“Wait!” a rough voice commanded.
Nancy stopped, then turned, her heart in her mouth. There, lurching clumsily toward her through the thick underbrush, was Max! His shirt was ripped in several places, he wore a two-day stubble of beard, and there was an inch-long gash just above his right eye. He carried a heavy tree branch like a club, and his eyes were wild and staring.
Nancy started to run. She had to get away! Max was crazy. He would kill her!
“Don’t run!” he shouted, stumbling after her. “I have to talk—”
At that moment, Nancy tripped over a tree root and went sprawling. She struggled back to her feet just as Max reached her.
“You can’t get away,” he said, panting. “I won’t let you!” He swung the club around. That was the last thing Nancy saw before the world went black.
Chapter Fifteen
For a minute Nancy thought the loud chirping in her ears was a noisy bird perched on a branch just over her head. But she soon realized that the sound was coming from inside her head. The side of her head hurt, and she tried to raise her hand to explore the ache with her fingers. But her hands were fastened tightly behind her back!
Without moving a muscle, Nancy opened her eyes cautiously, just enough to see. She was on her side in a clearing. Her back was resting against a granite boulder, and her cheek was pressed against a pillow of pale green moss. The ground was thickly carpeted with pine needles, but whatever Max had used to tie her with was cutting into the circulation at her wrists, and her fingers felt numb.
Max was crouched on the ground five or six feet away, whittling a spearlike point on a long straight stick and coughing intermittently. Nancy closed her eyes and tried to formulate some sort of logical plan of action through the painful throbbing in her head.
She didn’t hear any voices. That could either mean the others hadn’t yet discovered she was missing or that Max had dragged her so far off the trail that she wasn’t able to hear them.
Using her numb fingers, she explored the binding around her wrists. It didn’t feel very strong or heavy. Perhaps she could saw through it with a piece of jagged rock. She felt along the boulder at her back. Yes, there was a sharp, protruding seam, where the rock had weathered and split.
Very carefully, she began to push the rope up and down against the seam of the rock, trying not to move her shoulders. She peered surreptitiously through her lashes. Max had raised his head and was listening intently, as if he heard something in the distance. There was a look of fear on his face.
Nancy felt a surge of hope. Maybe Ned and the others were looking for her.
Max got painfully to his feet and picked up his club. When he moved away, out of the line of Nancy’s vision, she heard the sound of his footsteps scuffling through the dry leaves and began sawing at the rope frantically.
When her hands came free, Nancy didn’t move. Surprise was her only weapon. She had to get Max to come near enough to her so that she could catch him with one unexpected karate blow. But where was he?
In a few minutes, Max returned and leaned over to pick up his crude spear.
“O-oh,” Nancy moaned, stirring a little. She could hear Max move toward her. “Nancy?” he said. She moaned again, more faintly this time.
“Nancy?” He bent over her and touched her shoulder. “Are you okay?” he asked in a worried voice. “I didn’t mean to hit you so hard, really. I just wanted to talk . . .”
Suddenly Nancy opened her eyes and leaped up. Taken by surprise, Max stumbled back, off balance, his mouth open. Nancy jumped at him, aiming a quick, hard blow to his solar plexus, and Max fell with a loud “Oomph!” He hit his head against a rock and went limp.
Nancy spun away and began to race through the woods. Her head still hurt, and she felt slightly dizzy and disoriented.