New Horizons

by Lois Gladys Leppard

  “My staff and I have made a thorough examination of both patients,” he said. “Mr. Ryland has come to and seems to be suffering from a broken arm, plus some cuts and bruises. At his age he is really lucky to have survived that fall from the carriage.” He paused and cleared his throat. “Now, the young lady, Miss Shaw, is still unconscious and must be left here under observation.”

  “Oh no,” Celia said in a shaky voice. “What is wrong with her, doctor?”

  “She suffered a terrible blow on the head,” Dr. Zeager replied. “But she is resting right now after the medication we gave her.”

  “I need to let her mother know,” Celia said.

  “Yes, you should definitely let her family know where she is,” the doctor said. “Now, you girls are from the college, is this correct?”

  “Yes, sir,” Mary Lou said. “I’m Mary Lou Dunnigan. Celia Hamilton and Mandie live at my house. Grace Wilson here lives in the dormitory.”

  “Then why don’t you young ladies go home and see what you can do about contacting Miss Shaw’s relatives, and I will know where to find you if I need you.” He started to go back through the door.

  “What about Mr. Ryland?” Mary Lou asked. “Do we need to contact his family?”

  “No, he has given us his information, so we will do that,” the doctor replied.

  “Thank you, Dr. Zeager,” Celia said, rising and holding the blanket about her.

  Mr. Donovan had waited outside with his carriage and the girls went out to give the news. He immediately offered to drive them anywhere they needed to go.

  Since Celia badly needed to change her clothes, they all went to the Dunnigans’ house. There they explained to the Dunnigans what had happened.

  “I will help you contact Mandie’s family,” Mr. Dunnigan offered.

  Celia explained about the lack of phones.

  “We can still contact them through our law enforcement,” Mr. Dunnigan said. “I’ll go down and talk with them while you girls get cleaned up.”

  “Would you please leave Mandie’s grandmother to the last to contact?” Celia asked Mr. Dunnigan in a shaky voice. “I know Mandie would rather have her stepfather, or even my mother, come if possible.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Mr. Dunnigan promised her as he left.

  The girls went upstairs to clean up.

  “Grace, why don’t you just spend the night here with us?” Mary Lou asked.

  “But I’m all dirty,” Grace said, looking down at her dress.

  “We look to be close to the same size. I think you could put on one of my dresses and it would fit well enough,” Mary Lou said.

  “All right then, but I do have a class first thing in the morning,” Grace reminded her.

  “Mr. Donovan said he would return tomorrow morning to see if he could take us anywhere,” Celia reminded them, “so he can drive you back to school, Grace. I’m not going anywhere until I know how Mandie is going to be.”

  “Neither am I,” Mary Lou added. “I want to be sure she’s all right.”

  “I have to go in for that one class, but then I can come back,” Grace said.

  “Yes, please do,” Mary Lou replied.

  “I’ll get some clothes, too,” Grace said. “And I also want to talk to the people at the college and let them know what happened. I intend to follow through with this. Those girls were shouting lies about Mandie.”

  “Well, I hope they get some strong punishment,” Celia said, her voice full of anger.

  The three girls didn’t sleep much that night. They talked awhile and then dozed, woke, and talked more. Celia gave them the verse she and Mandie always recited when in trouble or danger.

  “Hold hands and say this: ‘What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee,’ ” she explained.

  The other girls joined in with her, and they finally drifted off to sleep just hours before sunrise.

  chapter 15

  Everyone was up early the next morning, after a night of restlessness. Mr. Donovan came by to take Grace back to the college, and then he returned to the Dunnigans’ to be available if anyone else needed his carriage.

  Mrs. Dunnigan invited him in for coffee, and as everyone sat around the table, Mr. Donovan told them that he had gone down to the carriage factory early that morning to check on the girls’ carriage, as that is where it was taken after the accident. “It was completely destroyed,” Mr. Donovan had to tell them.

  “I talked to the law enforcement officer last night, and they promised to contact Mandie’s family. I gave them some names and addresses, so I imagine we’ll be hearing from someone soon,” Mr. Dunnigan said.

  “I need to go to the hospital and see about Mandie,” Celia said in a shaky voice.

  “They won’t let you in, so you might as well wait here,” Mary Lou reminded her. “I imagine Grace will find out something before she comes back here. And I imagine she will be making herself heard in that college today.”

  “In a way I hope Mrs. Taft will be the one contacted,” Celia said. “She will really straighten out a few things if she shows up down here.”

  Finally there was a knock at the front door. The local law enforcement officer had come with news, so the Dunnigans invited him in for a cup of coffee.

  “We were rather lucky,” he said. “We sent a message in Morse code to the train depot in Franklin, North Carolina, and asked that they send it on to Mr. John Shaw, Miss Amanda Shaw’s uncle. A reply came back that Mr. Shaw and his old Indian friend are on a hunting trip only a few miles from here. We sent a man out this morning in an effort to locate them. They will be told that there has been an accident and they should contact you immediately,” the officer told Mr. Dunnigan.

  “Oh, thank the Lord,” Celia said under her breath. “I just know that Mr. Shaw will be here as soon as he gets the message.”

  “Is there anything else we can do?” the officer asked.

  Mr. Dunnigan lowered his voice and tried to speak confidentially to the man. “I’m not sure what will happen at the college because of this accident. If it’s left up to Mandie’s grandmother, I’d say quite a bit will happen. That granddaughter is the apple of her eye.”

  “Of course we will enforce the law. We will do whatever is required of us,” the officer said.

  “Yes, I would insist that you do so,” Mr. Dunnigan agreed.

  Suddenly there was a pounding on the front door. Everyone jumped up as Mr. Dunnigan hurried to open it. Celia was right behind him.

  As the door swung open, John Shaw and Uncle Ned appeared.

  “What has happened?” John Shaw demanded.

  “Come in, come in.” Mr. Dunnigan motioned for the two men to enter, then closed the door behind them.

  Everyone was quickly introduced while John Shaw and Uncle Ned looked around the room. “Where is Amanda?” John Shaw demanded.

  “She’s in the hospital,” Mr. Dunnigan replied. “Please have seats for one minute while I explain.”

  As fast as he could speak, Mr. Dunnigan told them the story about what had happened yesterday morning.

  John Shaw and Uncle Ned quickly stood and said, “Where is this hospital located?”

  Mr. Donovan spoke as he reached for his hat from the hall tree. “Come with me. I will take you,” he told the two men.

  “Please let me go, too,” Celia said.

  “No, you stay here, Celia, because Mrs. Taft is on her way here right now,” John Shaw said. “We will return shortly and let you know how things are.” Without waiting for a reply, John Shaw quickly followed Mr. Donovan and Uncle Ned out the front door.

  Everyone returned to the table to finish their coffee after the men left.

  It wasn’t long before Grace returned from the college, and Mary Lou insisted that they bring her up-to-date on their news before Grace could tell them what had happened at the college. “I’m so glad Mrs. Taft is coming,” Grace said. “We may need her to straighten out that college. I talked to several officers, and no one seemed interested in doi
ng anything about what happened. All those girls were in chapel this morning, but I didn’t see the girl who was driving the motorcar—and the motorcar was nowhere to be seen. She must not be a student.”

  When Mr. Donovan brought John Shaw and Uncle Ned back from the hospital, Mrs. Taft was with them. She had come in on the train and gone straight to the hospital.

  “Oh, do come in, Mrs. Taft,” Mrs. Dunnigan greeted her at the door.

  Mrs. Taft didn’t answer but went straight to a vacant chair at the dining room table and sat down. She was clearly upset and at a loss for words. Mrs. Dunnigan silently put cups of fresh coffee in front of her and John Shaw and Uncle Ned. No one seemed to want to talk.

  Celia finally got the nerve to speak. “Mrs. Taft, how is Mandie? Please tell me the truth.” Her eyes clouded with tears.

  Mrs. Taft took a deep breath, drank a big swallow of the coffee, and finally replied with tears in her eyes. “Oh, Celia, she is still unconscious, and they can’t seem to get her back. I went over all the tests they have done and the only thing they found was a broken wrist—her left one.”

  “Oh no,” Celia moaned.

  “The doctors have set it, but I imagine it will be a while before she can use it to write. But that is the least of our concerns,” Mrs. Taft explained.

  “Have you been to the college, Mrs. Taft?” Grace asked.

  Mrs. Taft looked at her, evidently wondering who she was.

  “I’m sorry. I’m Grace Wilson and I am in some classes with Mandie,” Grace explained.

  Mrs. Taft’s face softened into recognition. “Oh, you are Grace Wilson. I have heard your name before. And to answer your question, no, I have not been to the college, but rest assured as soon as I can get my energy back I’ll be taking that place apart.”

  The three girls looked at each other and discreetly smiled.

  “Please tell me exactly what happened, Celia. You were with Mandie at the time of the accident, were you not?”

  “Yes, ma’am, I was,” Celia replied.

  But before she could continue, Mary Lou quickly interrupted. “And thanks to Celia, the horse and carriage was brought under control.”

  Mrs. Taft gave Celia a pleased smile, causing Celia to blush. “I only grabbed the reins when Mr. Ryland fell out,” she said, then continued, “Mrs. Taft, those girls who neglected to help after the accident are the same girls who have been so rude with Mandie and me. I don’t know who the girl was driving the motorcar—I had never seen her or the motorcar before. She had her motorcar taking up several parking spaces, and when Mandie told her to move, she rammed the motorcar into our carriage—and then the horse went wild. Mr. Ryland fell out when the carriage hit a rock wall and Mandie got knocked out in the carriage somehow when the horse went running wild.”

  “Then you managed to get the horse to stop,” Mrs. Taft concluded. “Did any of those girls at the college offer to help?”

  “No, ma’am,” she said, glancing at Mary Lou, who nodded for her to tell the whole story. “They started laughing and making fun of Mandie and you, saying Mandie caused it all by being so snooty and rich, as they called it.”

  “Mrs. Taft,” Mary Lou spoke up, “Grace and I were standing there waiting for Mandie to pick me up and we saw and heard everything. Those girls acted like heathens.”

  “I wonder why they are so hostile toward Mandie,” Mrs. Taft said.

  “They said terrible things about you, too,” Mary Lou reminded her. “Like you are so high and mighty and all that kind of stuff.”

  “Oh dear, where did they get that idea?” Mrs. Taft wondered aloud.

  John Shaw finally spoke. “Sounds like jealousy to me.”

  Mrs. Taft looked at him. “Jealousy?”

  “Yes, you see, since you are Mandie’s grandmother and you are so wealthy, she can have anything she wants,” he explained.

  “But I don’t give her everything she wants,” Mrs. Taft protested. “Only what I think she should have.”

  John Shaw grinned and said, “Which is more than she ever wants.”

  “Now, John, I want her to be happy and comfortable in life,” Mrs. Taft insisted.

  Uncle Ned had not said a word, but now he spoke. “Papoose give lots to Cherokee people. People love her. Why white people so mean?” He looked very sad.

  “Jealousy,” John Shaw repeated. “They can’t stand for her to have more than they do.”

  There was a rapid knock on the front door, and everyone came to attention. Mr. Dunnigan hurried to open it, and since the front door was visible from the dining room, they could see it was an employee from the hospital.

  “Good day, sir. Dr. Zeager sent me to tell you that Miss Amanda Shaw is awake and talking now.”

  Shouts of joy and thanks came from everyone in the dining room.

  “Come in,” Mr. Dunnigan told the man.

  “I’m sorry, sir, but I have to return to the hospital for other duties,” the man said. “Dr. Zeager wanted you to know that you may bring Miss Shaw home any time you get ready. Good day, sir.” The man quickly left.

  Mr. Dunnigan closed the front door and came back to the dining room to find John Shaw and Uncle Ned already standing. “If you would please take us over there, Mr. Donovan, we will bring her here,” Mr. Shaw requested.

  “Yes, sir,” Mr. Donovan agreed.

  By the time Mrs. Dunnigan put pillows and a coverlet on the sofa in the parlor, they were back. Mandie was insisting she could walk, but John Shaw insisted he carry her into the house and deposit her on the settee.

  Everyone was talking at once. Mandie had tears in her eyes and reached for her grandmother’s hand. “You came,” she said in a shaky voice.

  “Of course I came. After all, you were my only granddaughter for fifteen years. You are still my special one, dear, and will always be.”

  “And you are special, too, Grandmother,” Mandie answered. Glancing around the room she said, “Now, can somebody please tell me what happened? I wake up suddenly and find myself in a hospital with no one around that I even know!”

  “Do you not remember any of it?” Celia asked.

  Mandie shook her head, but as Mary Lou, Celia, and Grace repeated the events, Mandie began to remember them. “You stopped the horse from running away! Oh,” Mandie said to Celia, “you are over your fright of horses.”

  Celia grinned and said, “But I’d rather for it to have happened some other way.”

  “Will poor Mr. Ryland be all right?” Mandie asked.

  “Oh yes, I checked on him,” Grace answered. “The doctor said he was very lucky. I suppose he’ll be wanting you to get another carriage so he can go back to work, even with a broken arm.”

  Mandie glanced at her grandmother. “Mr. Ryland is a wonderful man, Grandmother,” she said. “Do you think we could get another carriage for him to use during the summer while we are home on vacation?”

  “Of course, dear, I’ll see about it tomorrow,” Mrs. Taft said. “I’ll also check and see if his family needs anything in the meantime while he isn’t working.” She straightened up in her chair and suddenly changed her tone of voice. “I will also be checking to see what can be done about those uncivilized girls at the college.”

  Mandie looked directly at Uncle Ned and said, “I thought we were supposed to do good for evil.”

  Uncle Ned smiled, nodded his head, and said, “Papoose learning to think first.”

  Mrs. Taft said firmly, “Amanda, we cannot let something like this happen and not do anything about it. If we let it go there may be more incidents, maybe more serious. I just want to discuss this matter with the college president.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Mandie meekly agreed. “But I believe the girls will get even worse if we report them.”

  “Well, if they do, I can guarantee they will be expelled,” Mrs. Taft said. She looked across the room at Mr. Donovan and asked, “Would it be possible for you to drive us to the carriage factory, Mr. Ryland’s home, and the college tomorrow?”

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p; “Of course, I am at your service, Mrs. Taft,” Mr. Donovan assured her. “Where shall I pick you up and when?”

  Mrs. Dunnigan immediately said, “Mrs. Taft, we insist you and Mr. Shaw and Uncle Ned stay here with us while you are in town. We have plenty of bedrooms.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Dunnigan, I accept your offer with many thanks,” Mrs. Taft replied.

  “So do I,” John Shaw said. Looking at Uncle Ned he asked, “You too?”

  Uncle Ned nodded and said, “Must stay a day or two to see if Papoose get in more trouble.” He smiled at Mandie.

  Mrs. Dunnigan had the girls help her get the rooms ready while Mr. Donovan went to the depot to get Mrs. Taft’s luggage, then to the law enforcement’s stables, where John Shaw and Uncle Ned had left their baggage with their horses.

  The next morning Mrs. Taft’s first stop was at the college. Mandie dreaded facing those girls who were so rude after the accident. Luckily, Mrs. Taft had timed their visit to see the president while everyone was in chapel.

  “Come along, Amanda,” Mrs. Taft said as she went straight to the door marked President. She tapped on the frosted glass pane, then opened the door. The name on the door was Miss Clara Trellain.

  Mandie had never seen the president of the school, and when she looked into the room, she saw a younger woman with golden light-brown hair. The woman smiled as she stood up when the ladies came into the room.

  “Welcome, Mrs. Taft,” the woman greeted her as she offered her hand. Then she looked at Mandie and said, “I’m so sorry I have not had the pleasure of meeting you, Miss Shaw. Since you have not been living in the dormitory, we don’t see much of you.”

  Mandie nodded her head.

  “Please sit down,” the woman said, indicating chairs and a small settee in the room.

  As soon as they were seated, Mrs. Taft started right into her complaint concerning the girls who had neglected to help after the accident. Mandie was irritated to notice that the woman smiled during the whole story. So she evidently thought it was nothing to worry about.

  When Mrs. Taft finished, she said, “I want something done about these girls immediately. I will not stand for this.”