'd go. They didn't know for sure though, because there were no footprints in the snow because of the blizzard. New snow had fallen over them.
"Mandie said that we should start looking in the woods," Dr. Woodard was saying. Wind was whipping around them, and the snow was falling fast and hard, and they could barely see where they were going. If Joe was out here, their chances of finding him, were ten to one, and if he was still alive, was even less likely. In this blizzard you could die in the first hour if you didn't know what to do. At least Joe had grown up in the country,so he new how to handle snow. But being caught out in a blizzard? Who knows.
"Well this blizzard isn't helping any. We won't be able to see his footprints, that is if he did go this way," John answered. They continued to walk on without a word for a long time but there was never any signs of Joe. They searched on branches to see if any of his cloths had ripped but they found nothing. They were just about ready to give up. Suddenly Ned took them over to a spot.
"Footprints. Here. May be Joe's," the old indian said. John put his hand on Uncle Ned's shoulder. "Thank goodness for your sharp eyes Ned!" he exclaimed. They started following them, hoping that they would find something before the tracks got covered up. They probably followed them for about an hour before giving up.
"I don't think we will ever find him. Let's go out again tomorrow. Maybe the blizzard will have stopped by then,"John said. Dr. Woodard sighed.
"You're probably right. I just hope he makes it through the night," he said. They turned their backs to the tracks and started heading home.
Meanwhile, the women were sitting in parlor anxiously waiting for the men to return. No one had really said much since they left, and Mandie hadn't said anything at all. She still felt really guilty about what she had said. Why did she always have to act like such a child? No more! She was going to be responsible. She was going to act her age, and most importantly she was going to think before acting.
They had been looking out the windows for a long time, when Liza came in and told them that supper was ready. Mandie sighed and got up. "Don't you worry Miss Mandie. I's sho' dat yo Joe'll be back. I knows dat he will," Liza said as Mandie passed by. Mandie nodded. "I hope so," she said. Mandie sat down to supper but could barely eat a thing. She just picked at her food with her fork.
"Amanda you have to eat something. It will make you feel better," Elizabeth said. Mandie sighed.
"I know. It's just, hard. I was such a child to act like that. I am sorry, to all of you," she said. Celia hugged her friend. "It's okay Mandie. We all loose our tempers sometimes. It's okay," Celia said. Mandie nodded.
"Well at least try to eat something Amanda, okay?" she said. Mandie sighed and tried to eat some of her food. Just before they had finished their food the men arrived back. Elizabeth immediately stood up.
"Oh John I am so glad you're back!" she said, and they embraced. "Did you find him?" she asked. John shook his head. "No, we searched almost everywhere. We're going to look again tomorrow," he said. She sighed. They looked over and saw the upset look on Mandie's face.
That night Mandie couldn't sleep. She kept feeling like she heard a voice telling her that she had to find Joe. When Snowball started growling at the dark she knew that she had too. She got up out of bed and slipped off her nightgown and changed into her warmest dress. I just have to do this, Mandie thought. She went downstairs and put on her boots, hat, and gloves and headed out the door to look for Joe herself.
In the morning Celia woke up. She went over to Mandie's bed. "Mandie it's time to get u- Mandie?" Celia looked around. Mandie wasn't there. Her nightgown was throne sloppily on the ground. This isn't like her, Celia thought. She went downstairs.
"Hey Liza have you seen Mandie?" Celia asked. Liza shook her head. "No'p haven't seen her since she went to bed," Liza answered. Celia nodded. She asked everyone but no one had seen her. Not a single person. Soon people started to get worried.
"First Joe, now Amanda, who else is going to go missing? I was up when she went to bed so how could she have gone now?" Elizabeth asked.
"Unless she left in the night while everyone was asleep," Celia said. They nodded. "She feels like it's her fault that he left," she said.
"Why does she feel that way?" Mrs. Taft asked. Celia shrugged. "She didn't say yes to his proposal," Dr. Woodard said.
"Aw, the poor girl. It's not her fault that he left, not at all. Joe can loose it sometimes. Especially with things like that," Mrs. Woodard said. "Well I would understand why he would feel that way. I mean, he asked her when he was fourteen. He's been waiting for her actual answer all his life. And now it's not what he wanted," John said. "Well I suppose you're right. But let's stop worrying about that right now, we need to find Mandie, and my son," she said.
The men got ready again and soon went out into the freezing cold snow to find Mandie, and Joe. Elizabeth looked worriedly out the window. "Dear God, please protect my daughter if she is out there. And protect Joe. Don't let them die out there," she prayed. The women all sat down together and prayed for them. It was the only thing that they could do.