hoisted herself up. For a minute her feet
dangled dangerously near the bubbling water
at the bottom of the fissure.
Then she thrust herself onto the edge and
rolled away. She took a deep breath, tore the
tape off her ankles, then leaned over to unbind
Trainey’s hands and feet.
The professor was panting by the time she’d
talked him through the maneuvers that al-
lowed him to climb out of the fissure.
“We got out just in time,” Trainey said, once
he’d caught his breath. He looked back at the
crevice. The boiling current was halfway up
the walls now. “Thanks to you. Nancy.”
“We can talk later,” Nancy said. “Right
now, we’ve got to stop that shipment from
going out.”
Nancy raced up the hill with Trainey behind
her. Reaching the crest, she abruptly skidded
to a stop. “Can you make it back to the
campsite?” she asked.
Trainey nodded.
“Good!” Nancy said. “Go get help. Martin
Robbins or his men have to be around here
somewhere.”
“What about you?” Trainey asked.
“I’m going back to the cabin.”
As the professor veered off in the direction
of the campsite. Nancy crept down the hill
toward the dark shape of the cabin.
She dashed to one side of it and crouched
against the wall. Cautiously, she poked her
head out. Richard and Piker were on the trail
in front of the cabin, heading downhill toward
the road. Both carried cages of marmots.
Where was Jack?
Her pulse leapt as she heard footsteps be-
hind her. Someone was coming! Nancy stood
up and turned to find herself staring into Ned’s
eyes.
He threw his arms around her. “Nancy!” he
whispered. “Are you all right?”
“I am now,” she replied, returning his hug.
“How did you find me?”
“I was in the woods and ran into the profes-
sor,” Ned explained.
“We’ve got to stop that shipment from leav-
ing,” Nancy said urgently. She risked a quick
peek in the window. Her heart sank. Only a
few cages were still inside. There was no time
to wait for reinforcements-they’d have to act
alone. “Follow me to the truck,” she whis-
pered to Ned.
They crept quietly around the far side of it.
“Now we wait,” she told Ned.
In a few moments Richard and Piker came
down the hill. “I’m glad that’s over,” Piker
said.
The two men climbed into the back of the
truck. Nancy and Ned raced up, slammed the
doors shut, and pulled the metal latch into
place. Richard and Piker began to shout and
pound on the door, but there was nothing they
could do. They were trapped.
Drawn by the noise. Jack came running
down the path.
From the shadows at the edge of the trail,
Ned launched himself toward Jack in a flying
tackle. Taken by surprise. Jack crashed to the
ground but recovered quickly and hit Ned in
the face with his elbow. Ned recoiled, and
Nancy saw Jack’s fingers grope at his belt for
his revolver. He was lifting it when Nancy
raced over and aimed a karate kick at his wrist.
Jack screamed and fell back.
“I’ll hold him,” Ned said breathlessly.
“Find some rope or something.”
Once Jack was tied up, Ned shoved him into
the cab of the truck, then walked ahead, giving
hand signals, while Nancy maneuvered the
truck down the trail to the road.
As they drove up to the campsite, the truck’s
headlights lit up a crowd gathered near the
firepit. Nancy recognized Bess, Trainey, Ali-
cia, Jennifer, Martin Robbins, and, to her
surprise, Edith and Gerald Turkower. Nancy
hopped down from the cab as the others raced
to the parking area.
“Nancy,” Bess cried. “Are you all right?”
“I am now.” Nancy smiled and hugged her
friend. Then she turned to Martin. “Richard
and Piker are locked up in the back.”
“And here’s the man behind the whole
scheme,” Ned said, triumphantly pulling Jack
from the cab.
“Jack Billings? I can’t believe it!” Martin
exclaimed.
“What’s a few marmots? The park’s full of
them, and I could use the money,” Jack said.
Gerald stepped forward and, to Nancy’s
astonishment, produced a pair of handcuffs.
“I’ll handle him,” he said.