A huge rattlesnake lay coiled on the blanket. At Nancy’s movement, its head came up, staring at Nancy with beady amber eyes.
Chapter Fourteen
THE RATTLER’S TAIL was buzzing like a swarm of angry bees. What could Nancy do? Even though her feet weren’t trapped under it, if she moved a muscle—or if George or Bess turned over—the snake was bound to strike.
“Ned,” Nancy whispered urgently. “Ned, wake up!”
Ned stirred sleepily on the other side of the fire. “What?” he mumbled.
“Ned,” she said again, in a low voice. “There’s a huge snake on the foot of my blanket.”
“A snake?” Ned exclaimed, throwing off his blanket. “Stay put, Nancy. Don’t move!”
“Don’t you move too fast, either,” she whispered.
“What’s going on?” Ralph sat up beside the cold fire, rubbing his eyes. “Is it Max? Where is he?”
“No, it’s a snake,” Ned replied softly, pulling on his shoes and signaling for Ralph to stay still.
The snake’s head began to weave back and forth and its tongue flicked nervously. Beside Nancy, George mumbled something in her sleep. Oh, please, George, Nancy thought, don’t turn over! Aloud, she said, “Hurry, Ned! I think it’s getting ready to strike!” The buzz of the rattles grew louder.
Noiselessly, Ned circled around behind the snake. He bent down, picked up a large flat rock, and raised it high above his head. Just as the snake coiled itself to strike, Ned brought the rock down hard on its head. For a moment the snake twisted and writhed, and then it lay still.
“Oh, Ned,” Nancy said.
“What’s going on?” George asked, sitting up. “Who’s throwing rocks?”
Bess stirred under the blanket and mumbled something.
George stared unbelievingly at the snake that Ned had stretched out across the foot of the blanket. “Nancy, it’s a monster! It’s big enough to have eaten both of us for breakfast—in one gulp!”
Bess burrowed deeper into the blanket. “A monster?” she quavered. “Not another bear!”
Nancy laughed and yanked the blanket off Bess’s head. “No, it’s not another bear,” she said teasingly, pulling her friend to a sitting position. “It’s only a snake. Wake up and see.”
“A snake!” Bess covered up her eyes. “I don’t want to see!” After a minute she peeked between her ringers. “Yikes!” she screeched. “It is a snake!”
“Must be about five feet long,” Ned said, hoisting the snake up on a stout stick. “And I count seven rattles and a button.” He shook his head. “It’s a good thing you woke up when you did, Nancy. This snake is packing a lot of venom. It could have killed you, or made you plenty sick.”
“It’s a good thing you were here to kill it, Ned,” George pointed out.
“George is right,” Nancy said. She looked up at Ned. “You know, that’s twice in two days,” she said soberly.
“Twice?” Ned asked.
“Last night you pulled me out of the path of the rock. This morning you killed the snake. That’s twice in two days that you’ve saved my life.”
Ned laughed. “Sounds like it’s getting to be a habit.”
Ned disposed of the snake under a large pile of rocks while the others got up and began to break camp. They shared the last of the dried fruit and beef jerky for breakfast and then made their way to a huckleberry patch that Mike had found near the spring the night before. They were careful to make lots of noise to ward off any bear that might be breakfasting there. Then they washed off the berry juice, filled their canteens at the spring, and gathered back at the campsite.
They were a ragtag bunch, Nancy thought, surveying the group. Linda’s ankle was so badly swollen she could barely hobble, even with the help of Ned’s crutch. Sammy’s arms were breaking out with long, red streaks of something that looked like poison ivy, and she was scratching ferociously. Mercedes was withdrawn and uncommunicative, and Mike and Tod seemed to have quarreled again about the direction they should be taking.
“How far away is the ranger station?” Sammy asked. “How long will it take us to get there?”
Tod shrugged. “I’d guess we walked two or three miles yesterday, after we found the trail. If Paula estimated right, we’ve got maybe five or six miles to go.”
“If we’re going in the right direction,” Mike said sullenly.
“There’s no point in going through all of that again,” Ned said sharply. “We agreed that we would go in this direction. Let’s give ourselves a break and stop quarreling.”
They set out, with Tod and Mike in front, followed by George and Bess, Mercedes, Sammy, Ralph and Linda, and Ned and Nancy. The trail was even more difficult than it had been the night before, a switchback that zigzagged up a mountain, through dense woods. The underbrush hung over the faint path like a thick green canopy, shutting out most of the sun, and even in the daylight the shadows seemed ominous. The day before, Nancy had developed a blister on her right heel, and it was rapidly getting worse, making walking even more difficult.
“Did you get a chance to talk to Mercedes last night?” Ned asked Nancy, helping her over a fallen log.
“Well, I tried,” Nancy said with a sigh. She bent over to adjust her tennis shoe, trying to relieve the pressure on her blister. “I didn’t get anywhere. She really clammed up. But she did say something interesting. When I asked her about Paula’s family, she said she didn’t want to drag up the past.”
Ned looked at her. “So she does know something.”
“Right. But whatever it is, she’s not going to tell me.”
“Do you suppose she’d tell me?”
“I don’t know. It’s worth a try.”
“I might be able to catch her off guard.” He grinned. “Or I might be able to use some of that charm that Sammy seemed to enjoy.” He ducked the playful punch Nancy threw at him.
“Listen, Ned,” Nancy said, “all joking aside, I think it’s a good idea. Why don’t you try to catch up to her now and see what you can find out?”
“Okay, I will.” Ned put his hand on Nancy’s shoulder. “But you’ve got to promise to catch up with Ralph and Linda and not hang around at the back of the group.”
“I promise,” Nancy said as Ned began to jog ahead. When he reached the curve in the path, he turned and waved, and Nancy waved back.
She wasn’t worried—Ralph and Linda were somewhere ahead, within calling distance. But her blister was really beginning to hurt her. Nancy sat down on a rock and unlaced her shoe. Maybe the blister was getting infected. Sure enough, her whole heel was red and inflamed. She would have to try to catch up to Mike, who was carrying the first-aid kit, and see if he had a bandage.
Nancy was lacing her shoe up when she felt that prickle between her shoulder blades—the prickle that always meant she was being watched. She turned around. No one was in sight—but had she heard a rustling in the dense leaves? She got up and began to hurry down the trail, suddenly feeling very vulnerable and wishing that she hadn’t let the others get so far ahead.
“Wait!” a rough voice commanded.
Nancy stopped, then turned, her heart in her mouth. There, lurching clumsily toward her through the thick underbrush, was Max! His shirt was ripped in several places, he wore a two-day stubble of beard, and there was an inch-long gash just above his right eye. He carried a heavy tree branch like a club, and his eyes were wild and staring.
Nancy started to run. She had to get away! Max was crazy. He would kill her!
“Don’t run!” he shouted, stumbling after her. “I have to talk—”
At that moment, Nancy tripped over a tree root and went sprawling. She struggled back to her feet just as Max reached her.
“You can’t get away,” he said, panting. “I won’t let you!” He swung the club around. That was the last thing Nancy saw before the world went black.
Chapter Fifteen
FOR A MINUTE Nancy thought the loud chirping in her ears was a noisy bird perched on a branch
just over her head. But she soon realized that the sound was coming from inside her head. The side of her head hurt, and she tried to raise her hand to explore the ache with her fingers. But her hands were fastened tightly behind her back!
Without moving a muscle, Nancy opened her eyes cautiously, just enough to see. She was on her side in a clearing. Her back was resting against a granite boulder, and her cheek was pressed against a pillow of pale green moss. The ground was thickly carpeted with pine needles, but whatever Max had used to tie her with was cutting into the circulation at her wrists, and her fingers felt numb.
Max was crouched on the ground five or six feet away, whittling a spearlike point on a long straight stick and coughing intermittently. Nancy closed her eyes and tried to formulate some sort of logical plan of action through the painful throbbing in her head.
She didn’t hear any voices. That could either mean the others hadn’t yet discovered she was missing or that Max had dragged her so far off the trail that she wasn’t able to hear them.
Using her numb fingers, she explored the binding around her wrists. It didn’t feel very strong or heavy. Perhaps she could saw through it with a piece of jagged rock. She felt along the boulder at her back. Yes, there was a sharp, protruding seam, where the rock had weathered and split.
Very carefully, she began to push the rope up and down against the seam of the rock, trying not to move her shoulders. She peered surreptitiously through her lashes. Max had raised his head and was listening intently, as if he heard something in the distance. There was a look of fear on his face.
Nancy felt a surge of hope. Maybe Ned and the others were looking for her.
Max got painfully to his feet and picked up his club. When he moved away, out of the line of Nancy’s vision, she heard the sound of his footsteps scuffling through the dry leaves and began sawing at the rope frantically.
When her hands came free, Nancy didn’t move. Surprise was her only weapon. She had to get Max to come near enough to her so that she could catch him with one unexpected karate blow. But where was he?
In a few minutes, Max returned and leaned over to pick up his crude spear.
“O-oh,” Nancy moaned, stirring a little. She could hear Max move toward her. “Nancy?” he said. She moaned again, more faintly this time.
“Nancy?” He bent over her and touched her shoulder. “Are you okay?” he asked in a worried voice. “I didn’t mean to hit you so hard, really. I just wanted to talk . . .”
Suddenly Nancy opened her eyes and leaped up. Taken by surprise, Max stumbled back, off balance, his mouth open. Nancy jumped at him, aiming a quick, hard blow to his solar plexus, and Max fell with a loud “Oomph!” He hit his head against a rock and went limp.
Nancy spun away and began to race through the woods. Her head still hurt, and she felt slightly dizzy and disoriented.
She slowed down to a walk, thinking maybe she shouldn’t run until she figured out which direction to go in. A puzzled frown came to her face as she remembered Max’s words. What was he talking about when he said that he hadn’t meant to hurt her—that he just needed to talk? She stopped, hesitating.
“Nancy! Nancy, where are you?” It was Ned’s voice, and he sounded frantic. “Nancy!”
“Here, Ned!” Nancy called. “I’m here!” She ran toward the sound of his voice, still calling his name.
“Oh, Nancy!” Breathlessly, Ned burst through a clearing and enveloped her in a huge hug. Bess and George were with him.
“What happened to you? Where have you been all this time?” Bess asked anxiously.
“We told the others we’d be looking for you—Linda was glad to have the rest,” George said.
“But, Nan . . .” Ned began.
“What?”
“Why did you leave the trail?”
“I didn’t leave the trail,” Nancy said, feeling the knot on the side of her head. “Max came up behind me and hit me over the head. He carried me pretty far into the woods and tied me up, but I managed to get loose and catch him by surprise. I got away just a few minutes ago.”
“Oh, I’m so glad you’re safe,” George said, hugging her. She turned to Bess. “See? I keep telling you Max is dangerous.”
Nancy waved her hand to interrupt. “Probably. But there’s something that bothers me.”
“Bothers you?” Ned asked. “I’d be bothered, too, if somebody knocked me out and tied me up in the middle of the woods.”
“Yeah, I know.” Nancy sighed. “But Max said something odd, just before I got away. He said that he hadn’t meant to hit me so hard, that he just wanted to talk.”
“But why would he want to talk to you?” Ned asked. “Was he trying to keep you from going to the police?”
Nancy shook her head. “I don’t know, but I wish I hadn’t hit him so quickly.”
Ned considered. “You couldn’t take that chance. But we could go back and talk to him now,” he suggested. “There’re four of us and only one of him.”
Nancy looked around. “To tell you the truth, Ned,” she confessed, “I don’t know which direction I ran after I got away from Max.”
Ned followed her scuffed track in the leaves. “It looks like you came from over there,” he said, pointing’. “Let’s go that way.”
But even though they searched the woods, they couldn’t find the clearing where Max had held Nancy captive. Ned glanced down at his watch.
“It’s nearly two o’clock,” he said reluctantly. “The others are waiting. We’ll have to push hard if we’re going to reach the ranger station this afternoon.”
“If the ranger station is in this direction,” Nancy reminded him.
“Right.” Ned sighed and took her hand as the four of them headed back to the trail. “If.”
“Did you manage to talk to Mercedes?” Nancy asked after a few minutes.
“I tried,” Ned answered.
“Oh. No luck?”
“Nope. She wouldn’t say a word to me.” Ned grinned and squeezed Nancy’s hand. “Not even when I turned on some charm.”
“Now I really do wish I’d had the sense to play possum just a few minutes longer,” Nancy said unhappily. “If I’d just listened to Max, he might have given us a clue to this whole thing. I wish—”
“I wish you’d shut up, Detective Drew,” Ned said. He slipped his arm affectionately around her shoulders. “It’s good to have you safe. Even if you didn’t get the clue you wanted.”
“He kidnapped you!” Linda exclaimed hysterically when Nancy and her friends finally caught up with the rest of the group and told them what had happened. “He’s going to kill us all! He’ll track us down and isolate us, one at a time, and kill us.”
Ralph rubbed her back. “Don’t, Linda,” he said helplessly.
Mercedes jumped up. “Maybe Max doesn’t want to hurt the rest of us,” she blurted. “Maybe he’s just after Nancy.”
“No!” Sammy exclaimed. “He’s out to kill all of us. I’ll bet he’s somewhere nearby right now, spying on us, deciding which one of us will be next.”
“What do you mean, maybe he was just out after me?” Nancy asked Mercedes. “Why would you think that?”
Mercedes pressed her lips into a tight line. “I don’t know,” she said. “I was just trying to make Linda feel better, that’s all.”
Linda began to cry harder, and Sammy looked as if she were going to burst into tears, too. Mercedes’s face was closed and dark.
“Listen, everybody,” Tod interrupted. “I know we’re all tired and sore, but if we don’t keep going, we’re not going to get to the ranger station before dark.”
The climb to the top of the ridge was one of the longest and most wearying hikes that Nancy had ever been on. Her heel was painful, and in spite of the beauty of the mountain, she kept her eyes on the ground, trying to pick out the easiest path. Ahead of her, Linda seemed to moan with every step, and she could hear Sammy complaining bitterly to Mike that they were going the wrong way.
At last th
ey reached the top of the ridge.
“Oh, it’s beautiful!” Bess exclaimed. “What a view!”
“And there’s the fire tower!” Tod said triumphantly, pointing along the ridge to the left. “It’s only a half-mile or so away!”
“All right!” Ralph let loose a giant whoop.
“Hey, wait a minute,” Nancy said, her wide grin fading. “If the tower’s deserted, will it still have a radio? We can still get a message out, can’t we?”
“Yup,” Tod assured her, “and the Forest Service will send a helicopter for us—probably before sunset! Of course, they’ll have to send a team in to look for Paula’s body.”
With the ranger station so close, the group seemed a great deal more relaxed. Even Linda managed a smile when a small brown fawn hopped across the trail in front of them.
“I don’t see any signs of life,” Ned observed when they reached the station. Beside the trail stood a small cabin with a sign on it reading United States Forest Service, but grass was growing up in front of the door—the cabin seemed to be deserted.
“How do they get people and supplies up here?” Sammy wanted to know. “I don’t see any roads.”
“There aren’t roads to some of these back-country towers,” Mike replied. “That’s why they use helicopters.”
“So that’s the tower,” Bess said, looking across the yard that separated it from the station. It was a squat, square box built on stilts forty feet in the air, with a stair zigzagging between the stilts. Halfway up was an open platform. “I’ll bet there’s a good view from up there.”
“You’re right,” Mike told her. “Since these lookout towers are built so that rangers can watch for fires, they have an unobstructed view of the whole country.” He grinned. “Want to take a look? I’m going to go up and get that message out.”
“We’ll all go,” Sammy decided.
“I’m not sure I can climb that high,” Linda objected.
“You’ll never have another chance like this one,” Ralph told her.
“Oh, okay.”
“Well, then, let’s go,” Mike said, and they started toward the tower.