Under the bushes was a wire trap just like the one Ned had showed her the day before. Inside was a little marmot. One of its hind legs was caught in the door and was badly swollen.
Nancy's first impulse was to run for help, but she couldn't bear to leave the suffering creature. She knew that handling an injured animal could be dangerous, so she took the scarf from around her neck and wrapped it around her hand. Even if the marmot tried to bite her, the scarf would keep its teeth from breaking her skin. She knelt down and opened the door, gingerly freeing the marmot's leg.
"There, there," she crooned as she slowly withdrew her hand. "You'll be all right now." Just then she heard Bess's voice shouting.
"Nancy, where are you?"
"Over here," Nancy yelled. She shut the cage door and stood up as Bess and Jack came hurrying up the path.
Bess was huffing when she reached Nancy's side. "What happened? We heard a terrible noise."
Jack came to a stop behind Bess. "I told her it was a marmot," he said.
"You're right, it is a marmot. See? Its leg was caught in the trap."
"Oh, no!" Bess gasped. "Is it badly hurt?"
Jack bent down and carefully examined the animal, then stood up, his face angry. "His leg's not broken, but he's definitely hurt," he told them. "Let's take him back to camp. We'll clean the cut and bandage it."
"Can I help. Jack?" Bess asked, her eyes fixed on the injured animal.
"Of course." Jack's face relaxed into a smile. "With a pretty angel of mercy like you, this little guy will recover in no time."
"Are you coming. Nancy?" Bess asked.
Nancy shook her head. "I'm going up to the feeding station to see if Ned's still there." As she made her way up the hill, she kept thinking about the marmot. Had the thieves overlooked that trap when they collected the other marmots, or were they starting to trap more?
When she approached the fenced-off area, she saw Ned and Jennifer, their heads close together, making some adjustments to one of the time-lapse cameras. The sight made her a little uneasy. She took a deep breath, pasted a confident smile on her face, and called out,
"Hi, guys."
"Nancy!" Ned dashed over and gave her a big hug and a quick kiss.
Nancy's spirits soared; Ned wasn't angry with her any longer. She turned to find Jennifer watching them, a hint of challenge in her eyes.
"I can finish up here by myself if you want to take a break," Jennifer said. "We got a lot accomplished today. Nancy, will you be at the square dance tonight? It should be lots of fun. Ned, don't forget you promised me a Virginia reel."
Ned shifted his feet uncomfortably. "Oh, I won't," he said, then turned to Nancy. "I worked straight through lunch, so I'm due an hour or so. You want to drive to Mammoth Hot Springs? It's my favorite place in the park."
She touched his arm lightly. "That would be great." They walked down the hill and stopped at the campsite to tell Bess and Jack where she was going. Bess was so occupied with helping Jack that she only nodded.
Ned led Nancy to one of the camp's Jeeps. The top was down so Nancy zipped up her jacket before climbing in.
During the twenty-minute drive, Nancy told Ned everything that had happened since she'd last seen him. She mentioned the Turkowers, the attack on the road, and how she'd found the linen service driver bound and gagged in his van.
Ned was appalled to learn how close Nancy had come to being run off the road. "You've got to be more careful. Nan," he said anxiously. "I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you."
She felt a sudden glow. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing," she told him. "And anyway, what about you? I'm not the one who got himself knocked out. How's your head today?"
Ned lilted one hand from the wheel to touch the back of his head, where it was bandaged.
"It's still there," he joked. "I can take this bandage off tomorrow, though."
"I hope you've been taking it easy."
"Are you kidding?" he exclaimed. "We have to wrap up everything by Saturday. I've been going like crazy since daybreak. We all have."
He pulled the Jeep onto an embankment and parked. "Come on," he said, pocketing the keys. "From here we walk."
They crossed the road and made their way up the path.
"Mammoth Hot Springs is a twenty-foot- high stack of limestone with one side cut away by erosion," Ned told her. "And it's gorgeous. Look."
Nancy gasped in delight as they cleared the trees, and she saw steaming water flowing softly down a series of stone terraces that looked like giant multicolored steps. Near the top the stones were pure white, but farther down they were splashed with red, brown, pink, and tan.
"At the top the water is so hot that nothing can live on the stones," Ned told her. "But the water cools off as it flows downward, allowing algae to grow on the lower terraces. That's why those ledges are so many different colors."
"It's beautiful!" Nancy exclaimed.
"I wanted to be sure you saw this," he said, putting his arm around her waist. "But I'm afraid I have to get right back to camp. You can't imagine how much work we still have to do."
After another long look at the limestone terraces, they reluctantly headed back to the car.
"How's the case going. Nancy?" Ned asked as he drove back to the campsite.
"I'm making some progress, but not a lot," she said. "I've got too many suspects. Anyone could have taken the key from under the rock by the command post, which means I have to consider outsiders, like Piker and Richard."
Ned nodded. "Well, if the key was stolen, Professor Trainey obviously didn't do it. He's got one of his own."
Nancy remained silent for a moment, then told Ned the news about the grant extension.
He looked crushed. "Dan didn't say a word about it," he began. "I guess he's too upset."
"It's awful, I know," Nancy said carefully. "And I'm afraid I've still got to watch the professor. He must be pretty desperate for money now."
Ned's knuckles whitened as he gripped the wheel tighter. "That's ridiculous. Professor Trainey is the last person on earth who'd get involved in poaching marmots-no matter how hard up he is," he said indignantly.
Nancy took a deep breath. "Try to see it objectively. He's got a strong motive. And he has complete access to the equipment. I can't rule him out on your say-so."
Ned was silent for a long time. As he pulled into the parking area, he finally spoke. "I'm beginning to wish I'd never asked you to help. Some help! Doesn't the poor guy have enough problems just trying to get this part of the project completed by Saturday? If you can't manage to leave Dan Trainey alone, you'd better just turn around and go back to River Heights!"
Nancy's anger spoke for her. "I don't think you want this case solved! You're more interested in protecting your precious professor and not offending dear Jennifer than you are in finding out who's been poaching marmots."