095 An Instinct for Trouble by Carolyn Keene Page A

paper.
    The message was short and to the point: “Mind your own business, Nancy Drew. Mar-
    mots aren’t the only things that can disap-
    pear!”

Chapter Twelve
    Nancy stared at the note. It had been written in large, square letters with a red marker on a piece of computer paper. It resem-
    bled the paper they were using at the campsite, but she’d have to compare it to be sure. Still, with the key to the command post missing, that hardly narrowed things down.
    She leaned against the side of the car and thought. The poachers were obviously desper-
    ate to get her off the case. They’d tried to put her out of commission twice the day before-
    and now this note. She’d planned to watch her main suspects closely, but it made her un-
    easy to think that they had their eyes on her, too.
    Nancy put the threatening note in her pock-
    et, got into the car, and started for the ranger station. As she drove, she found herself fre-
    quently checking the rearview mirror, but she didn’t see any sign that she was being followed.
    When she entered Martin Robbins’s office, he was standing at the big wall map of Yellow-
    stone with a sheaf of papers in his hand. He turned and said, “Hello, Nancy. What brings you here?”
    “I wanted to fill you in on what’s been hap-
    pening with the case,” she said, joining him at the map.
    As she recited everything, beginning with the incident at the falls and ending with the conversation she’d overheard between Trainey and Gerald Turkower, Martin’s frown deep-
    ened. “You’ve been busy. And it looks like you’re making progress flushing these charac-
    ters out.” He crossed his arms and said slowly, “But from what you say, you’ve haven’t got enough proof for me to move on.” He went behind his desk and sat down, then gestured toward a chair.
    “I know that,” Nancy said, sitting down.
    “That’s why I’m moving to the Emerson camp-
    site today. From what Trainey said on the phone, I think the missing marmots are going to be shipped out tonight, and I’m pretty sure they’re being kept someplace nearby,” she replied.
    The ranger nodded. He remained silent for a moment, then hit the desk with his fist. “I feel as if my hands are tied on this. Without more proof, I can’t justify a full-scale search of the area around the camp, but I will beef up the patrol vehicles along that stretch of the high-
    way tonight.”
    Nancy smiled slightly. “That will help. And that reminds me-there’s something else you can do for me. I was wondering if you have some camping gear I could borrow. All my friend Bess and I really need is a tent and two sleeping bags.”
    Robbins chuckled. “And a couple of air mattresses, too, believe me. Otherwise, you’ll be so sore after one night that you won’t be able to walk. Let me think. I know I have a couple of sleeping bags here, but I may have to call around to get you a tent. And anyway, I’m not sure it’s such a great idea. These people have already shown how ruthless they are.”
    “I know that,” Nancy replied grimly.
    “That’s why I have to stop them now.”
    Robbins rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Fi-
    nally he said, “Well, all right, but on one condition-you call me the second anything starts to go down. I don’t want to take any chances.”
    “I understand,” Nancy told him.
    He made a call. “One of the rangers over at Tower Junction has a tent he can lend you.
    He’ll be passing by here in half an hour, so he’ll drop it off. Okay?”
    “Great,” Nancy replied. “Thanks a lot. I guess I’ll go get Bess and drop her by the campsite, then come back.”
    She started to get up, then sank back down in her seat. “There’s one more thing. You’ve got two park maintenance men named Rich-
    ard and Piker. I saw them talking to the Turkowers. That’s just one of the things that makes me suspicious of them. How well do you know them?”
    Martin leaned back in his chair and gazed toward the ceiling. “If you mean