The Secret at Solaire by Carolyn Keene

scene before the coach was set on fire!
    Suddenly, Nancy heard the sound of a whip being cracked in the air. The driver of the coach called out a command to the team of horses. Nancy jounced hard across the floor as the coach began to roll.
    There has to be a way out of this, she thought frantically. She knew there was a door to the coach. She just had to find a way to open it, but she was totally unable to move.
    Nancy told herself that she had to try. Scooting her body across the floor, she managed toget to her knees. The coach rattled on. It was hard to keep her balance, but Nancy used her elbows to search for the side of the coach. After what seemed like endless minutes of probing in the dark, she felt a thin line of cool air on her face. She’d found the door! Now all she had to do was find a way to open it.
    Nancy angled her body so that her feet pressed against the door. Then she kicked at it as hard as she could. The door didn’t move.
    Nancy heard the driver crack the whip again, and the horses’ hooves pounded against the dirt, breaking into a headlong gallop. Soon the driver would release the pin, and the horses would be driven off. The coach would roll free and someone would set it on fire. Using every ounce of strength she had, Nancy kicked at the door again. This time she felt a rush of air. The door was open!
    Nancy’s heart raced. Did she have the courage for what she had to do next? She had no choice. She had to throw herself from the moving stagecoach.
    Nancy struggled toward the door, then froze. How could she throw herself from a racing stagecoach?
    Then the signal shot cracked through the air, louder even than the sound of the horses’ hooves.
    Without a second thought, Nancy hurledherself through the open coach door. She landed in soft dirt, rolling over and over.
    She heard someone rush to her side, and then a baffled man’s voice, asking, “What—?”
    â€œNever mind what,” said a crisp woman’s voice. “Let’s get these ropes off her.”
    Seconds later, the blindfold fell away. The gag and ropes soon followed. Nancy sat up and slowly began to rub the feeling back into her wrists and ankles. She was sore and covered with dirt, but relieved to be alive.
    â€œWho are you?” asked the man who’d cut the ropes. “And what were you doing in my movie?”
    â€œI was in a movie?” Nancy asked. Somehow, that fact hadn’t quite sunk in.
    â€œNot for long,” the woman said, smiling. “I’m afraid there’s no rational explanation in our story for having a teenage girl tied up in the back of the coach. Sorry, but we probably won’t be using your footage.” She held out her hand to Nancy. “I’m Bonnie Walker, the producer. Are you all right?”
    â€œFine, I think,” Nancy said shakily, getting to her feet.
    â€œWhat happened to you?” demanded a familiar voice. It was Alain, with Bess and George right behind him. “We’ve been looking all over for you,” the trainer added.
    â€œThe one we ought to be looking for is HankMeader,” Nancy informed him, brushing herself off. “He put me in that stagecoach.”
    Bess’s faced paled. “I just saw Hank heading for the parking lot.”
    â€œWe’ve got to catch him,” Nancy said quickly. “Bess, can you go get security and call the police? George, let’s go!”
    Nancy and George set off at a run, ignoring Alain’s demands for an explanation.
    Every bone in Nancy’s body ached by the time she and George reached the parking lot. The fall from the stagecoach had left her entire body bruised. But she forced herself on, determined to stop Hank.
    Ahead of her, she spotted Hank in the driver’s seat of one of the Solaire vans. Nancy’s heart sank as she heard the engine turn over.
    â€œHe’s getting away!” Alain said.
    In her mad rush to the parking lot, Nancy hadn’t