to Bess. He had removed the bandage. “This
little fellow’s ready to be set free,” he said.
A stricken look appeared on Bess’s face. “So
soon?”
“It’s time,” Trainey said firmly.
“Oh.” Bess turned away from her friends.
Nancy could see she was fighting back tears.
“We have to do it, Bess,” she said softly. “He
belongs in the wild.”
Randy joined the group. “I have a great
idea,” he said to Bess. “Why don’t you release
your little marmot as part of my show?”
Bess’s eyes widened. “Me? On television?”
Randy nodded. “We’ll release him together.
It’ll be a great sequence.”
Bess was too stunned to speak. Then she
looked down at herself and shrieked. “I’ve got
to change my clothes!”
Nancy laughed as Bess placed Spike in his
cage, turned, and ran down the hill to their
tent. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Bess move
that quickly,” she said.
“Thanks for everything you’ve done. Nan-
cy,” Trainey said. “You’ve helped make this
study a success and saved my reputation.”
“You’re welcome,” Nancy replied. “What
about the last stage of the project?”
Trainey sighed. “That part’s not as success-
ful. We can retag the marmots you recovered,
but unless we can raise more money, the study
ends right now.”
Nancy smiled. “Would five thousand dollars
help?” she asked.
Trainey stared at her.
“I’m donating my reward money to the
project,” Nancy explained.
“That’s very generous. Nancy,” Trainey re-
plied. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, Professor, I know you’ll put it to good
use.”
Ned put his arm around Nancy’s shoulders.
“Thanks, Nan.”
“Say,” Alicia said with a broad smile. “May-
be you and Bess could come back in August
and help us with the last phase of the study.”
“I’d love to,” Nancy said, “but I don’t know
if I’m brave enough.”
“Why?” Alicia asked. “Are you afraid of
bears?”
Nancy shook her head. “No. I’d be too
afraid to tell Bess that she has to camp out!”
Nancy’s next case:
Nancy has come to Tokyo to attend the tradi-
tional Japanese wedding of a former exchange
student, her friend Midori Kato. But the joyous
occasion suddenly takes a dark and disturbing
turn. For on the very day of the ceremony, the
guests-anxiously awaiting Midori’s arrival-
are greeted instead by a shocking announce-
ment: the bride has disappeared!
Did Midori have a simple change of heart or is
there a more complex-and criminal-expla-
nation? The answer comes to Nancy served on a
silver platter: a near-fatal meal of poisonous fish
intended to keep her from the truth. But with
Midori’s life at stake. Nancy refuses to back
down and is soon drawn into a tightening web of
jealousy, scandal, and deadly intrigue … in
The Runaway Bride, Case #96 in The Nancy
Drew Files®.