Nancy struggled to her feet, managing to get her skis going in the right direction. “That was a close call,” she said.
“Oooo. It feels like I broke both ankles,” Bess said from the ground. Putting her hands under Bess’s arms, George lifted her cousin up. Bess’s skis angled wildly into the air, and her poles were on the other side of the trail.
Once she was safely on her feet, Bess gave George a pat on the back. “Thanks for scaring that creep off,” she said. “Whoever it was, he sure wasn’t fooling around.”
“That’s for sure,” George agreed. As she walked over to get her own skis, George asked Nancy, “Who do you think it was? And why was he or she after us?”
Nancy shrugged. “I don’t know. But I think we’d better get back and alert the park rangers. If it’s some psycho, they’ll want to know about it.”
“And if he really was after us?” Bess asked.
“Then we should definitely be somewhere much safer,” Nancy said in a grim voice.
• • •
“I bet that’s the snowmobile the rental shop reported stolen,” the park ranger said when the girls made their report. “Someone swiped it from a young couple who’d left it running while they got something out of their car. Sometimes it happens. Usually it’s just kids out for a joyride.”
“This wasn’t someone joyriding,” Nancy said. “The person was trying to run us down.”
The ranger shook his head as he swung his legs from behind his desk. His office was in a big log building. In one corner of the building, a concession stand rented ski equipment. In another corner was a small cafe. Several couches were scattered around a roaring fire. Bess was sitting on the stone hearth, trying to get warm.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” the ranger said. “Usually, the only trouble snowmobiles cause is messed-up trails. We’ve never had someone report a snowmobiler going after them.”
“Did the couple get a look at the person?” George asked.
The ranger shrugged. “Not a close one. They did say that he or she was not very tall and was wearing a ski mask and a green jacket.”
Nancy and George exchanged glances. Lawrence was quite tall, so that ruled him out.
“We found it!” a deep voice said behind Nancy. A younger park ranger wearing a heavy parka strode into the office. “That snowmobile you described was abandoned at the edge of the park.”
“Near a road?” Nancy asked.
The ranger nodded. “Either the thief had a car parked there or someone picked the person up.”
“Oh, great,” George grumbled. “Now we’ll never know who did it.”
Nancy stood up. “Well, thanks for all your help.”
“And we’re sorry you were inconvenienced,” the older ranger said. After shaking hands with him, the girls joined Bess near the fire.
“Well?” Bess looked expectantly at her two friends.
Nancy let out a deep sigh. “The person got clean away. And we still don’t even know if it was a man or a woman.”
“Let’s call the Edwardses’ house and find out where Darci was this morning,” George suggested. Digging through her coat pocket, she pulled out a quarter.
“Good idea.” Nancy went over to a pay phone near the concession stand and dialed the Edwardses’ number. Michelle answered on the second ring.
“Darci?” the young girl said, sounding surprised when Nancy asked for her sister. “Um, I think she’s still asleep. My dad said we shouldn’t bother her, since she felt so rotten last night.”
“Could you call her, please?” Nancy asked. “Tell her Nancy Drew’s on the phone.”
Five minutes later, Michelle came back on the line. “She wouldn’t open her door. She said to tell you to go jump in a lake.”
“Mmmm.” Nancy wasn’t surprised. “Well, thanks anyway, Michelle.”
When Nancy hung up, George and Bess looked at her expectantly. “Well?” they chorused.
“Darci said I should go jump in a lake,” Nancy repeated.
“At least that proves she’s home,” George pointed out.
“Except Michelle said she wouldn’t open the door. Maybe Darci had just sneaked back into the house.”
“That’s possible,” Bess said. “The Edwards live in a ranch house, and Darci’s bedroom is in the back. I remember from when I went to visit Shana years ago. Lawrence could’ve picked Darci up on the road and brought her home.”
Nancy nodded. “That’s one possibility. The other is that we’re still on the track of the wrong person.” Scooping up her gloves and hat, Nancy started out to the parking lot. “I think we need to change clothes and do some more snooping around at the dance academy. Maybe I’ve overlooked something important.”
• • •
The dance school parking lot was deserted except for Madame’s small foreign car and the school van.
“Oh, good,” Bess said from the passenger seat. “Maybe Mrs. Wolaski went home. I’m just not in the mood for pinning and hemming.”
“So what’s our reason for being here?” George asked Nancy as they got out of the car. “What are we going to tell Madame?”
Nancy held up two small cans. “We’ll tell her the truth. We’re going to paint candy cane stripes on the pillars.”
