Ned laughed. “Sounds like it’s getting to be a habit.”
Ned disposed of the snake under a large pile of rocks while the others got up and began to break camp. They shared the last of the dried fruit and beef jerky for breakfast and then made their way to a huckleberry patch that Mike had found near the spring the night before. They were careful to make lots of noise to ward off any bear that might be breakfasting there. Then they washed off the berry juice, filled their canteens at the spring, and gathered back at the campsite.
They were a ragtag bunch, Nancy thought, surveying the group. Linda’s ankle was so badly swollen she could barely hobble, even with the help of Ned’s crutch. Sammy’s arms were breaking out with long, red streaks of something that looked like poison ivy, and she was scratching ferociously. Mercedes was withdrawn and uncommunicative, and Mike and Tod seemed to have quarreled again about the direction they should be taking.
“How far away is the ranger station?” Sammy asked. “How long will it take us to get there?”
Tod shrugged. “I’d guess we walked two or three miles yesterday, after we found the trail. If Paula estimated right, we’ve got maybe five or six miles to go.”
“If we’re going in the right direction,” Mike said sullenly.
“There’s no point in going through all of that again,” Ned said sharply. “We agreed that we would go in this direction. Let’s give ourselves a break and stop quarreling.”
They set out, with Tod and Mike in front, followed by George and Bess, Mercedes, Sammy, Ralph and Linda, and Ned and Nancy. The trail was even more difficult than it had been the night before, a switchback that zigzagged up a mountain, through dense woods. The underbrush hung over the faint path like a thick green canopy, shutting out most of the sun, and even in the daylight the shadows seemed ominous. The day before, Nancy had developed a blister on her right heel, and it was rapidly getting worse, making walking even more difficult.
“Did you get a chance to talk to Mercedes last night?” Ned asked Nancy, helping her over a fallen log.
“Well, I tried,” Nancy said with a sigh. She bent over to adjust her tennis shoe, trying to relieve the pressure on her blister. “I didn’t get anywhere. She really clammed up. But she did say something interesting. When I asked her about Paula’s family, she said she didn’t want to drag up the past.”
Ned looked at her. “So she does know something.”
“Right. But whatever it is, she’s not going to tell me.”
“Do you suppose she’d tell me?”
“I don’t know. It’s worth a try.”
“I might be able to catch her off guard.” He grinned. “Or I might be able to use some of that charm that Sammy seemed to enjoy.” He ducked the playful punch Nancy threw at him.
“Listen, Ned,” Nancy said, “all joking aside, I think it’s a good idea. Why don’t you try to catch up to her now and see what you can find out?”
“Okay, I will.” Ned put his hand on Nancy’s shoulder. “But you’ve got to promise to catch up with Ralph and Linda and not hang around at the back of the group.”
“I promise,” Nancy said as Ned began to jog ahead. When he reached the curve in the path, he turned and waved, and Nancy waved back.
She wasn’t worried—Ralph and Linda were somewhere ahead, within calling distance. But her blister was really beginning to hurt her. Nancy sat down on a rock and unlaced her shoe. Maybe the blister was getting infected. Sure enough, her whole heel was red and inflamed. She would have to try to catch up to Mike, who was carrying the first-aid kit, and see if he had a bandage.
Nancy was lacing her shoe up when she felt that prickle between her shoulder blades—the prickle that always meant she was being watched. She turned around. No one was in sight—but had she heard a rustling in the dense leaves? She got up and began to hurry down the trail, suddenly feeling very vulnerable and wishing that she hadn’t let the others get so far ahead.