“How far are we from the Clayton-Bagdall School?” Nancy asked.
“Isn’t that the one near the Falls?” one of the girls said.
“Yes, that’s it,” said Nancy.
“It’s about an hour away.”
“Oh, boy,” Nancy said. “You wouldn’t be headed that way, would you?”
“In that general direction,” said the driver. She was a blond girl who looked like the skiers Nancy had seen on television.
“I’ve got to get back there,” Nancy said. “Could you possibly give me a ride?”
The driver looked at the other girl, who was a little chubby and didn’t look like a skier.
“Hop in,” the other one said.
“I’m Anne,” the driver introduced herself as they drove. “This is my friend, Joan. We’re heading for the mountains for our first ski trip of the season. And what brings you here, may we ask?”
When Nancy told them some of what had happened to her, the two girls could hardly believe her. Still, they were friendly enough. By the time they reached the end of the highway, they had agreed to take Nancy the extra eight miles to the school.
“You really should go to the police with your story,” Anne said.
“The police will know about this soon enough,” Nancy said. “I hope by then I’ll have more to show them than just a little kidnapping.”
“A little kidnapping?” cried Joan. “If that happened to me, I’d be petrified.”
“You’re right,” Nancy agreed. “It wasn’t very pleasant.”
“Some of those hunters’ and trappers’ cabins are in the middle of nowhere,” Anne said. “That guy could have dropped you off in a place you could never have gotten out of.”
“Alive,” added Joan.
“Please.” Nancy shuddered at the thought. “I realized that when I first looked outside. But I didn’t think he’d taken me very far.”
“You were still lucky,” said Anne. “You could have walked in the wrong direction. If you had gone north or east, you’d still be walking.”
“And there are wolves out there,” Joan said.
“Hey,” Nancy protested. “You girls sure are full of good cheer.”
“We try,” said Anne. “We’re almost there, Nancy. Where do you want us to drop you?”
Nancy checked her watch. “Do you mind taking me to the soccer stadium? The game’s already in progress. I want to see if act two of this drama is going to be played out there.”
“We’ve come this far,” Anne said cheerfully.
A large crowd had gathered for the semifinal games. The host team, Clayton-Bagdall, had won the opener. Now Pineview was playing the Secord School in the second game. By the time Nancy and her two rescuers arrived it was well past three o’clock.
“I can’t thank you two enough.” Nancy jumped out of the car. “But I’ve got to get over there fast and find out what’s happening.”
“As long as we’re here, maybe we’ll watch for a few minutes,” said Anne. “I used to play this game a long time ago.”
“You sound like an old lady,” said Joan.
“I feel old after listening to Nancy tell us about her day!” Anne replied.
The large crowd was shouting with excitement as Nancy made her way between the packed bleachers to the sidelines. She could see Kate pacing up and down nearby. The coach was shouting encouragement, giving orders, almost directing traffic on the field.
George was on one knee in front of the bench, acting more like a cheerleader than an assistant coach. Nancy walked right up and knelt down beside George.
“How are we doing?” she asked, as if nothing had happened.
“Tied at two to two, about four minutes left,” George said without looking. Then she did a double take. “Nan, where in the world have you been? I looked all over for you, right up until game time.”
“It’s a long story, and not a pretty one. Have you seen Russell Garrison?”
“Not since early this morning, when I was looking for you. What’s this about the two of you having hot chocolate last night?”
“What else did he tell you?”
“Nothing. Just that he ran into you in the lobby. He said he brought you hot chocolate as a peace offering. Then he said you got tired and went to sleep.”
“I was tired, all right. Thanks to some knockout drops supplied by Russell Garrison. He even took me for a midnight ride.”
“What?” said George. She looked at Nancy in disbelief.
Nancy nodded. “Garrison wanted me out of the way for some reason. Now, think, George. Has anything out of the ordinary happened today involving the soccer team?”
