Leppard, Lois Gladys - [Mandie 02] by Mandie, the Cherokee Legend (v1.0) [html]

well forget it,” he told the Indian boy. “I can’t go to sleep in there.”
    “I can’t sleep either,” Dimar said.
    “How about if you stay in the front here and I’ll stay at the back?” Joe asked.
    “All right. Sounds good to me.” Dimar was too tired to argue.
    Joe walked around to the back and stretched out in the grass. He had been lying there for what seemed like hours to him, when he heard the soft snap of a twig. He didn’t move, but his ears perked up to listen. The night was so dark it was impossible to see very far. Then he heard another pop in the underbrush behind the barn. Now he was certain someone was there. He waited, his heart pounding furiously. Whoever it was, he must be out of sight lying in the tall grass.
    Quietly turning on his side with his eyes trained on the brush in front of him, Joe finally distinguished the figure of a man. He took one step forward, pausing to listen, took another, then paused again. Joe waited until he was almost within reach, then bolted upright.
    He could hardly believe his eyes, “Tsa’ni! You liar! You’re supposed to be in bed!”
    Tsa’ni stared in surprise at the sudden outburst. As he turned to run, Dimar, having heard the commotion, joined the chase. He was as surprised as Joe to see Tsa’ni.
    “Tsa’ni! You are a disgrace to our people!” Dimar shouted at the fleeing Indian, who, knowing the area so well, was soon far from the reach of his pursuers.
    The two boys finally gave up the chase. “Looks like we lost him,” Joe said, exhausted and gasping for air.
    “Yes, but now we know who started the fire, don’t you think, Joe?” Dimar replied, wiping the perspiration from his forehead.
    “Shall we wake up his mother and Uncle Wirt and tell them?” Joe asked. “We must be somewhere near his house. I’m sure he’s the culprit all right.”
    “No, I think it best we wait until daylight. We can keep watch until morning, and then we’ll tell Uncle Ned,” the Indian boy said.
    “Yeh, Uncle Ned will know what to do,” Joe agreed, as they returned to the barn.
    In spite of their good intentions, they both fell fast asleep and didn’t awaken until daybreak, when they heard Morning Star open the door of the cabin.
    They waited until everyone was gathered around the table, and then relayed the excitement of the night before.
    “Uncle Ned, we think we know who set fire to your barn,” Joe told the old man.
    Every head turned in his direction. Just then, Uncle Wirt came in through the open door, unnoticed.
    “Who?” Uncle Ned asked.
    “Tsa’ni,” Joe replied.
    Uncle Wirt stopped in his tracks, his presence still undetected.
    “
Tsa’ni?
” Uncle Ned repeated, shaking his head. There were a few seconds of shocked silence; then the questions began.
    “How do you know, Joe?” Uncle John asked.
    “We caught him prowling around the barn last night, only he escaped,” Joe said.
    “Joe caught him by surprise. We know it was Tsa’ni. We chased him a long time,” Dimar added.
    Uncle Wirt stepped forward to the table and everyone noticed him for the first time.
    “Tsa’ni?” Uncle Wirt asked incredulously.
    “Yes, Uncle Wirt,” Joe replied.
    “Tsa’ni—gone last night,” Uncle Wirt nodded.
    “I’m sorry, Uncle Wirt. I know he’s your grandson,” Uncle John sympathized.
    “No. Tsa’ni bad Indian,” Uncle Wirt affirmed. “He make lies.”
    “We chased him all through the woods, but he didn’t go home,” Joe said.
    “But, we didn’t actually
see
him set fire to the barn,” Mandie spoke up. “We couldn’t say for sure that he was the one who did it unless we actually saw him, right?”
    “You are absolutely right, my dear,” Uncle John agreed. “We are jumping to conclusions. Just because Joe and Dimar saw him near the barn last night doesn’t mean he was the one who started the fire.”
    “But what other reason would he have for lying about not being able to walk and then showing up at Uncle Ned’s barn the