do you want to know about Richard and
Piker?”
“Whatever you can tell us,” Nancy replied.
The woman tightened her lips, then shook
her head sadly. “Not among my successes, I’m
afraid. They both had bad records in school.
But I think they might have straightened out if
it hadn’t been for Jeff Barnes. He was a year
younger than they, but there was no question
who was the ringleader, especially at the end.”
“What happened?” Ned asked.
Ms. Milliken clicked her tongue. “One night
the three of them stole a car. When it ran low
on gas, they broke into a filling station about
twenty miles west of here. To cover their
tracks, they set the place on fire, but something
went wrong. Jeff’s hand was badly burned, and
of course they were caught. Richard and Piker
went to jail, but Jeff was still a juvenile, so he
was given a suspended sentence. The Barnes
family moved away right after that, and Rich-
ard and Piker have never shown their faces
around here since.
“Thank you so much,” Nancy said. They
chatted a little while longer. Then Nancy and
Ned told Ms. Milliken goodbye and returned
to the car. Ned offered to drive.
Nancy was certain now that Richard and
Piker were involved in the poaching, but they
didn’t sound like the organizers. Who then? If
that Jeff Barnes were around, he’d be a perfect
candidate.
By the time they got back to camp, the sun
was low in the sky. Preparations for the cook-
out were in full swing.
“Ned?” Alicia asked. “Could you bring that
big table from the shed? Jack said he’d do it
this morning, but he never showed up.”
“Sure,” Ned said, and headed off.
“Is your father back?” Nancy asked Jenni-
fer.
Jennifer was obviously worried. “No, and I
can’t understand it. Where can he be?”
Nancy wanted to say something reassuring,
but she was worried herself.
When darkness fell. Nancy helped Ned
build a fire while Bess set out plates, napkins,
and bowls of cole slaw and potato salad. The
hamburgers and franks tasted delicious, but
Professor Trainey’s absence spoiled the good
time. People kept glancing over their shoulders
into the surrounding darkness, then inching
closer to the fire.
“Maybe Jack and the professor went off
together and had car trouble,” Alicia sug-
gested.
Jennifer shook her head. “Jack has a two-
way radio in his car,” she pointed out. “All
rangers do. He could have called the station
and had somebody come by with a message.”
Nancy’s thoughts spun. What if her original
idea, that Trainey was the head of the poach-
ers, was right after all, and Jack had discovered
it? Trainey and his gang might be holding Jack
captive to keep him from interfering with the
last phase of the operation.
As the party broke up, Nancy took Ned and
Bess aside. “We have to take turns keeping
watch tonight,” she told them, checking her
watch. “It’s just eleven. I’ll take the first two
hours, then Ned can spell me.”
Bess nodded and quickly ducked into the
tent, leaving Nancy and Ned alone in the
moonlight.
“Should I stay with you?” Ned asked. “It
might be safer.”
Nancy put her arms around his neck. “I’d
love you to, but you might distract me from
my job. Besides, you need to rest before your
shift.”
“All right. Be careful, Nan,” Ned whispered.
He gave her a lingering kiss, then went to his
tent.
Nancy watched him go with a sense of regret
and loneliness. She crossed the campground to
the spot she had picked out earlier, next to a
large lodgepole pine. It gave her a clear view of
the campsite but kept her hidden in deep
shadows.
The camp grew quiet. In the distance an owl
hooted. Somewhere closer, an animal crept
stealthily through the underbrush. Nancy shiv-
ered and pulled the zipper of her jacket up
higher. Ghostly wisps of white fog began to
drift by. Nancy shifted her position, folded her
arms tight against her chest, and scanned the
camp.
As the minutes ticked by, she felt her eyes
closing. So she decided to walk around to keep