Leppard, Lois Gladys - [Mandie 03] by Mandie, the Ghost Bandits (v1.0) [html] Page A

the Indians were ready to leave. Then she waved good-bye as Polly rode off with Morning Star, Liza, and the two braves. She stared after them for a long time, relieved to see Polly go. She knew she was jealous and shouldn’t be happy over her friend’s misfortune, but she kept telling herself it was better this way. After all, Polly had her own accident. Mandie had nothing to do with it.
    Some time later, loaded with food and good wishes from the Woodards, the group, led by Uncle Wirt and Uncle John, once again continued their journey. Joe stayed close to Mandie, with Snowball on her shoulder, and Sallie and Dimar rode right behind them. Tsa’ni brought up the rear as usual.
There is something wrong with that boy
, Mandie thought.
He always stays far behind the rest of us. He doesn’t talk much and what he does say is argumentative. Why did he even come along?
    Uncle Wirt took a shortcut he knew—up mountainsides, down inclines, across rivers, and through thick underbrush. Mandie began to wonder if they’d ever get there. Suddenly an Indian on horseback appeared out of nowhere and waited on the trail ahead of them.
    Mandie squinted in the bright sunshine. Instantly, a big smile spread across her face. Digging her heels into the sides of her pony, she raced around the men ahead of her. She ignored their yells to slow down. Nothing could stop her. Catching up with the Indian rider, she gotclose enough to grab one of his wrinkled old hands.
    “Uncle Ned! Uncle Ned!” she cried. “What are you doing out here? We left you in bed.”
    The old man smiled at her and said, “Gold bad luck. Come see gold not make bad luck for Jim Shaw’s Papoose. I promise him.”
    Just then Sallie rode up, looking very concerned. The other men and boys gathered around too, demanding to know why the old Indian had left his sickbed and come riding through the mountains like this.
    “No more sick,” Uncle Ned insisted. “Go find bad men.” He patted his bow and arrows slung over his shoulder, and slipped down from his horse. “But now, time to eat,” he said, finding a place to sit by the cool, tinkling stream.
    Mandie sat down by him with her food, while Snowball curled up in the grass at her feet. “I’ve been thinking about what you told me, Uncle Ned—about tithing,” Mandie told him. “God must be giving us blessings in advance. So much has happened. Tsa’ni was not killed when he fell off the railroad tracks. And you didn’t die when the baggage car crashed. We have a lot to be thankful for already. Can there possibly be more?”
    “Big God love Papoose,” the old man said. “She ask. He answer.”
    “Yes, I’m thankful for all the prayers He has answered,” Mandie said. “And I pray that this chase will soon be over. We have to get the gold back so we can make our tithe.”
    Mandie sat staring at the clear, sparkling stream as Joe came up to join them. “Did Polly get home all right, Uncle Ned?” he asked.
    “Yes, foot big,” the old Indian answered, holding uphis hands to illustrate. “Sore.”
    “I imagine it had swelled pretty badly by the time she got home,” said Joe. “Too bad she got hurt and couldn’t go the rest of the way with us.”
    Mandie fought the jealousy that rose inside of her. “I don’t think Polly should have come in the first place,” she said. “She’s not used to this kind of life. She has been brought up in town as a lady. She can’t take the rough ordeals we get into sometimes.”
    “Oh, give her a chance,” Joe argued. “She has to learn.”
    “Well, this was too long a trip for her to learn on. Let her learn something somewhere else,” Mandie retorted.
    “Mandie!” Joe exclaimed. “You ought to be ashamed of yourself talking about your friend like that.”
    “She’s no friend of mine!” Mandie shot back.
    “Mandie!” scolded Joe.
    Uncle Ned smiled, looked at the two of them, and said, “Papoose got jealous streak for Joe.”
    Mandie’s face turned red as Joe