him just before his accident-but he wasn’t
positive. And then there was that Phi Beta
Kappa key.”
“Then he is your chief suspect.”
“Well,” Nancy said slowly, “no one is in a
better position to set up a poaching operation
than he is. …”
“What happens if we don’t find the missing
marmots?” Bess asked. “Or if more of them
disappear?”
“I guess the study will be ruined-and so
will the professor’s career,” Nancy answered.
“So poaching and selling marmots wouldn’t
exactly solve his problem,” Bess went on. “In
some ways, it would only make it worse.”
Nancy nodded. “I see what you mean,
Bess.” Nancy’s thoughts were churning. Was
she focusing too hard on Trainey? In that case
she owed Ned an apology-if she could ever
get him to listen to it.
She slowed the car down. “There’s a sign for
the falls,” she announced.
After finding a spot in the crowded parking
area. Nancy and Bess followed a sawdust-
covered path through the woods. As they
walked, they heard a low, persistent rumble in
the distance. When they emerged from the
trees at the base of the falls, the sound was
overwhelming.
Bess tapped Nancy’s arm. Nancy turned and
saw her friend’s lips moving but couldn’t hear
anything above the roar of the water. Bess
pointed up the path and raised an eyebrow.
Nancy nodded and followed her friend to an
observation platform perched a dozen feet
above the river, just beyond the reach of the
spray.
She craned her neck to peer up at the top,
where the water cascaded over a ridge of red
and yellow volcanic rock. The constant mo-
tion of the water made her feel a little dizzy, so
she clutched the railing for support.
Bess leaned her head close to Nancy’s.
“Would you like the binoculars?” she shouted,
holding them out. Nancy took them and could
see the individual droplets of water splashing
into the river. Along the banks, bright wild-
flowers grew.
A large group of sightseers jostled onto the
platform behind Nancy. Two middle-aged
women pushed up and flanked her. As her gaze
swept farther down the riverbank, she noticed
a man with black hair. Frowning, she focused
the binoculars to get a clearer image. She let
out a gasp because she was looking at Dan
Trainey, who was holding a marmot trap!
Nancy focused in tighter and realized that
Trainey was talking to someone who was part-
ly hidden by a tree trunk. All she could make
out Were the other person’s hands gesturing to
Trainey.
She wanted to get a better view, so she
started edging her way along the railing. She
had almost reached the comer of the platform
when someone shouted, “Look! A red-tailed
hawk!”
As the crowd on the platform surged for-
ward, Nancy felt someone put both hands on
her back and give her a powerful shove. A
moment later she was falling over the rail into
the swirling river below.
Chapter Ten
Nancy gasped as she hit the icy water. She
had just enough time to fill her lungs and
clamp her mouth shut before the river swirled
over her. She fought her way to the surface and
tried to make it to the nearest bank, but the
raging current pulled her downstream.
As an eddy spun her around, she got one last
glimpse of the platform she had just been
pushed from and saw Bess frantically making
her way through the stunned crowd, trying to
reach the riverbank.
The current tumbled her again, pushing her
into a somersault. Nancy flailed her arms
wildly and managed to keep her head up, but
she didn’t know how much longer she could
hold on.
Downstream, a boulder rose up above the
surface about half a dozen feet from shore. If
only she could get to it, she thought, she might
have a chance of saving herself.
Nancy put all the energy and determination
she had into powerful strokes and kicks. Just as
she was sure she couldn’t keep it up any longer,
the rock was right in front of her. She wrapped
her arms around it and took a deep breath.
“Nancy! Over here!”
Startled, she looked over and saw Gerald