The Mandie Collection : Volume 8 by Lois Gladys Leppard

Author:Lois Gladys Leppard
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781441260192
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Published: 2011-05-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

WHERE IS MR. SMITH?

After the stranger went on his way, Uncle Ned decided it was time for Mandie and Joe to return to the Woodards’. The sun was setting behind the mountain and darkness would soon come.

“Time you go home,” Uncle Ned told Joe as they stood on the top of the mountain. “I take you back to get cart, then I go with Dimar to look more for wagons.”

“I wish we could stay longer,” Joe replied. “But I know my mother will be awfully put out if we don’t get back in time for supper.”

“Maybe we could meet up with y’all tomorrow and help look some more,” Mandie said. Turning to Sallie, she asked, “Will you be at the school tomorrow?”

“No, I do not go tomorrow,” Sallie said.

“I just thought about something,” Joe told Uncle Ned. “Remember that Mr. O’Neal said he might meet up with us at the river. I wonder if he went and waited there?”

“Me and Dimar, we go see,” Uncle Ned told him. “We take Sallie home first.” He looked at Dimar and asked, “How you come to mountain?”

“My horse is tied up down by Red Bird’s house, where you left your wagon,” Dimar explained. “That’s how I found you. Red Bird told me you came up this way.”

“So Red Bird did see us,” Mandie said, smiling at Uncle Ned.

“Yes, he always see,” the old man agreed.

“Can we help look again tomorrow, Uncle Ned?” Mandie asked.

Uncle Ned nodded and said, “Meet at schoolhouse early. My house too far. I bring Sallie. Dimar come, too.”

Everyone agreed, and they all went to Dimar’s house to get Joe’s cart. There they said good-bye, and Joe and Mandie headed for the Woodards’ house.

“Do you think we’d have time to go by and see if Mr. Jacob Smith is home?” Mandie asked as they traveled down the road. Snowball was asleep in her lap.

“Sure, we can stop by for a minute,” Joe agreed, loosely holding the reins as the horse pulled the cart.

They soon approached Mandie’s father’s house, where Mr. Smith lived, and Mandie said in disappointment, “I don’t see any smoke coming out of the chimney. I’m afraid he’s not home.” She felt really frustrated. Where was Mr. Jacob Smith? Were they never going to catch him at home?

Joe turned the cart down the lane to the house. “Let’s look in the barn first to see if his horse is there,” he said, halting the cart by the barn and jumping down.

Mandie held tightly to Snowball, who was awake now, stepped down, and followed Joe to the barn door. “No horse! Oh shucks!” The barn was empty.

“I don’t understand why we can’t catch up with him,” Joe said, shaking his head as he turned to look at the house.

“Maybe he had some urgent business of some kind and had to go somewhere,” Mandie suggested as she, too, gazed at the house. “I think we ought to go knock on the door just in case he is in the house and the horse is gone for some reason.

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