broken.â
âThen hold my hands and see if you can wriggle out.â Ned braced himself against the fallen tree trunk.
Carefully, cautiously, Nancy twisted one way, then the other. It was like trying to get a cork out of a bottle. Slowly and painfully, she emerged. When she was finally free, she and Ned fell into each otherâs arms.
âIâm afraid weâll have to walk to shelter,â Ned said finally. âItâs starting to grow dark, and the stormâs getting worse. We canât stay on thisroad!â He thought for a second. âWe must have come more than halfway. Our best bet is to head for Webb Cove.â
âYou canât walk on that ankleââ
âIf youâre going to suggest that I let you go alone,â Ned interrupted, âdonât bother. Donât even think it! If I thought I was going to be able to ski today, surely I can take a short walk.â Ned retrieved his crutches from where they had fallen in the road and he and Nancy, both still dazed, started slowly toward the lodge.
All at once Nancy began to laugh. Ned looked at her in alarm. âWhat are you giggling about? Are you sure you didnât break something in that beautiful head of yours?â
Nancy shook her head. âI was just thinkingâif Luke looked murderous before, think what his face will be like when he finds out what weâve done to his precious Jeep!â
âIâm thinking,â Ned said grimly, âbut Iâm not laughing.â
âI know,â Nancy commented. âThis time heâs really going to kill us!â As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Nancy wished she could take them back. Theyâd come out sounding much more sinister than sheâd meant. âHey, what do you think, Ned? Could this be one more of Lukeâs planned âaccidentsâ?â
Ned groaned. âI bet youâre right. Brakes donât usually just fail like that.â
âAnd Lukeâs the most obvious person, isnât he? I mean, heâs always involved somehowâhisskis, his Jeep, the rope tow he was supposed to take care ofâWait, I hear something,â Nancy exclaimed excitedly.
Behind them a motor sounded faintly. It grew louder, and then headlights swept around the curve. Nancy and Ned jumped out of the road, then started waving madly at the driver. The car slowed to a stop.
âDonât tell me you two tried to walk,â Michaelâs voice said. Then he added in a shocked tone, âWas that your wreck I just passed? What happened?â
Nancy shook her head. âSomething went wrong with the brakes.â She shuddered.
âHow did you get the thing to stop?â Michael asked gently.
âNancy ran it up on a fallen tree,â Ned said proudly. âIf it werenât for that, neither one of us would be alive.â
Michael frowned. âI thought Luke was going to take the Jeep back from you.â
âHe never found Ned,â Nancy explained. âI think when you mentioned Dieter Mueller, he just got too upset to worry about it.â She waited curiously for Michaelâs reaction.
Michael gave a short, mirthless laugh. âThis is exactly the kind of thing I tried to warn you about, Nancy.â
Nedâs eyes narrowed. âSuppose you spell it out.â
âCarelessness with his equipmentâor dangerous jokes. Especially to get even with people whoannoy him. People who take his wheels without asking, for instance.â
âSome joke,â Ned said.
Hmm, Nancy thought, something funny is going on here. Michael didnât mention dangerous pranks before. . . .
âMaybe it wasnât a joke,â Michael said. He turned to Nancy. âYour friend said youâre a detective. How much digging around into Ericsenâs past have you been doing?â
âAll I know is what youâve told me,â Nancy said evasively. âI certainly