The Mandie Collection Volume Five

2011·1.18 MB·english

by  Leppard

The Mandie Collection: Volume Five
Copyright © 1993, 1994 Lois Gladys Leppard
MANDIE® and SNOWBALL® are registered trademarks of Lois Gladys Leppard
Cover illustration by Chris Wold Dyrud
Cover design by Dan Pitts
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Ebook edition created 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without
the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed
reviews.
ISBN 978-1-4412-6016-1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress,
Washington, DC.

Especially for
that dear little girl,
Margaret Mason Tate,
with love from “Gramma Lois.”
CONTENTS
MANDIE AND THE FIERY RESCUE
Chapter    1  Leprechauns?
Chapter    2  Molly
Chapter    3  Sightseeing Surprise
Chapter    4  Revealing Information
Chapter    5  Number Nine, Murphy Lane
Chapter    6  What’s Molly Up To?
Chapter    7  To Catch a Leprechaun
Chapter    8  Uncle Ned Helps Hunt
Chapter    9  All Over Belfast
Chapter  10  Fire!
Chapter  11  Decisions Are Made
Chapter  12  Homeward Bound
“Blessed is he that considereth the poor;
the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.”
(Psalm 41:1)
CHAPTER ONE
LEPRECHAUNS?
As the boat neared the coast of Ireland, Mandie and her friends stood on
deck and squinted through the mist for a first look at the country. The wind
was blowing so hard they had to hold on to the railing to keep their balance.
The icy chill stung their anxious faces.
“Whew!” Mandie exclaimed above the roar of the wind. She held on to
her bonnet with one hand. “It feels like ice-cold wintertime and it’s
supposed to be summer!”
Jonathan Guyer spoke loudly, “For some reason it’s always cold on the
water here, and the wind is always blowing. And because it’s cloudy it
makes it even colder.”
“I sure hope it doesn’t rain,” Celia remarked. Her auburn curls whipped
around her face as she secured her bonnet with one hand.
“I can see Ireland now!” Mandie cried out, pointing shoreward as she
jumped up and down. “And it’s all green just like Grandmother said it
would be.”
“Even the leprechauns are green,” Jonathan added with a mischievous
grin.
“Leprechauns?” Mandie questioned. “There are no such things as
leprechauns—are there?” She looked at him, uncertain whether or not to
believe what he said.
“Sure. Just ask the people in Ireland. They’ll tell you all about them,”
Jonathan replied.
“Do you mean to say the people in Ireland really believe in such things?”
Celia asked as the wind whistled around them.
“Of course they do,” Jonathan assured her with a solemn face. “And
whatever you do, don’t ever let an Irishman know you doubt the existence
of these little people; that is, if you want to stay on speaking terms with
him.”
The two girls stared at Jonathan to see if he was serious. He didn’t smile,
returning their gaze evenly.
Mandie turned back to the railing. As the harbor came into view, her only
interest was in landing and exploring the country.
Mrs. Taft, Mandie’s grandmother, had brought Mandie and her friend,
Celia Hamilton, to Europe during their school vacation. Senator Morton, a
family friend, accompanied them. They met up with Jonathan Guyer on the
voyage. So far, they had visited England, France, Italy, Switzerland,
Germany, Belgium, and Holland. It was 1901, and travel was slow, but the
thirteen-year-old girls were enjoying every minute of it.
The boat touched the moorings and bounced, throwing the young people
back a few paces. Mandie leaned forward over the railing to look below.
Workers scurried about the dock. Carriages lined up in the distance, waiting
for passengers to disembark. Suddenly out of the noise and bustle, Mandie
spotted a small band dressed in green uniforms. They began playing Irish
ballads to welcome the visitors.
“Look!” Mandie exclaimed to her friends. “A band!”
“And they’re all dressed in green. The Irish do love that color,” Jonathan
said with a smile.
“Green is the color of everything growing. It’s what makes the earth so
bright and beautiful,” Mandie replied, watching the musicians.
Celia tugged on her friend’s sleeve. “Mandie, your grandmother said to
go back inside and get Snowball when we docked, remember?”
“Oh, yes, I’ll be right back.” Mandie turned to weave her way through
the crowd now gathered on deck.
“We might get separated,” Jonathan told her. “We’ll go with you.” He
reached for Celia’s hand to pull her along with him as he hurried after
Mandie.
The three found Mrs. Taft and Senator Morton just inside the door. While
the senator stood surrounded by their bags, Mrs. Taft was trying to hold on
to Mandie’s white cat at the end of a red leash.
“I’ll take him now, Grandmother,” Mandie said, quickly stooping to
scoop up Snowball.
“And I’ll take some of the bags, Senator Morton,” Jonathan said. He
grabbed two large ones, even though he was only slightly older than the
girls and not very tall for his age.
“You girls can carry your small bags,” Mrs. Taft directed. “Our trunks
will have already been moved ashore.”
The girls picked up their handbags, and Senator Morton carried the larger
ones that remained. The passengers were rapidly leaving the boat, propelled
down the gangplank by the rush.
Mandie, short for her age, stood on tiptoe to peer around the wharf. The
crowd was too dense for Mandie to see anything. Senator Morton led them
to a waiting carriage and engaged the vehicle to carry them to their hotel.
The driver immediately jumped down and held the door open. Mrs. Taft and
the girls stepped inside and watched as Senator Morton and Jonathan helped
load their baggage.
Mandie and Celia eagerly gazed out the window while the vehicle moved
ahead. Mandie became excited as they entered the business section of
Belfast. Small, colorfully decorated shops lined the narrow streets.
Everyone seemed to be wearing something green.
“Oh, I love it, I love it!” Mandie exclaimed as she twisted in her seat to
hold on to Snowball and view the town. “I’m really in Ireland!”
Jonathan leaned across Celia, who was sitting in the middle. “I’m sure
you’ll love the leprechauns, too, Mandie. Watch for them. Sooner or later
you’ll see one.”
Mandie turned to him and said with a frown, “Jonathan, please stop
teasing us.”
“I’m not teasing,” Jonathan insisted with his mischievous grin. “If you’re
looking for them, you’ll see them.”
“Just because you’ve lived and gone to school in Europe doesn’t mean
you know everything there is to know about it,” Mandie said to him in a
huff. She turned again to look out the window.
Mrs. Taft and Senator Morton were engaged in their own conversation
and were not aware of the remarks between the young people. Mandie
ignored Jonathan until he finally stopped speaking of leprechauns. Celia,
always the peacemaker, tried to change the subject.
“I wonder what mystery we’ll come across here in Ireland? Every place
we go we seem to get involved in some adventure,” Celia said with a little
laugh.
Jonathan and Mandie spoke at once. “Oh, there’s sure to be something
mysterious about Ireland,” Mandie said as she heard Jonathan saying, “You