Carolyn Keene - An Instinct for Trouble

"After breakfast I'm going to head over to the ranger station to talk to Martin Robbins. Maybe he can assign some rangers to patrol the campsite tonight. Ned also thought he might have a tent and a couple of sleeping bags we can borrow," Nancy said.

Bess dusted powder on her nose, then frowned at her image in the mirror. "What about me?" she asked.

"I want you to track down the Turkowers," Nancy said. "See if you can find out what they're up to today. I'll pick you up here when I come back from seeing Robbins, and we can go out to the campsite together."

As she walked toward her car, Nancy noticed a piece of paper tucked under the windshield wiper. It might be a circular of some sort, she thought, but she had a hunch it wasn't. Distinctly uneasy, she unfolded the paper.

The message was short and to the point: "Mind your own business, Nancy Drew. Marmots aren't the only things that can disappear!"

Chapter Twelve

Nancy stared at the note. It had been written in large, square letters with a red marker on a piece of computer paper. It resembled the paper they were using at the campsite, but she'd have to compare it to be sure. Still, with the key to the command post missing, that hardly narrowed things down.

She leaned against the side of the car and thought. The poachers were obviously desperate to get her off the case. They'd tried to put her out of commission twice the day before- and now this note. She'd planned to watch her main suspects closely, but it made her un- easy to think that they had their eyes on her, too.

Nancy put the threatening note in her pocket, got into the car, and started for the ranger station. As she drove, she found herself frequently checking the rearview mirror, but she didn't see any sign that she was being followed.

When she entered Martin Robbins's office, he was standing at the big wall map of Yellowstone with a sheaf of papers in his hand. He turned and said, "Hello, Nancy. What brings you here?"

"I wanted to fill you in on what's been happening with the case," she said, joining him at the map.

As she recited everything, beginning with the incident at the falls and ending with the conversation she'd overheard between Trainey and Gerald Turkower, Martin's frown deepened. "You've been busy. And it looks like you're making progress flushing these characters out." He crossed his arms and said slowly, "But from what you say, you've haven't got enough proof for me to move on." He went behind his desk and sat down, then gestured toward a chair.

"I know that," Nancy said, sitting down.

"That's why I'm moving to the Emerson campsite today. From what Trainey said on the phone, I think the missing marmots are going to be shipped out tonight, and I'm pretty sure they're being kept someplace nearby," she replied.

The ranger nodded. He remained silent for a moment, then hit the desk with his fist. "I feel as if my hands are tied on this. Without more proof, I can't justify a full-scale search of the area around the camp, but I will beef up the patrol vehicles along that stretch of the highway tonight."

Nancy smiled slightly. "That will help. And that reminds me-there's something else you can do for me. I was wondering if you have some camping gear I could borrow. All my friend Bess and I really need is a tent and two sleeping bags."

Robbins chuckled. "And a couple of air mattresses, too, believe me. Otherwise, you'll be so sore after one night that you won't be able to walk. Let me think. I know I have a couple of sleeping bags here, but I may have to call around to get you a tent. And anyway, I'm not sure it's such a great idea. These people have already shown how ruthless they are."

"I know that," Nancy replied grimly. "That's why I have to stop them now."

Robbins rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Finally he said, "Well, all right, but on one condition-you call me the second anything starts to go down. I don't want to take any chances."

"I understand," Nancy told him.

He made a call. "One of the rangers over at Tower Junction has a tent he can lend you. He'll be passing by here in half an hour, so he'll drop it off. Okay?"

"Great," Nancy replied. "Thanks a lot. I guess I'll go get Bess and drop her by the campsite, then come back."

She started to get up, then sank back down in her seat. "There's one more thing. You've got two park maintenance men named Richard and Piker. I saw them talking to the Turkowers. That's just one of the things that makes me suspicious of them. How well do you know them?"

Martin leaned back in his chair and gazed toward the ceiling. "If you mean personally, I hardly know them at all," he finally said. "As far as their work goes, no complaints about them."

Nancy looked at Martin earnestly. "I know this is slightly irregular, but could I please see their personnel files?"

Martin frowned. "I'm sorry. Nancy. Those files are confidential."

"Oh, of course, I understand," Nancy replied. "I wouldn't dream of asking you to do something that's against the rules. But you have the right to consult their files, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Martin said.

"And if you looked through them and noticed anything that might be important for me to know, it would be only natural to mention it, wouldn't it?"

A slow smile spread across his lips. "That's so," he said, getting up and crossing to a bank of gray metal file cabinets. He scanned the labels on the drawers, then opened one near the bottom and pulled out two olive-colored hanging file folders. "Here we are," he said. "Richard Geismar and Piker Slattery."

He opened the first of the files and glanced through it. Next he looked at the second one. "That's funny," he said. "These two guys both grew up in Ashland, Idaho. That's a little town about forty miles west of the park. They were born in the same year, too."

He flipped back and forth between the two files. "Odd," he continued. "Their job records are practically identical."

"Would you mind if I check one or two of their references?" Nancy asked. "I'd need to use your phone."

"I think that would be all right," Martin said. He grabbed a scratch pad and scribbled a couple of names and addresses on it, then passed it over. "Here are the most recent references."

Nancy dialed, but the first number Martin gave her was disconnected. She tried the next one.

"Hopper and Wade Construction," a polite voice said. "May I help you?"

Nancy put on her most professional voice.

"I hope so. I'm calling from the National Park Service in Yellowstone." She gave Martin an apologetic look, but he just grinned. She turned her attention back to the phone, telling the woman that Richard and Piker were looking for jobs and had listed Hopper and Wade as a reference.

"Gee, I'm sorry, but I don't recognize the names," the woman said. "Just a minute, let me punch them into our computer." Nancy held her breath as the woman put her on hold. Finally, she heard a click over the line. "I'm sorry, but we don't have a record of anyone with either of those names. Are you sure you have the right company?"

"Yes," Nancy replied. "Well, thanks very much." She hung up. "Richard and Piker lied on their applications," she told Martin.

"That's enough to get them fired. It's strange -we usually check references," Martin said. "But it doesn't prove that they're poachers- only liars. Come on, I'll get those sleeping bags and air mattresses for you."

They loaded the gear into the trunk, then Martin said, "I'll see you later," and went back inside.

At the hotel Nancy found Bess sitting in the lobby, wearing a blue work shirt and well-cut blue denim overalls. "I'm all ready to go camping," she announced. "At least, as ready as I'll ever be."

"What's with the Turkowers?"

"The desk clerk told me they went off for a day-long hike through the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone," Bess replied dutifully.