Carolyn Keene - An Instinct for Trouble

"Oh, Nancy," Bess said, "look at Spike. Isn't he adorable?" Her blue eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.

In spite of the way she felt. Nancy managed a faint smile. " Spike ?"

"I call him that because of the way his fur stands up around his head," Bess explained. "Look, Jack bandaged Spike's leg while I held him. The little guy didn't even try to bite me. So how did things go with Ned?" Bess asked, glancing at her. Then she quickly added, "Uh- oh. Not so well, huh?"

"No," Nancy said. She gave Bess a full account of their most recent argument, including their parting words.

"That doesn't sound good," Bess replied, frowning. "But you don't really think that Ned and Jennifer..."

"I don't know what to think," Nancy said. "They've been together every day for two and a half weeks now. But I'm sorry I said what I did-even if I meant every word of it!"

Nancy heard footsteps. Hoping it was Ned, she spun around eagerly. It was Professor Trainey. She couldn't help letting out a sigh of disappointment.

Trainey nodded to her and gave Bess a distracted glance, then bent down to peer inside the cage. "This must be the little fellow Jack told me about," he said.

"He's so cute," Bess announced. "Maybe in my next life I'll come back as a marmot."

Trainey actually smiled at her-it was the first time Nancy had seen him happy.

Bess turned to Nancy and said, "Come on, let's go check out a few sights while the light's still good. We'll have plenty of time to eat dinner and change before the square dance."

Nancy sighed and said, "I'll probably skip the dance."

Bess gave her a sharp glance, then replied, "We can discuss that later. Right now, what do you say to a waterfall?" Without waiting for an answer, Bess hooked her arm in Nancy's to lead her down to the car.

After a few minutes of driving. Nancy said, "Bess? I think somebody's following us. A dark blue car's been right behind us the whole time." All at once the car pulled off at a scenic overlook.'"So much for that," Nancy said with a laugh. "I guess I'm getting paranoid."

Bess reached over to touch her shoulder. "Nancy?" she said in a tentative voice. "Are you positive that the professor is involved in the poaching?"

"Positive? Of course not," Nancy replied, surprised by the question. "I don't have evidence to prove it either way. Brad says he saw 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 motion 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 wildflowers 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 partly 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 forward, 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 Turkower standing on the riverbank near her.

"Hang on!" he shouted, cautiously stepping off the bank. He inched forward, the water swirling around his knees now, then leaned forward and stretched out his hand. Nancy reached out and grasped it. Gerald steadied himself, then reeled Nancy in to the bank as if she were one of those cutthroat trout he had talked about at lunch.

Nancy's legs were numb and wouldn't hold her up. "Thanks," she said to Gerald through chattering teeth.

"Nancy! Are you all right?" Bess demanded, running up.

"C-c-cold" was all Nancy could manage.

Gerald took off his fleece-lined leather jacket and draped it around Nancy's shoulders.

Bess turned to him. "Where did you come from?" she asked curiously.

His eyes flickered. "I was in the woods, taking pictures."

Nancy looked sharply at him and struggled to find her voice. "Was anybody with you?" she asked after a second.

Gerald shook his head. "Come on. Nancy, I'll help you to your car. You need to get in and turn the heater on full blast. How did you happen to fall in?" he asked as they walked.

"I didn't," she replied. "Somebody pushed me."

"What?" Gerald's face registered shock,

"Are you sure? Couldn't you just have been jostled?"

Nancy shook her head. "I distinctly felt two hands shoving against my back. It was no accident, take my word for it. Did you see anything, Bess?"

"No. I'm sorry," Bess replied on the verge of tears. "I was looking-at the falls."

"Don't worry about it," Nancy said. "You had no reason to think somebody was going to push me in."