The Mandie Collection

by Lois Gladys Leppard

  Mandie stood there watching for a few minutes, but there was no sign of anything outside. Finally deciding nothing was there, she left the parlor and went back up to her room.

  When she crawled back into bed, Mandie saw that Celia was already asleep. But she lay awake for a long time thinking about the possibility of something white on the front porch in the dark.

  “I’m getting as bad as Mollie with my imagination,” she silently told herself. “And I’ve got to go to sleep. If it was really something, it would be already gone by now anyway. Tomorrow I’ll look around just in case there is something disturbed on the porch.”

  She finally dropped off to sleep and dreamed of white forms floating all around her, everywhere she looked.

  PART THREE

  The next day, much to Mandie’s relief, Mollie had evidently forgotten about the secret tunnel that she had promised to show the little girl. And the next few days Mollie stayed close to Aunt Lou and insisted on her reading more from the “good book” about the angel people. Mandie and Celia checked on Mollie now and then to be sure she was not bothering Aunt Lou too much as she followed the old woman about the house. Then on Friday, Mandie was up early and found Mollie in the kitchen sitting on Aunt Lou’s lap by the cookstove.

  “Oh, Mandie,” Mollie said as she quickly looked across the room at Mandie. “Ye don’t be havin’ leprechauns, but ye do be havin’ these angel people. Me aunt Lou knows all about them, she does.”

  Mandie, standing in the doorway with Celia, smiled at her and said, “Now, Mollie, you have to let Aunt Lou rest now and then. She has lots of other things to do.”

  Before Mollie could reply, Aunt Lou smiled and said, “Now, my chile, I can handle this lil’ girl all right. She’s jes’ starved for attention, and she’s a-learnin’ real fast.”

  “I told Aunt Lou about the leprechaun angel that came to see me that night, and Aunt Lou said for me to come and git her to see the leprechaun angel, if’n it comes back to see me, she did,” Mollie said to Mandie. “She be wantin’ to see it, too, she does.”

  “But, remember, Mollie,” Mandie told her, “if you do see anything at all anymore, you are not to get out of bed and go chasing after it. You must come and let me know first.”

  “That’s right, Mollie. You are not allowed to run around the house after everyone has gone to sleep,” Celia added.

  “And guess who is coming in on the train this morning?” Mandie said, smiling at the little girl.

  Mollie frowned for a moment and then she said, “Makes no nevermind. I’ve got me aunt Lou to talk to now. I don’t be needin’ nobody else.”

  “Not even Grandmother?” Mandie asked teasingly.

  “Me grandmither is coming on the train?” Mollie asked and then quickly added, “But I be busy with me aunt Lou, reading the good book about the angel people.”

  “Also, Uncle Ned will be here this morning, and he’s bringing his wife, Morning Star, and his granddaughter, Sallie,” Mandie continued with a big grin.

  Mollie quickly shook her head and said, “I don’t be needin’ that uncle named Ned to help me find a leprechaun because now I want to find one of these angel people.”

  “And my friend Joe Woodard and his parents will arrive in time for church services today,” Mandie continued.

  “I don’t be knowin’ this Joe friend, Mandie, so I’ll jes’ stay in here with me aunt Lou,” Mollie told her.

  Mandie sighed and said to Aunt Lou, “I leave her for you to handle.”

  “Don’t you be worryin’ none ’bout it, my chile. I take care of ev’rything,” Aunt Lou said, smiling and smoothing Mollie’s carrot-red hair. “You and yo’ friend there jes’ go on in de dinin’ room and eat yo’ breakfus’. Liza in there awaitin’ fo’ ev’rybody. Dis heah lil’ miss dun eat wid me.”

  Everyone came down to breakfast early that morning, and before the meal was finished Dr. and Mrs. Woodard and Joe were knocking on the front door, followed in a little while by Uncle Ned, his wife, Morning Star, and granddaughter, Sallie. Then, the train came in early and Mrs. Taft, Mandie’s grandmother, was brought from the depot by a friend of the Shaws who was meeting someone else at the depot. Jason Bond had just hitched up the carriage, and all the young people were waiting in the front hallway to ride to the station to meet the train. They kept watching out the front window for Mr. Bond to bring the carriage around.

  Suddenly Mollie jumped down from the chair where she was sitting in order to see outside. “Mandie! Mandie! There be me grandmither!” she yelled excitedly as she raced for the front door.

  Mandie instantly followed her and pulled the big door open. Sure enough, there was Mrs. Taft coming up the walkway. Mollie pushed her way around Mandie and raced outside to meet her. Mandie followed.

  “Grandmither! Grandmither!” Mollie exclaimed as she stopped in front of the lady.

  Mrs. Taft smiled and bent down to take Mollie’s hand. She looked at Mandie and said, “It seems I have two granddaughters now.”

  Mandie quickly reached to squeeze the lady’s other hand. “Oh, Grandmother, how did you get here so early? We were going to meet the train.”

  Mr. Bond came down the driveway in the carriage and stopped when he saw Mrs. Taft. “Good morning, ma’am,” he called to her. “Where is your luggage?”

  “The Bennetts dropped me off, and I left the trunk at the station if you would please get it for me,” Mrs. Taft called back to him. “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure, ma’am,” Mr. Bond replied as he started to drive out of the yard. But suddenly he was overtaken by all the other young people who had been listening and who were determined to get a ride to the depot and back. Joe, Celia, and Sallie all piled into the vehicle.

  “Come on, Mandie!” Joe called to her. “You, too, Mollie!” he added.

  “I’ll wait here. I want to talk to my grandmother,” Mandie replied.

  “And I do not want to go, I don’t,” Mollie said, clasping her other hand over the hand Mrs. Taft was holding.

  Mandie’s friends waved good-bye as Mr. Bond drove off.

  “Grandmother, I’m so glad you are here and that you are able to see Mollie again,” Mandie said as they walked toward the front door.

  “Grandmither,” Mollie quickly said. “Mandie does not have leprechauns. She has angel people, all white like Snowball. Me aunt Lou has been reading to me all about them—”

  “Mollie, we have to explain to Grandmother. She doesn’t know what we are talking about,” Mandie interrupted her.

  “Whatever you are talking about, please let me get inside and get comfortable before we get into an explanation,” Mrs. Taft said with a smile for both girls.

  Mollie didn’t say anything else, but as soon as Mrs. Taft spoke to the other adults in the parlor and told them she was going up to her room, Mollie followed her up the steps and Mandie came after her.

  “Mollie, let’s let Grandmother rest a little while before we talk to her,” she told the little girl as they stopped on the staircase.

  “Just bring her on up to my room, dear,” Mrs. Taft said as she continued on her way. “I’m anxious to hear what she has to tell me.”

  Mandie looked up and grinned at Mrs. Taft as she said, “If you say so, Grandmother.” And she took Mollie’s hand and followed.

  After Mrs. Taft had changed into comfortable clothes, she sat down in a big chair by the fire in the fireplace and remarked, “The weather always seems to cool off on Good Friday. The fire feels good.” Turning to Mollie, who had not said a word yet, Mrs. Taft asked, “Now tell me all about these angel people you mentioned, dear. Sit right here.” She indicated a stool near her.

  Mollie frowned as she looked at Mrs. Taft and slowly sat down on the stool without taking her eyes off the lady.

  “Well, Mollie, Grandmother wants you to tell her about the angel people you’ve been talking about. Go ahead and explain,” Mandie encouraged her as she sat down nearby.

  “Grandmither,” Mollie began slowly and then t
alked as fast as she could. “This angel people, all white and floaty, came to git me to follow it in the night, it did. And I followed it, I did. And it vanished. I couldn’t find it anymore.” She shook her head sadly.

  Mrs. Taft looked at Mandie, and Mandie began explaining what had happened the night Mollie had crawled out of bed and gone outside. She also explained about Aunt Lou trying to teach Mollie about the angels in the Bible.

  “Evidently she didn’t know anything at all about the Bible until Celia’s Aunt Rebecca began teaching her,” Mandie said. “And now she has become fast friends with Aunt Lou, who is trying to teach her.”

  “I certainly hope some progress can be made,” Mrs. Taft said thoughtfully, and then turning to Mollie she asked, “Do you know what today is?”

  “Today is Friday,” Mollie said. “And we are all going to church.”

  “Do you understand what Easter is all about?” Mrs. Taft asked.

  “Oh, Grandmither, those bad people stuck nails in Jesus and hung Him on a cross. Oh, my, it hurt, it did!” Mollie replied as she shivered all over.

  Mrs. Taft looked at her and started to ask another question when Mollie added, “They made Him die, they did. But, no matter, He woke up so He could save us all, He did.”

  Mrs. Taft smiled at Mollie and said, “You are learning.”

  ———

  Later, when everyone attended the church service at noon, Mandie noticed that Mollie, sitting next to her, seemed to be listening to every word the preacher said. But then when the man asked that every head be bowed in prayer, Mandie watched to see that Mollie bowed hers. The little girl saw Mandie looking at her and quickly closed her eyes and bent her head forward. Then Mandie did likewise as she reached to hold Mollie’s hand.

  While the preacher was praying, Mollie suddenly jerked Mandie’s hand and said in a loud whisper, “There’s the angel people!” She slid off the pew to her feet.

  Mandie quickly grabbed her, pulled her back onto the seat, and put her hand over her mouth. “Shhhhh!” Mandie warned her.

  “But, Mandie,” Mollie tried to argue in a whisper.

  “Shhhhh!” Mandie whispered in Mollie’s ear as she put an arm around her.

  When the preacher had finished praying, Mandie straightened up to look around and saw everyone in the congregation looking in their direction. Evidently they had all heard the commotion. She could hardly wait to get Mollie out of the church. Uncle Ned was sitting on the other side of Mollie, and he looked at Mandie and shook his head. Mollie caught his glance and immediately moved closer to Mandie.

  As soon as the service was over and everyone returned to the house, Mollie immediately disappeared into the kitchen in search of Aunt Lou, and no one discussed Mollie’s behavior in church. After dinner, however, Mollie managed to catch Mandie alone in the hallway and the little girl quickly began explaining, “Mandie, that angel people was in the church, it was—”

  Mandie stooped down to look straight into Mollie’s bright blue eyes and said, “Now, look here, Mollie, you were very disruptive in church today.”

  “What’s disruptive, Mandie?” Mollie asked with a frown.

  Mandie sighed and tried to explain, “That was not nice of you to speak out loud like that in church, especially when everyone was supposed to be praying.”

  “But ye was not prayin’, Mandie. Ye was lookin’ at me, ye was,” Mollie told her.

  “You’re right, Mollie,” Mandie said. “I’m sorry. I should have been praying, too, but I was watching to see if you understood what to do.”

  “But, Mandie,” Mollie said, “that angel people was in the church, I say.”

  “Mollie, let’s you and I make a promise to each other,” Mandie said. “Let’s not talk about seeing angel people anymore. If you see any, just keep it a secret. Don’t let anyone else know, you understand?”

  Mollie looked puzzled as she asked, “Kin I tell me aunt Lou about it when I see the angel people? She told me about the angel people in the Bible. Kin I?”

  Mandie sighed again as she stood up and said, “All right, you may tell Aunt Lou, but keep it a secret from everyone else. Don’t tell anybody else.”

  “Then I will go see me aunt Lou, that I will,” Mollie said as she ran on down the hallway toward the kitchen.

  Mandie watched her go and shook her head. How was anyone ever going to teach Mollie anything?

  ———

  On Sunday everyone rose early, dressed in their church clothes, and walked up the mountain to a clearing where the preacher held the sunrise service. Everyone in Franklin—rich, poor, servants and all—made the journey in the early morning dusk. It had rained the night before and a mist hung over their pathway. The wet underbrush dampened their clothes, but no one noticed. They were intent on reaching the peak before the sun showed itself.

  Mandie held Mollie’s hand as Celia came along the other side. Liza joined them, and she kept watching Mollie. Mollie was a curiosity to her. She had never seen a foreigner before, and she was fascinated with Mollie’s speech and actions.

  The preacher stood on the uppermost knob of the hill and spoke to the people. Mandie tried to listen and watch Mollie at the same time to be sure she was behaving. At one point Mollie suddenly pulled on her hand and tried to jump up and down, but Mandie gave her a stern look and she quieted down. Then during the singing Mollie tried to get Mandie’s attention again, but Mandie squeezed her hand and ignored her. Celia reached for Mollie’s other hand and held it.

  When the service was over, Mandie told Celia, “Let’s let the crowd get on down ahead of us so we can be sure Mollie doesn’t run away somewhere.”

  Celia agreed. “Yes, it would be bad if she broke away and got lost in all these woods on our way down.”

  Liza, overhearing the conversation, said, “Missy ’Manda, I needs to go he’p wid de breakfus’ or Aunt Lou be lookin’ fo’ me.”

  “We’re all going to help with the food, Liza. You don’t have to hurry,” Mandie told her. “I do believe the sun is coming out full force now. Look.” She glanced overhead as a gust of wind swept past them.

  “It sho’ is,” Liza agreed. Then she quickly said to Mollie, “Look at dat. Dere be one of dem rainbows I be tellin’ you ’bout. Right dere!” She pointed back across the hill.

  Mollie turned around to look, and she was so excited she could hardly speak. “Mandie!” she cried, pointing back to the end of the rainbow in the distance. “Mandie! Look!” She began jumping up and down. “Look, Celia, look!”

  Mandie stepped back to see the rainbow and immediately exclaimed, “What is that?” She could make out a vague white figure near the end of the rainbow.

  Celia squinted as she looked and said, “It’s something white.”

  “Mandie, it’s the angel people! Mandie, let’s go see!” Mollie said, pulling on her hand.

  Liza stared at the figure and said, “Looks more like a ghost to me. And it’s supposed to be a pot o’ gold at de end of de rainbow, not a ghost!” She moved closer to Mandie as she shivered.

  Mandie quickly decided to investigate. Still holding Mollie’s hand and catching one of Liza’s hands, she urged them back up the hill with Celia helping on the other side of Mollie. “Come on. Let’s go see what it is,” she said.

  Liza tugged at her hand to go the other way, and Mollie pushed ahead. Then when they got closer to the white form, Mandie felt Mollie’s footsteps grow slower.

  “Come on, now, Mollie, we’re going to find out what this is,” Mandie told her as she continued up the hill and strong gusts of wind blew against them.

  As they drew nearer, Mandie could see what looked like a lot of white, fluffy material floating in the air, and then suddenly the top part of it seemed to be broken away by the wind and go flying off into space.

  Mandie gasped as she saw carrot-red hair uncovered and the form turned into a woman dressed in all white. The four young people stopped to stare at the woman, and the woman stared at them. Then Mandie came to a quick decis
ion. Practically dragging Mollie with Celia’s help, Mandie moved on toward the woman. Finally they were in hearing distance, and when Mandie could see the woman’s bright blue eyes, she came to a conclusion.

  “You are Mollie’s aunt, aren’t you?” Mandie asked as they stood face-to-face with the woman. Mollie clung to Mandie’s skirt and Liza slipped behind the little girl. Celia stood by, listening and looking.

  “That I am,” the woman said. Then suddenly she came forward and stooped down to get a good look at Mollie. “And this is my sister’s dear little daughter.”

  Mollie tried to move closer to Mandie, and the woman added, “I am your aunt, child. Come to me.” She held her arms out but Mollie didn’t budge.

  “How did you know where Mollie was?” Mandie asked.

  “Ah, that you do not know?” the woman asked. “The detectives hunted and hunted but could not find me because I got married and changed my name. Then weeks and weeks ago, your grandmother, Mrs. Taft, asked your uncle John Shaw to send his man to contact the Cherokee people for help in locating me, and, as you see, they found me.”

  “Then why didn’t you just come to the house instead of hiding out here on the mountain?” Mandie asked.

  “My poor sister and I had hard words years ago when I left Ireland, and I was not sure I wanted to see my niece,” the woman replied.

  “You must have been the one who lured Mollie out of her bed the other night,” Celia said.

  “Aye, she was,” Mollie suddenly spoke.

  “And how do you be knowing that?” the woman asked.

  “Because ye smell like ye did that night when ye ran off and left me,” Mollie told her. “Do ye not want to be me aunt?”

  “I am your aunt, dear child. Nothing can change that,” the woman said.

  “Me name is not child. Me name is Mollie,” the little girl replied.

  “That I do know, and also your name was spelled wrong on the papers the detectives had,” the woman said. “The correct spelling is M-o-l-l-i-e, and they had it spelled M-o-l-l-y, which almost caused me to disclaim any knowledge of you because I thought it was the wrong little girl. So I had to see you for myself. And when I saw that red hair and those blue eyes, I knew you were my sister’s child.”