which is near here. He hit me, and when I
came to I was in this cabin.”
Jack returned with Piker. “Okay, let’s go,”
he said, and grabbed Trainey by the front of
his shirt and pulled him to his feet. Nancy
managed to stand up on her own.
To distract Jack, she asked, “Were you the
one who pushed me off the platform and tried
to run me off the road?”
“Not guilty,” he replied. “That was Rich-
ard. He knocked out your boyfriend, too. Ned
walked in while Richard was stealing the tran-
quilizer.”
“You’re a real bunch of creeps,” Trainey
lashed out.
“Calm down, professor,” Jack told him. “I
gave you all plenty of warnings. I even put a
note on Nancy’s windshield. Why didn’t you
pay attention? It’s all your own fault. Okay,
Piker, grab that roll of tape and a flashlight.”
“Where are you taking us?” Nancy asked as
Jack shoved her and Trainey toward the door.
“I want to show you one of Yellowstone’s
natural wonders,” he replied blandly, taking
the pistol from his belt.
He and Piker forced them to march up the
hill behind the cabin while Richard walked off
toward the truck. The fog had thickened. Even
with the flashlight, it was impossible to see
more than a few yards ahead.
They reached the crest of the hill and started
down. At the foot of it. Nancy stopped abrupt-
ly. Just ahead was a large crack in the earth, a
dark, ominous ribbon snaking its way across
the ground.
“What’s that?” Nancy asked Trainey, trying
to hide the fright she felt.
“It looks like a runoff fissure,” Trainey said.
“Every geyser has one. It’s the path the heated
water takes after being shot into the air. It
comes down the side of the geyser cone, col-
lects, and runs along the fissure to under-
ground pools.”
“Exactly, Professor,” Jack said.
While Jack held the gun. Piker taped
Nancy’s ankles together, then picked her up
and wedged her down into the fissure. Trainey
was lowered next to her.
“Come on. Piker,” Jack said. “We’ve got to
finish loading the truck. Let’s get out of here.”
“Wait,” Nancy cried, but there was no
response. “Professor Trainey?” she asked.
“What’s going to happen?”
Trainey’s voice was grave. “If I have my
bearings right, the water from Princess Geyser
takes this path down the hill.” He stared at
Nancy. “It erupts every two hours or so.”
“You mean this fissure could fill up with
boiling water soon?”
Trainey closed his eyes. “That’s right.”
A sudden hissing noise broke the silence.
Nancy gasped. It was the geyser! Any minute
they’d be scalded to death!
Chapter Fifteen
Nancy shut her eyes and concentrated on
rubbing the ropes on her wrist against a rough
place on the fissure wall. Was it her imagina-
tion or could she feel one of them give just a
bit?
Besides her, Trainey groaned.
She twisted her right arm, trying to get
added leverage against the rope. She was sure
that her skin was raw by now.
The hissing grew louder. Nancy saw the
glitter of reflected moonlight on rushing water
below where she was wedged. Damp steam
rose and enveloped her. With a desperate
yank, she managed to pull one hand out of the
looped rope, then free the other. She let the
rope fall.
“Listen, Professor, I’ve got my hands free.
I’m going to try to climb out, then pull you to
safety.”
“Good luck,” Trainey said.
Nancy noticed the rotten egg smell of sul-
phur. Her eyes were stinging. Cautiously, she
brought her arms around in front of her and
pressed her palms against the opposite wall of
the fissure, then moved her knees up a couple
of inches.
“We’re running out of time,” Trainey
gasped. “The water is rising too quickly.”
“I know.” Nancy patiently worked her
knees and hands upward. Her arm and leg
muscles threatened to cramp, but at last one
hand touched the top of the fissure. She
grabbed hold, then quickly twisted, swinging
her other hand to the other lip, just above
where her head had been. Before her lower
body could slide down into the crevice, she