good-looking guy in a ranger uniform and a
young woman clad in blue jeans and a purple
Emerson College sweatshirt stood just behind
him.
Ned moved toward the group. “I was just
showing my friend Nancy around. Professor
Trainey, this is Nancy Drew.” He gestured to
the two people behind Trainey and added,
“That’s Jack Billings, a park ranger, and Alicia
Nivel, from Emerson.”
“Hi. You’re Ned’s girlfriend from River
Heights, aren’t you?” A brief smile flashed
across Alicia’s face. “He talks about you a lot.”
For a minute no one said anything. Then the
professor turned to Ned. “Did anything new
turn up on the computer?” he asked.
Ned ran his hand back through his hair
nervously. “Umm-I didn’t get a chance to
look. Nancy showed up just when I got to the
command post,” he explained.
“I see,” Trainey replied. He crossed his arms
at his waist and stared at Ned. “We’ve got fifty
marmots missing, final observations to make
before we leave on Saturday, at least a day of
packing ahead of us-and you’ve invited a
visitor here. I must say, your timing surprises
me.”
Ned swallowed. “But, sir, Nancy is-”
Trainey held up his hand. “I need you down
at camp in ten minutes to draft a plot of
today’s readings.” He turned and headed
down the path.
Alicia gave Nancy an apologetic smile and
said, “You’ll have to forgive us. We’re all pretty
tense these days, what with the marmots miss-
ing and the grant extension hanging in the
balance.”
The ranger patted her on the back and said,
“Don’t worry, Alicia. You’ll make it.”
“Thanks, Jack,” Alicia replied.
Ned shook his head despondently. “I just
wish Trainey had given me a chance to explain
why I invited Nancy. She’s a well-known de-
tective and is going to track down the poach-
ers.”
Nancy would have preferred to keep her role
a secret for a little while longer. Oh, well, too
late now, she thought.
Jack gave Nancy a big smile. “A private
eye,” he said. “Well, I’ll be. And a pretty one,
too.”
Nancy tried to keep from blushing, but it
was no use. She thought that Jack was amaz-
ingly handsome-rugged and intelligent look-
ing, too. She turned to Alicia and asked,
“What did you mean about the grant exten-
sion?”
“Our study is being paid for by a federal
grant,” Alicia said. “But there were cost over-
runs, so Professor Trainey applied for an ex-
tension, but in the meantime he’s been paying
some of the expenses out of his own pocket.”
Nancy whistled. “That’s pretty daring of
him,” she said. “Is he wealthy?”
“I doubt it,” Ned said. “He lives in a small
cottage off campus and drives a beat-up truck.
His work is about the only thing that seems to
matter to him.”
Nancy turned to Jack. “I met a couple of
park maintenance men today named Richard
and Piker. Do you know them?”
Jack hitched his thumbs in his belt and said,
“Yes, I do. Why?”
“They weren’t exactly friendly when I met
them at the campsite a little while ago,” Nancy
replied.
Jack gazed at Nancy. “I’m sorry if they gave
you a hard time. I told them about what
happened to Brad and asked them to be on the
lookout for trouble. Actually, Piker and Rich-
ard are really good guys,” Jack went on.
“They’re just better at building walkways than
relating to the public.”
“Oh,” Nancy said, keeping her doubts to
herself. “Ned told me about Brad’s accident.
That was the day before yesterday at about
eight in the evening, right?”
“Seven fifty-three, to be exact,” Ned said.
Nancy flashed him a grateful smile and
continued. “Were either of you around when it
happened?”
Jack gave a vigorous shake of his head. “Not
me. I was at the ranger station, giving a talk on
the mammals of Yellowstone. It started at
seven.”
“That’s right,” Alicia said. “Jennifer and I
were there. The slides were terrific!”
“Did either of you happen to use the stove
that afternoon?” Nancy asked, her eyes casu-
ally moving from Jack to Alicia and back.
Alicia frowned in concentration. “I think I
did. When I came up to change the film in the