I know this update is a little bit late—sorry about that! This past week has been really busy, and as always, I have about five hundred other projects that I'm working on; I just couldn't find the time to post! But thing's have slowed down a bit—I'm in the process of wrapping up my school year (graduation=hallelujah!) and soon I'll be back down to only one job (trust me, commercial cleaning is not the way you want to go in life. Elementary schools are filthy). I'll post chapter 12 at the end of the week, most likely, and chapter 13 will come after.
As I said, this chapter offers a sneak peak for my next Mandie fanfic, so please enjoy! Hope you like the update!
Jeaninelovesu: thanks! I really appreciate you taking the time to review each new chapter, it means so much to have faithful readers! You'll learn the identity of the stranger in chapter 13—he or she also serves as some more insight on what the next story will be about!
Neon-Night-Light: YES THAT COUGH WAS DIRECTED AT YOU NOW UPDATE YOUR STORY ALREADY. Ahem. Yes, subtlety isn't always one of my strong points… I'm so glad you're enjoying Jonathan's humor—as I said earlier, he always had such great potential to be so hilarious, but unfortunately, sometimes it was shunted aside I know, they're parents are kind of ridiculous sometimes—I mean, I'm glad they seem to have forgotten every incident Mandie and her friends have gotten into, if that means they still allow them to run wild, but really… how do they not see these things coming? Oh well. As Mandie keeps trying to remind her mother—they're all pretty old now, it's time they were responsible for their own lives!
By the time that they had reached the path, Mandie's ankle was as sore as it had been the night before, and Joe had to walk more slowly to accommodate her. Celia's wrist was hurting her, even though she denied it; Mandie could tell from the pinched paleness of her friend's face that she was in pain. She knew they had to get Celia home as quickly as possible, but she felt a slight pang of disappointment that they would have to leave without catching the stranger.
"Here it is," Sallie called from the front, as she and Jonathan pushed through the trees back onto the little forest path. Celia let out a grateful sigh and Joe and Mandie exchanged a relieved glance.
"Are you two doing alright?" Jonathan asked, noticing Celia's and Mandie's tightened expressions when the three of them stumbled onto the path.
"I'm fine," Celia said wearily, pushing her hair out of her face.
"I'm okay," Mandie added, limping over to a tree and leaning against it. She rested her forehead against it and closed her eyes. We made it, she breathed in silent prayer. Thank you.
"How far are we from the house?" Joe asked. Sallie frowned.
"I would say two hours, at least. Maybe more," she answered.
"That's no good," Joe said. "Mandie can't walk another two hours on that ankle, but Celia's wrist needs to be tended to as soon as possible."
"Well, we're not splitting up again," Mandie declared. "I'll walk down this mountain on two twisted ankles first."
"My wrist can wait if Mandie needs to rest," Celia insisted.
Mandie shook her head. "Your wrist might need to be set. We can't waste any more time. I can manage with my ankle."
"Let me see it," Sallie said decisively, motioning for Mandie to sit down. Mandie sighed and lowered herself on the ground. She carefully removed her boot and extended her foot. Sallie crouched beside her and unwrapped the make-shift bandage, frowning at the slightly blue swell of the ankle.
"Is it stiff?" she asked.
Mandie nodded. "It's been tight all day, but it didn't hurt too badly this morning."
Sallie gently pressed two fingers against the swelling and Mandie winced at the sharp pain.
"That hurts?" Sallie confirmed, looking at her.
"Yes," Mandie answered, a little annoyed. "It wasn't that bad with the wrap on it, though. We can re-bandage it and I'll be fine."
Sallie shook her head. "I am sorry, Mandie, but you cannot hike all the way back down the mountain on this foot. You will only make it worse."
Joe nodded. "That's what I said."
Mandie cast him an irritated look. "Well, I don't know what else we're supposed to do," she said, as Sallie expertly bandaged her foot. "We can't just sit here. We'll just have to risk my getting a sprain."
"Don't be silly, Mandie," Jonathan said. "Joe and I can help you down the mountain."
"Of course," Joe agreed.
She finished lacing up her boot and rolled her eyes. "Ya'll are not going to carry me all the way down," she said. "Absolutely not. You'll fall and we'll all be limping home."
"The path isn't steep, remember?" Joe reminded her. "The way I see it, we really don't have any other choice."
"Mandie, please," Celia begged. "This is no time to be stubborn. I don't want you to sprain your ankle."
Mandie sighed in defeat. "Oh, alright, but I still think this is a bad idea." She looked expectantly at Joe. "And I still want to know who that was that was following us!"
"Me too," Joe said, frowning. "Whoever it was has caused us a whole lot of trouble, and they'll have plenty of questions to answer."
"Enough chatting," Jonathan said, pulling Mandie and Sallie to their feet. "The sooner we get home, the sooner we can come back with Mandie's uncle and Uncle Ned and solve this mystery."
"Hear, hear," Joe said. He crossed over to where Mandie stood unsteadily, still leaning on the tree for support.
"Put your arms around my neck," he instructed, stooping to make it easier. Mandie sighed again and did as she was told, flinching as she stood on the tips of her toes. Joe picked her up easily and turned back around to where the others were waiting. Mandie felt her face heat and avoided Celia's gaze, knowing her friend was most likely grinning. She turned her eyes skyward and tried to think of anything but the fact that she was cradled in Joe's arms like a doll. She noticed in annoyance that he wasn't as unsettled as she was. In fact, he was completely at ease, his strong arms holding her easily against his chest. This is quite possibly the most embarrassing moment of my life, she thought. If only Uncle John and Uncle Ned would show up now. She would feel much more comfortable if one of them were carrying her.
"Let's go," Jonathan said, after securing Celia's sling. He started off in the lead, followed by Celia. Joe and Mandie fell in line behind them and Sallie brought up the rear, where she could keep an eye on both Mandie and Celia. They traveled slowly, since Joe was carrying Mandie.
Still clutching Joe's neck, Mandie settled into a stubborn silence, irritated that she had been pressured into this. It was lucky she was so much shorter than Joe, she reflected, or it would have been even more awkward. Joe didn't seem to be struggling much, and he carried her effortlessly as though she weighed absolutely nothing, even talking back and forth with Jonathan without losing his breath. When they passed by a towering, old tree, one of its extending branches knocked against Mandie's ankle and she gave an involuntary wince, shutting her eyes tightly.
"I'm sorry," Joe apologized, turning his head to look down at her. "Are you okay?"
She opened her eyes and nodded. "I'm fine," she said, trying not to bite her lip. He tightened his hold on her briefly as he turned sideways to follow the wind of the trail without bumping her against anything again. She went back to maintaining her silence as Joe and Jonathan struck up a discussion about what they were going to eat when they made it home, prompting several laughs from Celia and Sallie. She tried not to think of what her mother would say when she saw what state they were in, and she also tried to think of how she could convince her to let them go back and look for the mysterious stranger. The mystery disturbed her to no end—she was more convinced than ever that Joe was right, that the stranger had intentionally split them up. Who is it, and why would they do that? she wondered. None of it made sense.
"Let's take a rest here," Jonathan suggested, after they had been hiking steadily downwards for nearly forty-five minutes. Joe carefully lowered Mandie onto the ground and sat beside her, breathing heavily.
"Are you okay?" she asked in concern. He nodded and grinned.
"Of course I'm okay. You're not exactly a heavy weight," he said, raising his eyebrows.
"How's your wrist, Celia?" she asked, ignoring Joe's grin.
"It's okay," Celia replied. "I'll be able to make it."
"I'll carry Mandie for a little to give Joe a break," Jonathan said, dusting his hands off.
"Okay," Joe agreed. "We might as well keep going then. I'm hoping we'll run into a search party, anyway." He helped Mandie to her feet, and then joined Celia to walk in front while Jonathan scooped Mandie up.
"Milady," Jonathan joked as he fell in step behind Celia.
Mandie rolled her eyes. "Don't make this worse than it already is," she warned him.
They had only walked just over ten minutes when Joe suddenly stopped, ordering them all to hush and listen. Mandie elbowed Jonathan to put her down, and he set her carefully on her feet. She gripped his shoulder to steady herself and strained her ears. A whistle, almost identical to Sallie's, pierced the air.
"Uncle Ned!" Mandie cried. Sallie hurried past her excitedly and sent back a responding whistle. Uncle Ned's returned louder and closer, and Joe suddenly jumped in the air, waving his arms.
"There they are!" he said, pointing down through the woods, where Mandie could just make out the running shapes of Uncle Ned, Uncle John, and Dr. Woodard.
"Up here!" Joe yelled, waving his arms again. He backtracked to where Jonathan and Mandie stood, and he and Jonathan each took one of her arms, helping her limp slowly down the path. Sallie and Celia headed down at a faster pace, and reached the search party first.
"Grandfather!" Sallie said, embracing the old Indian tightly.
"My Granddaughter," he greeted her, returning her embrace.
"What's wrong with your wrist, Celia?" Dr. Woodard asked, noticing the redhead's sling.
"It's broken," Mandie answered for her, limping towards them, assisted by the boys.
"Broken?" Doctor Woodard repeated, shocked, while Mandie's Uncle John pushed past him to pull Mandie into a hug.
"What happened?" he demanded, releasing her. "Are you alright?" he added in concern, noticing her limp. "What's going on?"
"I'm alright, Uncle John, really," she assured him. "Celia's is more serious. I just twisted my ankle."
"I think it's probably a sprain," Joe corrected her, receiving his father's hug. "It swelled up, and it turned a little blue."
"Papoose hurt?" Uncle Ned asked, crouching beside Mandie to see her ankle.
"What in the world is going on?" Uncle John asked. "Ya'll had us worried half to death. You're missing in the mountain all night, and now you show up, Celia with a broken wrist, and Mandie with a sprained ankle."
"Explanations wait," Uncle Ned interrupted. "Home first."
"Uncle Ned is right," Dr. Woodard said, retying Celia's sling after examining her wrist. "Let's get them home first so we can fix up Mandie and Celia."
Mandie gave Uncle Ned a grateful nod. She wasn't quite up to recounting their whole adventure just yet.
"Mandie can't walk," Joe said, gesturing to her ankle.
"I'll carry her," Uncle John replied, swinging her carefully into his arms. She rested her head against his chest, relaxing in his strong arms.
"When did you start looking for us?" Jonathan asked Dr. Woodard
"Last night, after you didn't make it home for dinner," he replied. "We camped out in the woods after it got dark, and started again this morning at first light."
Uncle John shifted Mandie slightly in his arms. "How did you hurt your ankle, Mandie?" he asked, looking down at her, his brow wrinkled in concern. "And how did Celia break her wrist?"
"I fell off a boulder," Celia said, allowing Dr. Woodard take a hold of her good arm to help her walk steadily.
Uncle John waited for Joe and Jonathan to pass in front of him, before he started off behind them.
"I was running and slipped on some loose stones," Mandie began, but then she stiffened and looked up sharply at her Uncle.
"What's wrong?" he asked, looking down and catching her eye.
"There's someone up here, Uncle John," she informed him. "They've been following us ever since yesterday, and Joe and I have tried to catch them twice, but they keep getting away."
"What do you mean?" her Uncle asked. "Are you sure they were following you?"
"Yes, sir," Joe said firmly, looking over his shoulder at them. "They were definitely following us, and he or she is the reason we didn't come home."
Dr. Woodard, still supporting Celia, turned to give his son a questioning look. "Meaning?" he asked.
"Joe and I left the others to follow the stranger," Mandie explained, "and when we came back they were gone. We think whoever it was meant for us to get separated and lost."
"Lost?" echoed Uncle John, stopping abruptly and staring down at her.
"We'll explain everything later," Mandie said, "but we have to come back up here and figure this mystery out—whoever it is has been acting terribly suspicious."
Uncle John heaved a sigh and started following the others again, catching up to Joe and Jonathan. "Well, you will have an interesting time convincing your mother to let you come back to solve it. You have no idea how worried she has been."
"Oh, Uncle John, you have to help me," Mandie begged him. "I just have to know what's going on. You don't understand how frustrating everything has been. "
He attempted to conceal his smile, but failed. "I think I understand pretty well," he told her.
"Please, Uncle John," she pleaded. "Mother will back down if you help me."
"Alright, blue eyes," he promised. "We'll see what we can do. After what you've said, I'm getting mighty curious about this lurker as well." He hugged her closer to his chest. "We'll get you and Celia fixed up and come back tomorrow—providing your ankle isn't sprained."
"Oh, thank you!" she said, stretching her head up to kiss him on the cheek.
"Thank you, sir," Joe echoed, elbowing Jonathan delightedly.
"We'll only have tomorrow, though," Uncle John warned her.
"Why?" Mandie asked.
"Uncle Ned got a message from Dimar last night," her Uncle said. "There's trouble on the reservation. We'll be heading there earlier than planned now."
"Oh, no!" Mandie gasped. "What kind of trouble?"
Uncle Ned had been at the front of the group with Dr. Woodard, but he dropped back when he heard Mandie's question.
"Dimar send news of government trouble on mountain," he explained. "Officials look for gold, trespass on Cherokee land."
"They can't do that!" Mandie said angrily. "Even if there is gold, it would belong to the Cherokees."
"We know that, Mandie," her Uncle assured her, "but that is preaching to the choir. Remember all the trouble they had with the men who were trying to dig up artifacts?"
Mandie fumed inwardly. Her Cherokee kinspeople had enough trouble as it was, without having to deal with greedy trespassers.
"How would they know if there was gold anyway?" Mandie asked. "Have they been sneaking around for awhile?"
"Yeah, how come they haven't been caught?" Jonathan questioned.
Uncle Ned frowned. "Not sure, think brave must be helping."
"A Cherokee brave?" Mandie repeated incredulously. "Who would do that?"
Joe coughed and she thought she could distinguish "T'sani!" under it. She frowned at him. T'sani would never do that. He couldn't stand white men.
Uncle Ned shrugged his shoulders unhappily. "Hope not, but maybe," he said. "Could be other tribe, other brave."
"This is horrible," Mandie said. "Are we leaving the day after tomorrow, then?"
Her Uncle nodded. "That's the plan. Uncle Ned will leave earlier, though I hope he can stay a little while to help us search tomorrow."
The old Indian nodded. "First help search for Papoose's stranger, then leave."
"I will return with you, my Grandfather," Sallie spoke up.
Mandie didn't say anything else, but instead silently wondered if they would be able to catch the stranger in time. She was now eager to leave for the Cherokee reservation, but she just had to solve this mystery before they left.
There you have it-the sneak peak to the next story! Mandie and her friends will be journeying to the Cherokee reservation to attempt to discover just what exactly is going on-who is spreading the rumor about gold, and what are they hoping to gain?