kiddies were all in bed.”
Nancy let herself down from the window.
Any minute the boss could come back. She had to get out of sight. She was turning to go when two strong hands grabbed her and forced her arms up behind her back!
Chapter Fourteen
Nancy’s captor hustled her around to the front of the cabin, kicked the door open, and shoved her through. She stumbled into the light and fell to the floor. Piker and Richard spun around, startled.
“We’ve got a visitor,” a familiar voice an-
nounced.
Nancy looked up. Jack Billings was standing next to the open door, a revolver in his hand pointed toward her.
She sat up cautiously as he approached. The gun was about two feet from her face when she noticed the bum scar on his hand.
Just then everything fell into place.
“Hello, Jeff,” she said as calmly as she could. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you that keep-
ing the same initials when you take an alias is one of the oldest mistakes in the book?”
“You have been doing some investigating, haven’t you?” he said.
Nancy swallowed. She desperately needed to play for time. If she could stall the three of them, Ned might come searching for her or one of the patrol cars Martin Robbins had assigned to the area might check up the access road.
“Your poaching plan was pretty clever,” she told Jack. “How did you come up with it?”
Jack leaned back against the doorjamb but kept the gun pointed at Nancy. “I saw an article a while back about Randy Dean and his marmots. It said that people were paying a lot of money for them.”
Nancy nodded, and he continued, apparent-
ly glad to have an appreciative audience. “A little later I was sorting the mail at the ranger station when I came across a letter from Trainey about the marmot study. I saw my chance right away and volunteered to serve as liaison to the project.”
“And you managed to get Richard and Piker hired as maintenance men in spite of their forged references,” Nancy guessed.
“You hear that, guys?” Jack said mockingly.
“She’s onto you.”
“Come on, enough chitchat,” Richard said.
“Let’s pack up and get out of here.”
Anger flashed across Jack’s handsome face.
“I’m the one who makes the decisions around here,” he growled. “Get those cages into the truck. I’ll make our guest comfortable.”
While Piker and Richard started carrying cages out of the cabin, he took some rope and tied Nancy’s wrists behind her back, then tugged her toward a door in the comer of the room.
“Hey, Prof,” he called, shoving it open, “here’s some company for you.”
Trainey was sitting on the floor of the small storeroom, his hands tied behind his back. His face was caked with dried blood from a gash on his forehead. “Are you all right?” she asked as Jack pushed her down beside him.
He nodded. “I’m sorry they got you, too,”
he said in a low voice.
“I’m sorry we got either of you,” Jack cut in.
“I don’t like complications. I did my best to convince you to stay out of our way. But you wouldn’t listen, so you have to pay the price.”
Keep him talking, Nancy told herself. “How did you manage to steal so many marmots?”
she asked.
“Easy!” Jack bragged. “I had Piker and Richard steal some cages, then I got a printout of the transmitter signals. I knew the counts were done in the afternoon, so we started trapping right after dark on Tuesday and worked all night. We hauled them up here and removed the transmitters long before the col-
lege crowd was even awake.”
“You missed Spike,” Nancy commented.
“Spike,” Jack spat out. “That friend of yours is really something. She is cute, though, I’ve got to give her that.”
Nancy wanted to punch him.
Just then Piker and Richard returned for more cages. As they gathered up a second load, Professor Trainey asked, “Why did you try to kill Brad?”
Jack scowled. “I didn’t,” he said, robbing the scar on the back of his hand.
Nancy let herself down from the window.
Any minute the boss could come back. She had to get out of sight. She was turning to go when two strong hands grabbed her and forced her arms up behind her back!
Chapter Fourteen
Nancy’s captor hustled her around to the front of the cabin, kicked the door open, and shoved her through. She stumbled into the light and fell to the floor. Piker and Richard spun around, startled.
“We’ve got a visitor,” a familiar voice an-
nounced.
Nancy looked up. Jack Billings was standing next to the open door, a revolver in his hand pointed toward her.
She sat up cautiously as he approached. The gun was about two feet from her face when she noticed the bum scar on his hand.
Just then everything fell into place.
“Hello, Jeff,” she said as calmly as she could. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you that keep-
ing the same initials when you take an alias is one of the oldest mistakes in the book?”
“You have been doing some investigating, haven’t you?” he said.
Nancy swallowed. She desperately needed to play for time. If she could stall the three of them, Ned might come searching for her or one of the patrol cars Martin Robbins had assigned to the area might check up the access road.
“Your poaching plan was pretty clever,” she told Jack. “How did you come up with it?”
Jack leaned back against the doorjamb but kept the gun pointed at Nancy. “I saw an article a while back about Randy Dean and his marmots. It said that people were paying a lot of money for them.”
Nancy nodded, and he continued, apparent-
ly glad to have an appreciative audience. “A little later I was sorting the mail at the ranger station when I came across a letter from Trainey about the marmot study. I saw my chance right away and volunteered to serve as liaison to the project.”
“And you managed to get Richard and Piker hired as maintenance men in spite of their forged references,” Nancy guessed.
“You hear that, guys?” Jack said mockingly.
“She’s onto you.”
“Come on, enough chitchat,” Richard said.
“Let’s pack up and get out of here.”
Anger flashed across Jack’s handsome face.
“I’m the one who makes the decisions around here,” he growled. “Get those cages into the truck. I’ll make our guest comfortable.”
While Piker and Richard started carrying cages out of the cabin, he took some rope and tied Nancy’s wrists behind her back, then tugged her toward a door in the comer of the room.
“Hey, Prof,” he called, shoving it open, “here’s some company for you.”
Trainey was sitting on the floor of the small storeroom, his hands tied behind his back. His face was caked with dried blood from a gash on his forehead. “Are you all right?” she asked as Jack pushed her down beside him.
He nodded. “I’m sorry they got you, too,”
he said in a low voice.
“I’m sorry we got either of you,” Jack cut in.
“I don’t like complications. I did my best to convince you to stay out of our way. But you wouldn’t listen, so you have to pay the price.”
Keep him talking, Nancy told herself. “How did you manage to steal so many marmots?”
she asked.
“Easy!” Jack bragged. “I had Piker and Richard steal some cages, then I got a printout of the transmitter signals. I knew the counts were done in the afternoon, so we started trapping right after dark on Tuesday and worked all night. We hauled them up here and removed the transmitters long before the col-
lege crowd was even awake.”
“You missed Spike,” Nancy commented.
“Spike,” Jack spat out. “That friend of yours is really something. She is cute, though, I’ve got to give her that.”
Nancy wanted to punch him.
Just then Piker and Richard returned for more cages. As they gathered up a second load, Professor Trainey asked, “Why did you try to kill Brad?”
Jack scowled. “I didn’t,” he said, robbing the scar on the back of his hand.
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