“We won’t be gone long, Mother,” Mandie promised. “And I’ll see you later, Grandmother.”
“Well, all right then, but don’t be too late,” Elizabeth said.
Mandie and Joe hurried to the church and, when they opened the door to the basement, they found Liza and the four children sound asleep. Liza had pushed the benches up against one wall and placed mattresses on them. The two little girls were curled up under a quilt on one mattress and the two boys on the other. Liza herself had gone to sleep in the large chair that was used by a teacher for Sunday school. The lamp in the corner was lit and the heater was crackling away.
“Well!” Mandie whispered as she looked around the room. She smiled at Joe and said, “Liza has done a good job. Let’s don’t wake them.”
“Yes, but she has to go have her supper,” Joe reminded her.
Mandie softly walked over to the sleeping girl. She put her hand on her arm and shook her gently. “Liza!” Mandie whispered.
Liza quickly jerked away as she woke up and looked around. She jumped up and said, “Lawsy mercy, Missy ’Manda, I done been asleepin’.” She rubbed her eyes and stretched.
“Liza, you need to go back to the house and eat your supper,” Mandie said. “When you finish, come on back over here. We want you to spend the night with the children.”
“Me spend de night in dis heah spooky church?” Liza asked, her eyes widening as she looked at Mandie.
“Liza, this church is not spooky. It’s God’s house,” Mandie reminded her.
“But I cain’t see God. How does I knows He be heah? S’pose de Devil he be heah, too?” Liza said.
“Oh, Liza, the Devil wouldn’t dare come into God’s house,” Mandie said. She looked up at Joe and wondered what they would do if Liza refused to stay at night with the children. “Remember, these little children need you. They don’t have any mothers or fathers.”
Liza sighed deeply and looked at the sleeping children. “But, Missy ’Manda, I’se jes’ plain skeered to stay in dis heah place all night less’n y’all stays too.” She moved nervously around the room. “And all dem dead people out dere in de graveyard . . .”
“I’ll tell you what, Liza,” Joe said. “As soon as everyone in the house goes to bed, I’ll come over and sleep in the next room if you’ll stay in here with the children.”
Liza looked at him and reluctantly replied, “Well, I s’pose me and dese heah chillun be all right if you sleeps in de next room—but mind you now, if I wakes up and you done gwine left dis heah place, den I be leavin’, too.”
“Liza, I’ll come and stay anytime Joe is not here,” Mandie promised. “We won’t leave you alone. Now hurry and get your supper before Jenny puts all the food away, and then come right back.”
“Well, I guess I be back,” Liza said, quickly putting on her hat and coat. She gave them a doubtful look as she went out the door.
Mandie sighed and looked at Joe as soon as the girl had left. “I didn’t think about Liza being afraid at night here in the church.”
“She’ll be all right if she knows one of us is here,” Joe said.
“If you want to, we can take turns staying here at night. I could stay tonight, you tomorrow night, and then me, and on like that as long as we have the orphans here,” Mandie said as she walked across the long room to keep from waking the children.
“Why don’t I stay tonight? You need to talk to your grandmother about a few things, I’m sure,” Joe offered. “And then tomorrow night my parents will be here.” He followed her to the window where she was standing.
“Yes, I haven’t had a chance to let you know that I told Grandmother what we’re doing, and she promised to help—I don’t know how, but she promised,” Mandie explained.
“Why don’t you go on back to the house now? There’s nothing else to be done tonight, and I’ll get one of those mattresses and a quilt and fix me up a place to sleep in the next room,” Joe said.
“All right then,” Mandie agreed. “But if you need me, let me know. In other words, if Liza has trouble with the children I’ll come back and see what I can do.”
“Good-night, see you for breakfast,” Joe said.
“Bright and early,” Mandie replied as she slipped out the door.
Later that night Mandie had a talk with her grandmother in Mrs. Taft’s room.
“Sit down, dear,” Mrs. Taft told her. She was sitting in the chair by the fireplace again.
Mandie pulled up a stool and waited for her grandmother to begin the conversation.
“You may not like this, but I had to take Aunt Lou into our confidence in order to clear things for Liza,” Mrs. Taft began.
Mandie gasped and said, “You told Aunt Lou! Oh, Grandmother, you promised not to let anyone know our secret!”
“There was no other way we could get Liza to help,” Mrs. Taft replied. “You know very well that Aunt Lou supervises Liza’s duties and has to know where the girl is. But anyhow, Aunt Lou can keep a secret and she thinks you are doing something worthwhile.”
“I’m sorry, Grandmother, but I didn’t think about Liza’s work here in the house,” Mandie said, smiling up at the old lady. “And I think our secret is safe with Aunt Lou.”
“Now your mother and your Uncle John will be busy shopping and making visits to their friends in preparation for Christmas, so I asked for the use of that rig they keep in the barn and never use. That way they can use the buggy and we’ll have the rig anytime we want it. I couldn’t figure out how to ask for use of the wagon, but the rig is better anyway.”
“So I suppose Abraham will harness it up for us when we get ready to use it,” Mandie said. “Joe and I want to go out into the country tomorrow and try to find more orphans.”
“That’s fine,” Mrs. Taft said. “Liza can watch the children and I will check on her now and then, and Aunt Lou has offered to help in any way we need her. Your mother and your Uncle John will be gone to the Lawsons all day. And I’ll be here when Dr. Woodard and his wife arrive.”
“Grandmother, Liza was afraid to stay all night in the church, so Joe has to sleep over there tonight and I will tomorrow night, and we’ll take turns until we have the play,” Mandie said.
“You and Joe are going to have a job returning all those orphans to their homes if you bring in too many,” her grandmother warned her.
“Well, we thought since the play is on a Sunday and Christmas is not until the following Wednesday, we would just keep the children in the church until after Christmas,” Mandie told her.
“Don’t you think that’s a little too much, having those children that long and having to take care of them?” Mrs. Taft asked.
Mandie smiled up at her grandmother and said, “Well, I was hoping we could buy them some presents and have a real Christmas for them on Christmas Day, with lots of toys and lots of food and some warm clothes. That is part of what we need money for.”
“Amanda, you’re always planning something,” Mrs. Taft said, and then she smiled at Mandie. “I’ll go shopping with you and I’ll even volunteer to wrap the presents if you wish.”
Mandie reached to squeeze her grandmother’s hand as she said, “I knew I could depend on you.”
“I don’t know what you all are planning to do for costumes for the children, but I would suggest asking Aunt Lou to help with that. You know she’s a wonderful seamstress,” Mrs. Taft said.
“Yes, she is,” Mandie replied. “I’m so glad you are helping us. And it was a good idea to let Aunt Lou in on our secret.”
Mrs. Taft stood up and said, “You run along to bed now. I need to get some sleep, too. Just let me know when you need me for anything.”
“Good-night, Grandmother, and thanks,” Mandie said as she tiptoed to kiss the old lady’s cheek.
Mrs. Taft quickly embraced her, and Mandie went to her own room.
PART TWO
Early the next morning Mandie hurriedly dressed and rushed over to the church to check on the situation. Liza and the chi
ldren were all awake, but Joe was nowhere in sight when Mandie looked into the room where he had put his mattress.
“Where is Joe?” Mandie asked.
“He say he gwine to de house to git food,” Liza replied as she watched the orphans play with the toys.
“Oh goodness, I have to go see what he’s doing. I’ll be right back,” Mandie said as she rushed back out the door.
She went to the back door of the house because she figured Joe would be in the kitchen if he was looking for food. When she pushed open the door, she found Aunt Lou and Jenny cooking and Joe standing by watching.
“Joe!” Mandie said as she looked around the room, not sure what to make of the scene. Had someone let Jenny in on their secret, too?
“Mawnin, my chile,” Aunt Lou greeted her as she turned and smiled at Mandie.
“Good morning, Aunt Lou and Jenny,” Mandie said. “And Joe.”
“Mawnin’ Missy ’Manda,” Jenny said as she turned bacon cooking in the big iron frying pan. “We’se almost done wid dem chillun’s breakfast.”
Joe looked at Mandie and said, “It was too complicated trying to feed the orphans, so I took the liberty of letting Jenny in on our secret, and your grandmother had already told Aunt Lou.”
“Well,” Mandie replied, not knowing exactly what to say. Pretty soon it wouldn’t be a secret at all. Everyone would know what they were doing, she was thinking.
“Now don’t you worry, my chile, we’se ain’t tellin’ nobody else,” Aunt Lou said as she bent to pull a pan of hot biscuits out of the oven.
“No, we won’t,” Jenny quickly added. “But we all wants to he’p anyhow. It be a good thing y’all doin’.” She began removing the crisp bacon and laying it out on a plate.
“And I appreciate y’all’s help,” Mandie said, finally smiling. Turning to Joe, she said, “Liza and the children are all up, and I came looking for you so we could get breakfast for them.”
“We don’t have any more problems about food,” Joe said. “Aunt Lou and Jenny will see to every meal for us.”
“Thank you, both,” Mandie told the women. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No, my chile. You and Mistuh Joe heah jes’ git ready fo’ yo’ own breakfus’ ’cause Abraham gwine run dis food over to de chilluns,” Aunt Lou told her.
Mandie looked at Joe and said, “So Abraham knows, too?”
“We couldn’t figure out how to cook two meals and serve them, so it was Jenny’s idea to get her husband to carry the food over to the church every time we eat,” Joe explained.
Mandie sighed deeply and said, “We’re getting obligated to so many people.”
“No sech thing, my chile,” Aunt Lou protested as she buttered the biscuits. “We wants to he’p dese chilluns, jes’ like you be doin’. Now like I done said, you two git washed up and ready fo’ yo’ own breakfus’.” She flapped her long white apron at Mandie and Joe. “Shoo!”
Both the young people laughed and Mandie said, “All right, thank you.”
“Thanks,” Joe added.
He followed Mandie out the door into the hallway. As they hurried down the long corridor Mandie said, “Any problems last night?”
“None at all. As far as I know, Liza and the children slept straight through, but let me tell you, they were all up early this morning. I more or less dozed all night on that uncomfortable mattress, and as soon as I dropped off to sleep, Liza woke me with her yelling, laughing, and playing with the children,” Joe explained. “She is really enjoying this.”
“I’m glad,” Mandie said as they reached the staircase. “Let’s sit down here a minute and I’ll tell you what all my grandmother has planned.”
They sat on the bottom step and Mandie brought him up to date.
“So how are we going to get the rig out without your mother and Uncle John knowing about it, when your grandmother asked permission to use it for herself?” Joe asked.
“We’ll just wait until my mother and Uncle John leave for the Lawsons, and then we’ll take the rig and go looking for more orphans,” Mandie explained.
So that is what they did. Mandie’s mother and Uncle John left as soon as everyone ate breakfast. Abraham harnessed one of the horses to the rig, then Mandie and Joe began their search for more orphans. By noontime they had found six more children, four girls and two boys. The boys were brothers but did not know each other because they had been placed with different families when they were babies.
Mrs. Oglesby had said, “This boy here, Jake, has a brother living with the Houstons across the river there. But they don’t know each other. We tried to take both boys when their parents died, but the Houstons insisted they found Jasper first and wouldn’t give him up. We offered them the chance to take Jake because we didn’t like to separate brothers, but they only wanted one child. That was when the boys were babies. Jake is six now and Jasper is five.”
Mandie stood there in Mrs. Oglesby’s yard listening with a heavy heart to the story of the separated brothers. “Do you suppose the Houstons would allow Jasper to come with us for the Christmas holidays?” she asked.
“They might,” Mrs. Oglesby told her. “Provided you don’t let them know you have Jasper’s brother, too.”
Joe looked back at the rig where the children were waiting and said, “That would really be a wonderful Christmas present to the boys to find each other.”
Mrs. Oglesby’s thin face lit up and she said, “It would be. Bless you young people. I’ll be praying for you.”
Mandie said a silent prayer herself as Joe pulled the rig up in the yard of the Houstons’ home. A young boy, almost identical in looks to Jake, was swinging on a rope swing hanging from a huge chestnut tree. Mandie knew at once that he was Jasper.
“Jasper, is anyone home besides you?” Mandie called to him as she and Joe stepped down from the rig.
“Them people Houstons, what I live with here, they be home.” Jasper jumped down from the swing and approached the rig.
“Where are they?” Joe asked. “We’d like to talk to them.”
“They down at the river at the still. They always tell me I ain’t supposed to go down there, but I know what they’re doin’. They’re makin’ that strong stuff what makes people wobble,” Jasper explained.
Mandie and Joe looked at each other.
“If he can’t go down there and get them and we don’t know where the still is, how are we going to talk to them?” Mandie asked as Jasper walked around her and stood staring at the children in the rig. She noticed they stared back.
“Maybe he could explain where it is and I could find it,” Joe suggested. Turning to Jasper he asked, “Could you show me the way to the still? You don’t have to go down there. Just tell me how to find it.”
Jasper stood kicking the dirt and looking down at his feet for a moment. Then he straightened up and said, “Shucks, everyone knows where it be. But I’ll show you. Come this way.” He hurried down an overgrown pathway by the side of the barn and stopped to see if Joe was following.
“I’m coming,” Joe told him as he caught up with Jasper. He called back to Mandie, “Don’t let those children out of your sight. We’re responsible for them, remember.”
“I won’t,” Mandie promised.
Mandie waited a long time in the yard. She walked around and around, watching every move the children in the rig made. Finally she spotted Joe coming back up the lane. Jasper was skipping along ahead of him, and an elderly woman walked behind Joe on the narrow path.
Jasper ran ahead and went back to stand and stare at the children in the rig. The woman kept talking as she came closer, and Mandie could finally hear what she was saying.
“The boy ain’t worth his salt, but we keep him anyhow,” she was saying. “We ain’t got no children of our own.”
Then Mandie heard Joe ask, “Did y’all adopt the boy?”
The woman stopped and put her hands on her hefty hips as she said, “My goodness, no. We don’t call him as part of the fam
ily. He just gets to live here in exchange for a few chores he does, and that ain’t much.”
Mandie walked over to meet Joe and the woman when they reached the yard.
“This is Amanda Shaw, Mrs. Houston,” Joe said.
Mandie smiled and said, “How do you do, Mrs. Houston?”
The woman stared at Mandie from head to toe and said, “Right poorly, if I do have to say so. Y’all jes’ wait here and I’ll git him a change of clothes, which is about all he’s got. I’ll be right back.”
The woman went on into the house, and Mandie and Joe stood by the rig while Jasper continued to stare at the other children.
“Was it really what he said it was?” Mandie asked in a low voice to prevent Jasper from hearing her.
“Sure was. It’s a wonder we don’t smell it all the way up here,” Joe said. “The woman’s husband and his brother take care of it. They didn’t seem upset when I walked up and asked for the Houstons. They just wanted to know what I was after, and when they were sure I wasn’t a lawman, they agreed Jasper could go home with us for Christmas, even though we are strangers. The woman said it would give her a rest from continually scolding Jasper and trying to make him work.”
Mandie whispered, “They are terrible people, aren’t they? I wonder if they beat the boy.”
“It’s possible from the way they talked,” Joe said.
The woman came out of the house with a stuffed flour sack and handed it to Joe. “This ought to be enough to last till he gits back,” she said. “Now, I got to git back to work. Jes’ bring him on back when y’all git ready.” She hurried back down the pathway.
Mandie turned to look at Jasper, and she saw that he had been listening. “Come on, Jasper, we’re going to visit some other people,” she told him as she reached to take his hand. He quickly pulled his hand away and drew back from her. “Jasper, don’t you want to ride in this rig and talk to these other children?”
The boy stood still and looked from Mandie to the rig and then at Joe. He suddenly ran to Joe’s side. “I’ll ride with him,” he said, frowning at Mandie.
“All right,” Joe said. “You can sit on the front seat with me and Mandie.” He lifted the boy and set him down inside. Mandie got in from the other side.
The Mandie Collection Page 27