Carolyn Keene - An Instinct for Trouble

Nancy introduced herself and Ned and explained that they were investigating a poaching scheme in Yellowstone Park. "You can call Chief Ranger Robbins to check us out," she added.

"Thanks, I'll do that." He swiveled to face the telephone and spoke for a couple of minutes, then turned back to them. "Well, now, Nancy and Ned, what can I do for you?"

"We need information about two men named Richard Geismar and Piker Slattery," Nancy said. "According to their files, they grew up in Ashland."

Tucker frowned. "Those names don't ring a bell, but I've only been here three years." He went over to the file cabinets along the back wall. "We've got files here that go back pretty far," he remarked as he flipped through one of the drawers. "If either of these guys were ever involved in anything illegal, it should show in this drawer. Ah, here we go."

He returned to his desk with two manila folders and began to leaf through them. "Well, well," he said. "Definitely not model citizens. Vandalism, grand theft auto, breaking and entering, arson. They did time for that one."

"Wow," Ned said. "It looks like you were right to suspect them, Nancy."

Tucker showed her a photo of a much younger Piker. "That's one of them," she confirmed.

"You watch your step with these fellows," Tucker said. "You know who could tell you all about them? Margery Milliken, the principal at the consolidated high school before she retired. Go down to the end of the street and turn right," he said, gesturing. "It's a white house. I'll call to tell her you're coming."

Nancy thanked Tucker for his help, and she and Ned returned to the car. They found the house easily. The woman waiting on the porch steps was wearing a dark skirt and a white blouse. Her gray hair was twisted up in a french roll. A pair of reading glasses dangled from her neck.

"Ms. Drew, Mr. Nickerson? I'm Margery Milliken. I understand you want some information about two of my former students. Come in."

She motioned them to the sofa. "Now, what 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 Richard 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 cookout 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 Jennifer.

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 coleslaw 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 suggested.

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 poachers, 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 lodge pole 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 shivered 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 from falling asleep. She circled the campground, then walked halfway down the road that led to the highway. Stopping just before the last bend, she saw a truck move by, its empty rear end rattling.

She tensed. It seemed odd to be traveling through the park at that hour. Without stopping to think, she raced down the road, reaching the highway just in time to see the truck turn into the woods about a quarter of a mile east. It looked to Nancy to be near the spot where Piker and Richard had been working on the new trail.

She jogged to the place where the truck had disappeared, realizing that there was a dirt access road there. The maintenance men had probably used it to move supplies into their work area.

Nancy turned in and kept running. She'd covered about a half a mile when she saw the truck parked up ahead. She slowed and made her way up to it cautiously.

She heard a low voice on the far side of the cab. It was Richard! A flashlight clicked on, illuminating the figures of the two maintenance men.

"Hurry up," Piker said. "We've got a lot of work to do."

"Yeah," Richard replied. "I'm not looking forward to carrying all those cages."

Nancy's spine stiffened. That meant the marmots had to be stashed someplace nearby.

The two men began moving forward. Nancy followed at a safe distance. The access road ended about twenty feet beyond the truck, dwindling into a path that wound up a hillside.

Her calf muscles were feeling the strain of the climb, and she began to notice that the trees were thinning out. Nancy spied a cabin to the right of the trail. Piker unlocked the door and the two of them went inside. Nancy circled the cabin and saw a small window in the back. She crept up to it, pulled herself up, and peered in through the dusty pane.

Her breath caught in her throat. Lining the walls were dozens of cages of marmots. Nancy could hear Piker. "That tranquilizer is strong. They'll be under for a few hours, plenty of time to get them all into the truck and out of here." .