Okay, I am so sorry for not updating! Especially after everyone telling me how much they appreciate the fast updates. I've had the next part written for over a week, I just kept forgetting to post it. Please accept my humble apologies.
Just as an FYI, I will be out of town from Sunday until next Saturday, so no updates until afterwards. Sorry! I promise I will work on the story while I'm away and update when I get home.
Neon-Night-Light: Thank you! I totally agree—as a faithful "Mandie" reader for years, I really wish it would get more recognition. I love your fanfic, it's hilarious! Thanks again for the review, it's much appreciated.
Jennielovesu: Thanks! Hmmm, interesting thought about George… truth be told, I hadn't even considered that, but it would make a pretty good twist. I plan to continue writing fanfics in the "Mandie" books fashion, so maybe he'll show up in the next one, before they leave to visit the Cherokees!
THE OFFICIAL COYOTE: Thank you!—and thanks again for the help with my picture :P
Mandiesnowball: Thank you so much! That's the nicest compliment a Fanfiction writer can ever get! Don't worry, I plan to keep writing
Patch31: Thank you again! I really and truly appreciate all of this support, it's what keeps me inspired to write.
Guest: Haha, sorry about the wait! I really didn't mean for it to take so long. Thanks very much for the encouragement!
After Polly left, the young people went back in for lunch. Joe sat down near the end of the table, and Jonathan and Sallie sat down across from him. As Mandie made her way towards Sallie, Celia rushed past her, almost pushing her to one side, and quickly sat down next to Sallie, leaving Mandie with the only available place next to Joe.
She frowned at Celia's and Sallie's beaming faces as she sat beside Joe, who didn't seem to notice. He and Jonathan were busy discussing law practice in the country and city.
"What are ya'll doing today?" Elizabeth asked, while they ate.
"We're going to walk that path in the woods by the tunnel exit," Mandie replied. Elizabeth frowned.
"You mean the one that you and Polly went on?"
"Yes," said Mandie quickly.
"Maybe ya'll should take an adult with you, just in case," Elizabeth said. "Uncle Ned, would you—"
"Mother!" interrupted Mandie quickly. "I'm almost seventeen now, and all of my friends are older. We don't need an adult to walk through the woods."
Her mother glanced at Uncle John. He shook his head.
"They'll be fine, Elizabeth," he said. "They're all almost adults, and I think they can take care of themselves."
Mandie beamed at him, as he winked at her from across the table. She loved her mother, but sometimes she was too protective.
"Mandie," said Jonathan, leaning towards her. She turned to look at him.
"Is everyone still coming up to my home in New York this summer, or did we decide on something else?"
Mandie smiled at him. "Of course we'll visit New York," she said. "I don't know who all will make it, but I believe Mother said that we would be traveling there after we visit my Cherokee kinspeople."
"I'm coming," confirmed Celia. "My mother loves New York."
"I think I'm coming as well," added Joe, "but my mother and father probably won't."
"I do not think I will be going to New York," Sallie apologized. "I would rather stay home with my grandfather and my grandmother."
"Well, there you have it," said Mandie. "I guess it will be just the four of us." She grinned at her friends and lowered her voice. "I wonder if Grandmother will go."
Jonathan laughed. "Of course she will! I'm sure my father especially invited her."
"Remember," Celia said, "Senator Morten will be joining us after we come back from visiting Mandie's kinspeople."
"Well, that's always interesting," Jonathan responded. "I wonder who she'll end up choosing."
"I don't think she'll ever choose," Mandie informed him. "Grandmother is too interested in doing things her own way to want to be tied down to a husband."
"And if she did choose, I think Senator Morten would be the more likely choice," Celia said.
"I agree," said Joe.
"Yes, I think so too," Mandie said thoughtfully. "After all, he was good friends with my grandfather."
"Well," said Jonathan, pretending to frown. "Now that you've all made it clear what you think of me, maybe I'll just cancel the invitation!"
They all laughed and finished up their meal.
"I suppose I'd better bring Snowball," Mandie said, as they left the dining room. "He probably needs the exercise."
"We'll wait here," Joe said.
Mandie nodded. "I'll be right back," she answered, and headed to the kitchen to find Snowball.
"Alright, we can go," she said, when she rejoined them, carrying Snowball.
Joe led the way outside, and then down to the woods. Mandie set Snowball down and he immediately raced off, no doubt looking for squirrels or birds or some other exciting adventures.
"I hope he doesn't get lost," Joe said, watching him. Mandie smiled.
"I believe Snowball knows this property better than I do," she said.
When the young people reached the tunnel exit, Mandie took the lead and pushed her way through the bushes until they found the little path.
"How far does it go?" Jonathan asked, as they started at a slow stroll in single file. The surrounding woods were thick and green, and several types of woodland flowers grew here and there.
Mandie shrugged. "Pretty far, I guess," she answered. "Like I said, Uncle John thinks it's a deer trail, so I'd imagine that it goes deep into the woods."
"Does it go farther than your Uncle's property?" Sallie asked. "Or have you been all over the property?"
"Goodness, no," said Mandie. "I don't even know how much of these woods Uncle John owns. I know some of the property lines, but I've never checked the one back here."
"Really, Mandie," Joe reproved her teasingly, "shouldn't you know these things if you're going to inherit all of this some day?"
Mandie smiled. "Probably," she agreed. "But you're the lawyer here. How about you find everything out, and explain it to me later?"
"If this is a deer path, then I would imagine that it continues up into the mountain," Celia spoke up from behind Joe. "Don't you think?"
"I guess so," agreed Mandie. "We'll see."
"I wonder if there are any caves up there?" Joe asked mischievously.
"I would think that you would have had enough of caves to last you a lifetime," Sallie answered.
"Oh, come on," he responded. "There's nothing like exploring an old cave."
"I've never been in one, unless you count the catacombs," Jonathan said.
"No, those are much too publicized to count," Mandie told him. "When we visit my Cherokee kinspeople, we will show you a real cave."
"Sounds fun," he answered.
"Dimar will have to take us, though, because I don't think I could remember how to get there," Mandie said thoughtfully.
Sallie frowned. "Which cave are you talking about, Mandie?"
"The one we went to when you and I, and Uncle Ned, Joe, Dimar, and Mr. O'Neal were looking for the missing wagons," she answered.
"Oh, yes, I remember," Sallie said. "I also know how to get there."
"I might be able to find it if I tried hard enough, but we walked all over the mountain that day, and I was just blindly following Dimar most of the time," Mandie said, smiling.
Joe shrugged and patted her on the shoulder. "You were more useful than me," he reminded her, grinning. "At least you knew how to mark and follow a trail."
She smiled, but didn't answer. They continued along the path for a long while, occasionally stopping so the girls could pick flowers, and when Mandie pointed out where she and Polly had turned around. The path continued steadily upward, sometimes with a barely noticeable slope, until they were quite a ways from the house.
"Whew," said Celia, stopping for a moment and looked around the woods. "I bet we have walked miles by now! For what I can see of this path, I must have been right. It must go straight up the mountain! I don't see any sign of it stopping any time soon."
Mandie paused also and knelt to examine the path. "You're right, Celia," she agreed. "It does look like it keeps on going—and look here!" The others stooped to see what had excited her.
"The beginning did seem like just a deer path," she explained, "but see how it is more worn all the way up here?"
Sallie nodded. "I see what you mean, Mandie," she said, brushing her fingers over the ground. "It is just as small, but the leaves and dirt are more downtrodden."
Jonathan shrugged and straightened up. "That probably just means that there are more deer up here," he pointed out, and then grinned at Joe. "That rhymed!" he said. "I'm just so clever."
Joe rolled his eyes and also straightened up. "As much as I hate to admit it, Jonathan could be right."
Jonathan grinned again and wrung Joe's hand. "Well, thank you very much, my good friend!"
Mandie, Celia, and Sallie laughed while Joe shook his head and freed his hand.
"Oh well," said Mandie, standing up. "Ya'll seem just determined to not let me make a mystery out of anything."
"How'd you guess?" Joe teased her, while Jonathan looked at her, horrified.
"We wouldn't do that!" he said, placing his hand over his heart in a mock gesture of sincerity. Mandie rolled her eyes and smirked.
"Should we keep going, then?" she asked.
"Sure," said Jonathan. "I want to see how far it really does go."
"It can't be near dinner yet," Celia added, glancing up at the sky.
"Alright," agreed Mandie. She took the lead again, and they continued to talk back and forth, mostly about visiting the Cherokees.
"I hope T'sani is agreeable," Mandie remarked. Joe scoffed, and then hastily turned it into a cough when Mandie glanced at him reprovingly.
"I think he will be," Sallie said brightly. "We are all older now, and he does seem to have gotten better. He really does love you, Mandie, even though he acts meanly."
Mandie smiled warmly at her. "Thank you, Sallie, I'm glad you think so. I've always felt bad that we don't get along."
"That's because he's a troublemaker, and he's always involving us in his troublemaking schemes," Joe pointed out.
"Oh, Joe, he's still my cousin," Mandie argued. "And if he—" she stopped suddenly. "What was that?"
"What?" Jonathan asked, frowning at her. Joe, Celia, and Sallie looked at her curiously. She held up a hand, listening carefully. A sound like a small twig snapping caused them all to look around.
"There it is again!" she said excitedly, turning around to look behind her."
"Yes, I heard it," Joe said. "It sounded like someone stepped on a twig."
"Someone or something," Celia added, shivering slightly. She gasped unexpectedly. "Look!" she cried, pointing towards the left side of the path. Everyone spun around to see what she was pointing out, and Mandie could have sworn that she glimpsed the back of a shirt.
"There's someone there!" she said, starting forward.
"Wait, Mandie!" Joe said, grabbing her arm before she could run off.
"What?" she asked impatiently. "We need to hurry before they get away!"
"We're not even sure if we're still on your Uncle's property," he reminded her. She shrugged.
"What does that matter? We can still see who it is!" she shook his hand off and ran towards where they had seen the shirt.
Joe rolled his eyes and followed, motioning for the others to stay behind. "We'll be right back," he said over his shoulder.
"Oh, sure, you two have all the fun!" Jonathan called from the path. "We'll just stay here and pick flowers!"
"Come on, Joe!" Mandie said as he caught up. "They went this way." She pointed to a footprint pressed into soft dirt. Joe nodded and looked around.
Mandie tugged at his hand with annoyance. "Let's go!" she said breathlessly.
Okay, this chapter seemed a bit… blah-ish to me, but that might be because I waited so long to post it. The next chapter won't be up until sometime after next week, so bear with me. Thanks for reading!