New Horizons

by Lois Gladys Leppard

  Mandie squeezed her mother’s hand as she said, “This is the most wonderful Christmas present I have ever had.” She stooped to kiss her mother’s cheek, then turned to give her uncle John a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you.”

  The holidays flew by and Mandie hated having to go back to college and leave her little brother and sister.

  “At least I was home when they arrived,” Mandie told her mother as she and Celia waited for Mr. Bond to take them and Celia’s aunt Rebecca to the depot.

  Joe was staying a few days longer to visit with his parents, and Celia’s mother was glad that Rebecca had volunteered to escort the girls back to college.

  More excitement would be waiting for them at the college.

  chapter 10

  When Mandie, Celia, and Aunt Rebecca arrived in Charleston, they found that Mr. Ryland and Mary Lou had been waiting for them. They all said good-bye to Celia’s aunt Rebecca, who got on another train headed for her home.

  “Y’all will never guess what happened while you were gone.” Mary Lou was nearly bursting with her news.

  “What?” Mandie and Celia asked simultaneously.

  “There was a strange man in your boardinghouse,” Mary Lou told them with nervous excitement.

  “At our boardinghouse?” Mandie asked.

  “Who saw him?” Celia asked.

  As Mr. Ryland drove the carriage out of the depot parking lot, Mary Lou said, “You know Sadie, the girl who works in the kitchen? She was cleaning up after suppertime on Christmas Eve, and she saw the shadow of a man standing in the dining room, but then he suddenly disappeared.”

  “What did Sadie do?” Mandie asked wide-eyed.

  “Sadie quit on the spot, but Mrs. Thomason was able to talk her into coming back when she promised Sadie that she would not be left alone anymore. Now what do you think about that?” Mary Lou drew a deep breath.

  Mandie frowned and said, “Sadie is flighty sometimes, and she might have imagined it.”

  “Well, everyone believes her,” Mary Lou replied.

  Celia warily asked, “We are not going to stay in that boardinghouse any longer, are we, Mandie? Not with a strange man lurking about?”

  “Of course. Where else can we stay?”

  “Both of you can stay at my house,” Mary Lou offered. “My mother has already told me to tell y’all that.”

  “Please, Mandie,” Celia begged, near tears.

  “Well, maybe just for tonight,” Mandie said. “Until we have a chance to get to the bottom of this.”

  “I don’t think I’m going to stay there at all anymore, as long as Mary Lou’s mother will allow us to stay at her house,” Celia said firmly.

  “Maybe we ought to move back into the dormitory,” Mandie suggested.

  “No, that would be admitting defeat,” Celia quickly responded. “Oh, I am beginning to hate this college.”

  Mandie looked at Celia and said, “Well, it’s half term now. We could probably transfer to another college if you would like to.”

  “No, I like my music classes here. We’ll just have to stay and muddle through the rest of the year somehow,” Celia said.

  “I’m sure my mother would be glad to have both of you stay with us this school year,” Mary Lou said.

  Mandie grinned at Mary Lou and said, “We’ll just have to solve this mystery by the time our sophomore year begins.”

  “I’ll help with anything I can,” Mary Lou offered.

  Mr. Ryland pulled the carriage to a stop in front of the boardinghouse just then. Mandie leaned forward and said, “I’m sorry, but it appears we’ll be going to the Dunnigans’ house, Mr. Ryland.”

  He nodded and said, “As you wish, miss,” and drove on.

  Mrs. Dunnigan was on the front porch waiting for them.

  “I wanted to be sure you all came on here,” she told Mandie and Celia. “You are very welcome. Come on inside. I prepared a room for y’all. I was sure y’all wouldn’t want to be going back to that boardinghouse right now.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Dunnigan,” Celia quickly said.

  “We appreciate your hospitality,” Mandie told her.

  Mr. Dunnigan came out the front door, greeted the girls, and helped Mr. Ryland bring their trunks up to their bedroom.

  “I know you young ladies are tired after that train trip, so go ahead and get comfortable while I see to dinner,” Mrs. Dunnigan told Mandie and Celia as everyone stood at the door of the room. “The bathroom is down the hall there,” she added, pointing. “When you are ready, just come on down to the parlor.” She went back down the hallway toward the stairs.

  “I’ll wait for y’all down in the parlor,” Mary Lou told them.

  “Oh no, Mary Lou. Stay here and talk. We won’t be long changing,” Mandie said.

  “Here, I’ll hang up some of your dresses while y’all get dressed,” Mary Lou offered as the girls opened their trunks.

  “I’ll change into anything to get out of this travel suit,” Mandie said, pulling a dress out of her trunk.

  “Me too,” Celia added.

  “You use the bathroom first to clean up while I help hang our clothes,” Mandie said as she began taking clothes out of their trunks.

  “I won’t be long,” Celia promised as she took clothes and hurried down the hallway.

  “I would like to walk around to the boardinghouse and talk to Mrs. Thomason after we eat,” Mandie told Mary Lou.

  Mary Lou smiled and said, “I knew you would want to do that. I would like to go with you.”

  “I was hoping you would want to go,” Mandie said as she pulled a blue dress trimmed with lace out of the trunk and hung it in the huge wardrobe. “I’d just like to hear what Mrs. Thomason has to say about strange men standing in her boardinghouse.”

  “Yes, something seems to have scared Sadie witless, and I’d like to know what it was.”

  “We’ll have to find her and ask her about it, too,” Mandie said. “You know, I feel so sorry for Celia because she is really upset.”

  “Maybe talking with Mrs. Thomason will help,” Mary Lou said.

  “Unless Mrs. Thomason really believes Sadie saw someone,” Mandie replied.

  Celia returned from the bathroom all clean and dressed. Mandie grabbed a dress and hurried into the bathroom to quickly wash and change for dinner.

  Later, as they all sat at the supper table, Mandie tried to talk about anything other than Sadie’s story because of Celia, but Celia kept bringing up the subject herself.

  “Mrs. Dunnigan, did Mrs. Thomason say anyone else saw whatever Sadie claimed to see?” Celia asked.

  “No, dear. Sadie was the only one,” Mrs. Dunnigan replied. “But as I’m sure you know, Sadie is afraid of her own shadow, so her story may not be entirely correct. You will want to talk to Mrs. Thomason about it to be sure.”

  Mandie spoke up. “I thought we would go around there and speak to her after we finish eating.” She paused to take another bite of her food, then added, “I don’t suppose those fellows we see around our college now and then could be playing a joke, could they? They are always mentioning a ghost in the boardinghouse.”

  “But it happened while everyone was gone for the holidays, so I don’t believe it could have been them,” Mrs. Dunnigan said.

  “But, Mother, the one who is always trying to talk to Mandie—George Stuart—is from England. Surely he wouldn’t have gone all the way home for the holidays,” Mary Lou reminded her.

  “You’re right, that’s not likely,” Mrs. Dunnigan said.

  Then Mr. Dunnigan volunteered his own information. “Well, I haven’t seen any of those young fellows that you are talking about at all during the holidays, so evidently they went somewhere.”

  Mandie tried to hurry through the meal so she could get to the boardinghouse, but everyone else seemed to be awfully slow, including Celia, who she noticed didn’t have much to say and had a worried look on her face. But finally the meal came to an end.

  Mr. and Mrs. Dunnigan walked
with the girls over to the boardinghouse. Mrs. Thomason herself opened the door and greeted them with a big smile.

  “I’m so glad you young ladies are back. Come on in.” She led the way into the parlor. No one else seemed to be about.

  As soon as everyone was seated, Celia quickly got to the point. “Mrs. Thomason, did Sadie really see a strange man in your boardinghouse?”

  Everyone was silent while Mrs. Thomason took a minute to reply. “You know, girls, we talked about the so-called ghost in this house when y’all first moved in, and we all agreed it was a silly prank by some of the boys when no one lived in the house.” She paused. “Therefore, I believe it was just some boys trying to scare Sadie.”

  “But the house is lived in now, and the boarders were gone for the holidays, weren’t they?” Celia asked.

  “The house was not empty over the holidays, although most of my boarders did go home,” Mrs. Thomason replied, and then straightening up to look at the girls, she added, “I believe Sadie imagined she saw someone. She is not the most level-headed person, and y’all know that firsthand.”

  “So you think Sadie just imagined the whole thing?” Mandie asked.

  “Yes, I do,” Mrs. Thomason replied. “You see, she had heard the boys’ ghost stories so many times that evidently she believed them.”

  Mandie suddenly remembered the noise she and Celia had heard in their bedroom that night. “There was certainly something making a noise in or around our room when Celia and I first moved in. And we never did figure out what it was,” she said quickly.

  “Yes, that’s right,” Celia immediately added. “It was a strange scratching noise. We left the lamps on for the rest of the night.”

  “But we believed that noise could have been made by all those people checking in here that night,” Mandie explained.

  “Well, dear, you never told me about this. I might have had an explanation at that time, but now I don’t know,” Mrs. Thomason said.

  “It never happened again,” Mandie reassured Mrs. Thomason.

  “Please be sure to let me know if it does, or if anything else strange, shall we say, happens,” Mrs. Thomason told the girls.

  “But, Mrs. Thomason, we are staying with the Dunnigans now,” Celia told her.

  Mrs. Dunnigan immediately spoke up. “I knew the girls would be upset when they heard of this incident, and I asked them to stay with us, at least until things settle down and get back to normal. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “No, of course I don’t mind. I know the girls will probably sleep better in your house for a few nights,” Mrs. Thomason said, smiling at Celia and Mandie. “Some of the others are staying elsewhere for now and will be coming back to their rooms after the news dies down. In the meantime, if you girls would like to get anything you need from your room, I’d be glad to go up with you and help.”

  “No, ma’am. I took so much home for the holidays that I don’t really need anything else right now,” Mandie told her.

  “Neither do I,” Celia said.

  Mandie suddenly remembered her good news. “I almost forgot to tell everyone the wonderful news! My mother had twins while we were home for Christmas. She named them Carol and Carl.”

  “How wonderful,” Mrs. Thomason said. “I must figure out what kind of gift to send her.”

  “And I must write to her and offer my congratulations,” Mrs. Dunnigan said.

  “It’s nice that you have a boy in the family now, and it’s not all girls,” Mr. Dunnigan added with a wink.

  Mandie smiled and said, “Yes, sir, and I’m anxious to get back home and see them again.”

  “Spring holidays will certainly be welcome this year, won’t they?” Mrs. Dunnigan said.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Mandie said, grinning. “And while we are talking about the holidays, I was going to ask Mary Lou if she could go home with me for the break in the spring, but since we’re talking about them now, maybe you would let me know now if she can.”

  “But, Mandie, you haven’t even asked me if I want to go,” Mary Lou said teasingly.

  “Since I am always visiting your house, I figured you might like to go home with me for a change,” Mandie said, grinning at her.

  “Of course, Mary Lou has permission to go visit at your house, if that is satisfactory with your mother, Amanda,” Mrs. Dunnigan said.

  Mandie looked at Mary Lou and said, “Then you will be spending the spring holidays at my house, and I imagine that Celia will, too?” She looked questioningly at Celia.

  “Of course, I always spend the holidays at your house, Mandie,” Celia said with a sigh, then added, “But I am expecting everyone to come to my house for at least part of the summer vacation.”

  “I’d like to come to your house for a while this summer, Celia,” Mandie told her. “However, you understand that I have to spend some time with my new little sister and brother.”

  “Since I’ve always lived in the city, I would enjoy visiting your farm, Celia, and seeing all the horses,” Mary Lou said.

  Celia looked at Mandie and said, “Well then, as soon as we can arrange the times with our other friends, we can make plans for the summer holidays.”

  Later, after leaving the boardinghouse, the conversation continued between the girls’ bedrooms through the connecting door until way into the morning.

  When the early morning sunshine woke Mandie, she stretched and poked Celia to wake her.

  “We have the whole day off today. What are we going to do?” Mandie asked as Celia sat up and looked around the room.

  Celia yawned and replied, “Let’s just be lazy and do nothing.”

  “Maybe Mary Lou has some plans,” Mandie said as she sat up and propped against her pillow.

  Mary Lou came to the doorway in her nightgown and asked, “Did I hear my name?”

  “Yes, what are your plans for today?” Mandie asked, flipping around to sit on the side of the bed.

  “I don’t really have any, but since today is Saturday, we could check on the sewing group and see if they are working on the children’s clothes today,” Mary Lou replied. “That is, if y’all want something to do.”

  “Oh yes, let’s do that,” Celia said, sliding to the edge of the bed and stretching.

  “Well, we can have Mr. Ryland bring us to the sewing group this morning,” Mandie suggested. “Maybe we’ll see Grace Wilson working there today.”

  By the time everyone had finished the hearty breakfast Mrs. Dunnigan put on the table, Mr. Ryland had the carriage parked in front of the house and was waiting for them.

  When they arrived at Mrs. Wilkes’s house, quite a large assortment of people had already assembled and were busy sewing.

  Mandie quickly looked around the large room as she and her friends walked over to the table to select something to work on. She didn’t see Grace. As she and Celia and Mary Lou stood at the table, she mentioned it to them, then said, “In fact, I don’t see anyone I recognize.”

  “Neither do I,” Celia said.

  “Let’s do some work for a while and maybe someone we know will come later,” Mary Lou suggested.

  Although they worked for several hours, no one else came.

  When Mr. Ryland came back to get them, Mary Lou said, “Why don’t we drive by the college? We won’t be able to stop, though, because my mother will be waiting for us to come home and eat.”

  “All right. We might happen to see someone we know,” Mandie agreed.

  When they got to the college, Mr. Ryland brought the carriage to a halt in the parking space and asked, “Will you be going inside, misses?”

  “No, Mr. Ryland, we won’t have time to do that. We were just thinking we might see someone we know,” Mandie replied.

  “Look, isn’t that George Stuart in the carriage parked down the driveway?” Celia asked.

  Mandie glanced at the carriage, then quickly looked away. “Yes, it is. I’d really like to find out if he was here during the holidays, but I don’t dare walk up to him and ask him,
” she said. Then, smiling, she added, “Remember, we haven’t been properly introduced.”

  “His friend is with him, too—the one we always see,” Celia said.

  “And I do believe that is his sister coming out of the dormitory. She’s walking toward his carriage,” Mary Lou said.

  At that moment George Stuart, his friend, and his sister all looked their way.

  The girls quickly turned their attention to others moving about the campus.

  “Why don’t we go, Mandie? I feel strange just sitting here and looking at everybody,” Celia said.

  “You’re right. We need to get back to Mary Lou’s house, anyway,” Mandie agreed as she leaned forward and spoke to Mr. Ryland. “We’ll go back to the Dunnigans’ now, please, Mr. Ryland.”

  “Yes, miss,” the driver replied.

  When they arrived at the Dunnigans’ house, they found Mrs. Dunnigan in the parlor. “Mrs. Thomason has been doing a little investigative work,” she told them. “You all may be interested to know that George Stuart and his friends from England, including his sister, did not leave Charleston during the holidays, but were seen all around town.”

  “Then they could have played a trick on Sadie,” Mandie said as she sat on the settee.

  “How could they do that with Mrs. Thomason in the house? She always keeps the doors locked, day and night,” Celia reminded her.

  “Maybe they saw Sadie outside somewhere and teased her about a ghost,” Mary Lou suggested.

  Mandie had a sudden idea. “What if they have a key?” she asked excitedly, looking at everyone.

  “That may be possible, but how did they get it?” Mrs. Dunnigan asked. “I’m sure she wouldn’t have left the key around for someone to steal.”

  “But the school would have had a key. And remember all those tales about people being seen in the house when it was empty?” Mandie reminded them. “Anyone could have made a duplicate.”

  “Yes, it looks like it is very possible that someone could have broken into the house,” Mrs. Dunnigan said. “I wonder if Mrs. Thomason has thought about changing the locks.”

  Mary Lou frowned and said, “Didn’t everyone say that when the house was empty, someone kept breaking a window to get into the house?”