“Thanks for coming to my rescue.”
“You have car trouble?” Ned asked.
The rock star shrugged. “It looks that way. I
went over a big bump a while back and heard a
loud thump. Then, about half a mile back, the
engine started sputtering. Now it’s stopped.
Do you know anything about cars?”
“We both know a little,” Ned replied. “We
can take a look if you’d like.”
“Great.” Randy backed away, and Ned and
Nancy got out of the Jeep. He held his hand
out to Ned. “I’m Randy Dean.”
Ned grinned. “Yeah, we figured that out. I’m
Ned Nickerson and this is Nancy Drew.”
“Hi, Nancy.” She was surprised at how
personable and open Randy seemed.
Ned reached for Randy’s flashlight, clicked
it on, and peered under the hood. Nancy
joined him.
They poked around under the hood for a few
minutes, then Ned said, “I don’t know what’s
wrong. Let me see if I can start it.”
Ned climbed into the driver’s seat, but when
he turned the key in the ignition, the engine
only coughed and sputtered.
Nancy leaned inside and looked at the array
of gauges on the dashboard. “Did you know
you’re out of gas?”
Randy frowned. “That’s impossible. I filled
the tank just an hour ago.”
Ned got down on the ground and shone the
flashlight under the car. “You’ve got a leak in
your fuel line,” he reported. “It must have
happened when you hit that bump. All your
gas has leaked out,” he said, getting up and
slapping his palms against his jeans.
Ned offered to take Randy to the hotel. The
rock star transferred his luggage from the tiny
trunk of the sports car to the Jeep and climbed
into the backseat next to it.
“I read a magazine article about you the
other night,” Nancy said casually. “It men-
tioned that you collect whistling marmots.”
“I used to have quite a few of them,” Randy
admitted. “They make fun pets. But I don’t
collect them anymore.”
“Why not?” Nancy asked.
“I realized how wrong it is to take animals
out of the wild,” he replied earnestly. “In fact,
that’s why I’m here. I’m doing a TV program
on the importance of protecting wild animals
and their habitats. Would you guys like to
come watch us film?”
“We’d love to,” Nancy promptly replied.
“Do you think I could bring a friend, too?
She’s a big fan of yours.”
Ned pulled into the hotel parking lot.
“Of course you can,” Randy said. “I’ll write
a note to the production crew as soon as I get
upstairs. Thanks for everything. I would have
had to sit out there all night.”
“Glad we could help,” Ned replied. He gave
Randy a hand carrying his luggage into the
lobby while Nancy parked the Jeep.
The square dance was still going on as
Nancy and Ned found a quiet spot and settled
down on a couch on the far side of the big
room.
“I keep thinking about that phone call,”
Ned said. “You think the Turkowers are the
buyers?”
“It seems that way.”
“What do you think they’re arranging for
tomorrow night?” he asked.
“My hunch is that Trainey’s going to turn
over the marmots he’s already captured to the
Turkowers.”
Ned acted surprised. “You think the animals
are still in the park?”
“Yes, I do,” Nancy said. “If they weren’t,
why would the Turkowers be hanging around?
And I’ll bet they’re being kept somewhere
fairly close to the campsite, too.”
“So what’s our next move?”
“We have to keep our eyes on the Turkowers
and Trainey-and I’m still interested in Piker
and Richard. It could be that the professor
hired them to do the rough work,” she specu-
lated. “But the main thing is, it’s obvious that
this whole case is centered at your camp. We
can’t hope to solve it if I’m always somewhere
else. I think it’s time Bess and I move to the
campsite.”
“So you and Bess are going to camp.” Ned
grinned. “I’d love to be there when you break
the news to her.”
Nancy grimaced. “Do you have any idea
what we can do about equipment? We’ll need a