Nancy Drew Files – Case 95 – An Instinct for Trouble

going to be a square dance tomorrow night

here at the hotel. Jack asked me to go with him.

Why don’t you and Ned come, too? We’ll have

a great time!”

“Good idea,” Nancy said, feeling uncom-

fortable. That was the same dance that Jack

had offered to take her to just a few hours

before. Sure, he had been fooling around, but

still.. . Was Jack one of those guys who had to

charm every girl he met? If so, Bess was letting

herself in for grief. Judging by the gleam in her

eye, this was not the time to give her any

warnings.

As Nancy and Bess were finishing their

breakfast the next morning, Edith Turkower

came over to their table. “We’re doing a

ranger-guided tour of Upper Geyser Basin,”

she announced. “Gerald and I thought you

might like to come along.”

Nancy gave Bess a gentle kick on the ankle

and said, “I can’t, but I know Bess would love

to.”

As Edith walked away, Nancy said softly,

“Keep a close eye on them, Bess. It’s impor-

tant.”

“No problem,” Bess replied.

Once Bess left the table. Nancy decided to

go to the Gardiner hospital to see Brad again.

She headed for her car.

Lost in thought, she was already climbing a

steep grade on the mountain road that led to

Gardiner when she noticed a van close behind

her-too close. It seemed to be tailgating her.

She pressed harder on the gas pedal, but the

van kept pace with her.

The road wound between a sheer wall of

rock on the left and a deep ravine on the right.

As they came around a long curve, the van

pulled out to pass. Nancy edged over toward

the ravine to give it more room, but instead of

going ahead, the van stayed next to her.

Alarmed, Nancy hit the brakes to let the

other vehicle move ahead. Instead, the van

slowed.

Then without warning it swerved toward

her, its front bumper banging into Nancy’s

door. She struggled to control the wheel, but

the van slammed into her again, forcing her

car toward the edge of the ravine.

She glanced to her right, and her stomach

twisted. The drop was endless, and she was

just about to go over!

Chapter Six

All that separated Nancy from a drop

into the ravine was a couple of feet of shoulder,

and the van was continuing to nudge her over.

Nancy accelerated, attempting to pull ahead

of her pursuer. She knew she couldn’t keep

driving at this speed-the road was too treach-

erous.

In seconds the van was behind her again,

moving up to slam into her from the rear. She

rounded a curve and spotted a sign for a scenic

overlook. As she approached it, she took a

deep breath and jerked the wheel sharply to

the right. The wheels skidded on the gravel.

The van followed and was just about to ram

into her again when Nancy saw a tall lodgepole

pine at the far end of the overlook parking

area. She steered her car straight at it. She was

just about to hit it when she swerved left and

shot back onto the highway.

In the rearview mirror, she saw the van

graze the tree she had just missed. Then, to her

astonishment, the driver of the van backed up,

turned, and roared off in the other direction.

Puzzled, Nancy stopped her car. When she

looked ahead of her, she saw a park service

vehicle pulling into the parking area and un-

derstood why the driver of the van had headed

off in such a hurry. He’d seen the ranger, too.

The ranger stopped his car next to hers and

jumped out. He was about forty and had a

crewcut and neat mustache. “Are you all

right?” he asked.

Nancy nodded, even though she felt shaken.

“A van tried to run me off the road.”

“Did you see who was driving?” The ranger

leaned his elbows on the edge of her window.

Nancy noted the name on the plate pinned to

his breast pocket: Martin Robbins.

She shook her head.

“Will you come to my office to make a

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