The Legend of Miner's Creek (5 page)

“That must have been a lot of work,” Bess said, looking at the four-foot-high dam.

Rachel nodded. “It sure was. It took me most of the summer to build,” she explained. “Luckily, there are a lot of rocks around here, but I still had to carry all the concrete and roll the rocks into place. Thank goodness I had Maddie to help.”

“Maddie Emerson?” Nancy wasn't surprised that the two were friends. Rachel had been quick to defend Maddie after the fire the day before.

“That's right,” Rachel said. “Maddie knows a lot about most of the animals that live around here, not just birds.”

As Rachel took the girls on a shortcut back to the lodge, Nancy hoped silently that Maddie wasn't involved in the problems at the retreat. It would be hard for Rachel to learn that she had been betrayed by someone who shared her love of nature.

“We can cross on this log,” Rachel said, leading them to a fallen tree that made a natural bridge across the stream. What was left of the tree's large branches provided good handholds, and the girls made the crossing easily.

The four of them climbed the bank toward the lodge. As they headed through the trees, Nancy heard the sound of a jeep. Briefly she wondered whether Charlie had gone into town and was returning home.

It wasn't until they had stepped out of the trees that Nancy saw an old army jeep just a few yards away. It was headed straight toward them—and there was no one at the wheel!

Quickly Nancy grabbed Rachel and pulled her out of the way of the runaway jeep. George and Bess jumped to safety just in time and rolled into the pine needles under the trees.

“Phew! That was close,” George said as she and Bess got up and brushed themselves off.

Then Rachel gasped. “The gas truck!” she cried, pointing in the direction of the lodge.

Nancy saw a small tank truck parked next to the retreat's gas pump beside the lodge. The truck was apparently making a delivery.

“The jeep's heading straight for it!” George yelled.

Without hesitation Nancy ran after the jeep. If it collided with the gasoline tanker, there could be a gas spill into Miner's Creek—or, even worse, an explosion.

“Stay back!” Nancy called over her shoulder. She
wasn't at all sure she could stop the jeep in time, and an explosion would almost certainly destroy the lodge.

Bounding over the uneven ground, she finally reached the door handle and wrenched it open. The truck was directly ahead. The deliveryman had just come around from behind his tanker and realized the danger. He waved his arms frantically at Nancy.

With her left hand on the open door, Nancy took a mighty leap and grabbed for the steering wheel, landing in the driver's seat. She immediately saw that a board was holding down the gas pedal. The steering wheel was also tied in place, forcing the jeep to hold to its collision course. Nancy kicked the board away with her foot, then stomped on the brake, hard. The jeep stopped with a lurch, just inches from the tank truck. Nancy shakily turned off the ignition, and the engine went silent.

The deliveryman came running through the dust that the jeep had kicked up. “That was some rescue,” he said, obviously impressed.

Rachel, Bess, and George had also run to the jeep. Todd and Beth Smythe, who had seen all the action as they walked to the lodge, came up from the opposite direction. Nancy found herself surrounded by an admiring group.

“I bet you could be a movie stuntwoman,” Todd Smythe said.

“You certainly saved my tanker,” the delivery-man said. “And probably saved the lodge as well.”

“Thanks,” Nancy said, feeling her face grow red from all of the attention. “But you would have done the same thing if you'd had the chance. Do you deliver here often?”

“The first Tuesday of every month,” the man answered, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief. “But I've never had a close call like this.”

Nancy excused herself and started to follow the tracks left by the jeep. Clearly, someone had planned the near-disaster, and she was determined to find out who.

“Do you think that jeep was aimed at the gas truck or at us?” Bess asked, taking several running steps to keep up with Nancy's long strides.

Nancy frowned. “I'm not sure. But either way it took careful timing. Rachel, do you know whose jeep this is?”

“It belongs to the retreat,” Rachel answered.

“Let's hurry and see if we can catch whoever did this,” Nancy said.

George, Bess, and Rachel hurried after Nancy as she backtracked in the direction the jeep had come. Nancy realized that, by putting the jeep in low gear, whoever started it had given himself or herself time to get away from the scene. Even so, the person couldn't have gone far.

“Where is that jeep usually parked?” Nancy asked.

“Beside the barn,” Rachel answered.

“It looks as if that's where these tracks lead,”
Nancy said. When she reached the jeep's usual parking spot, she turned and looked toward the lodge. It was a straight shot across an open area.

“Whoever was responsible could have done all his work right here, then started the engine and disappeared behind the barn,” Nancy said. “Let's take a look.”

As they neared the back corner of the barn, Nancy raised her finger to her lips, signaling the others to be quiet. There were voices coming from inside the barn.

Nancy leaned close to the door, but she couldn't make out what was being said.

“This way,” Rachel whispered. She motioned to Nancy to follow her to a ladder that led to a hayloft in the top of the barn.

“We'll be able to hear from up there,” Rachel said.

George and Bess offered to stay below as lookouts, and Nancy and Rachel climbed carefully up the old ladder.

The loft was one open room, half full of hay bales. Spaced along each side were openings in the floor, through which hay could be thrown down to each horse stall. Nancy and Rachel flattened themselves on their stomachs near one of the holes.

Below, Maddie and Pete were talking in angry voices. Nancy could hear clearly what was being said.

“It's not right that they should kick me out of my
home,” Pete grumbled. “I've worked here for twenty years. It's not going to be easy to find another place to live, or another job.”

“I don't blame you for being angry about the sale,” Maddie said. “And the last thing
I
want is crowds of city folks stomping through the woods.”

“Well, if it keeps burning, we may not have to worry about that,” Pete said.

“That would be—”

Suddenly Nancy heard a creak, like that of a door hinge. Maddie stopped in midsentence. She and Pete both looked toward the barn door.

Pete strode to the door and yanked it open. Bess and George came tumbling into the barn.

“I can explain,” Bess said quickly. “We were looking for lunch.”

“She means horses,” George corrected, but it was easy to see that Pete wasn't buying the story. He pushed his hat back, revealing the grim expression on his face.

“I think you two were snooping around,” Pete accused, folding his arms across his chest. “And I want to know why.”

The cousins looked at each other, as if both of them were waiting for the other to answer. Then the two of them looked at the floor, speechless.

Quickly Nancy climbed down the ladder from the loft and jumped to the floor behind Pete. Rachel was right behind her. Pete whirled around in surprise.

“I'll tell you why,” Nancy said. “We were trying
to find out who set the retreat's jeep on a collision course with a gasoline tanker.”

Both Pete and Maddie looked confused. “I don't know what you're talking about,” Pete shot back. “But I don't like being accused of things.”

“Neither do I,” Maddie said angrily. “And I don't like people eavesdropping on my conversations.”

“Nancy is just trying to help,” Rachel said. “And I'm sure she didn't mean to offend you. We just want some answers.”

“Has anyone else been here this morning?” Nancy asked.

“Not that I've seen,” Pete said with a shrug. “I've been here for the last hour or so, feeding and brushing horses. Maddie just came over to see if we'd ever figured out how the fire started. Now, what happened with the jeep?”

George and Rachel took turns telling about the runaway jeep and how Nancy had stopped it just in time.

Nancy watched Maddie and Pete's reactions to the story closely. Maddie, she thought, looked both shocked and concerned. Pete had put on a poker face that gave Nancy no clue as to what he was thinking.

“You'd better go check out that jeep,” Maddie said to Pete when the story was finished. “I need to check on my birds.” Then she turned back to Nancy and Rachel. Her voice was even and low. “I did see a rig parked by the road when I drove up
here,” she said. “Probably some tourist saw a deer in the meadow.”

Nancy thanked her, and the girls left the barn. They hurried toward the dirt road to see if any vehicle was still there.

“Rachel!” Maddie yelled from the barn. “You be careful! This is getting dangerous.”

The girls jogged down the driveway and turned onto the dirt road that led to town. Nancy guessed they walked for a quarter mile, but there was no sign of any vehicle. After a fruitless search for tracks they finally gave up and headed back toward the retreat lodge.

“Do you suppose Maddie said that just to get us out of there?” George said. “So that Pete could get rid of any evidence in the jeep?”

“It's a possibility,” Nancy said.

“Maddie wouldn't do that,” Rachel protested, her face growing red with anger.

“I hope not,” Nancy said. “Anyway, I think we need more evidence before we accuse any—”

Nancy's words were suddenly cut off by the sound of a huge explosion!

“Was that the gas tanker?” George gasped.

“I don't think so,” Nancy said, frowning. “It's farther away.” Just then she spotted a plume of dust and smoke climbing skyward behind the lodge—from the direction of Miner's Creek.

Rachel gasped, her face pale with fright. “The stream!” she cried, beginning to run in the direction of the blast. Nancy was right behind her, with George and Bess just a few steps back.

The girls reached the lodge and fell into single file as they scrambled down the narrow trail to the stream. The low bushes scratched at their legs and caught their clothing. Rachel seemed not to notice, darting down the trail at top speed, and Nancy wasn't about to fall behind. She knew Rachel might be rushing into a dangerous situation.

When they reached the creek, Nancy quickly saw
what the explosives had been used for. Someone had blown up the dam! A three-foot-wide section was gone, leaving a gaping hole in the middle. Rocks and pieces of concrete were scattered everywhere. Muddy water had rushed into the stream, turning it a milky brown.

Nancy's trained eyes quickly scanned the banks of the stream. Whoever had set the explosives had disappeared.

“The spawning bed is ruined!” Rachel said. She sounded close to tears. “A whole year's work destroyed. And so close to spawning season, too.” She stood on the edge of the water, clenching and unclenching her fists. Her eyes grew moist and finally overflowed. Tears trickled down her cheeks.

Nancy was about to wade across the creek to inspect the dam more closely when Charlie rushed down the trail behind her.

“What happened here?” Charlie demanded. “Who did this?”

“We don't know, Granddad,” Rachel said with a sniff. “We came as soon as we heard the noise.” Charlie put an arm around his granddaughter's shoulder.

“Someone blew up the dam?” Pete sounded shocked as he, too, arrived at the scene.

Nancy wondered if Pete's surprise was all an act. He could easily have set the charge himself after the girls had left to look for the vehicle.

“Yes,” Nancy told him. “Do you have any idea who might have done this?”

She watched Pete's reaction closely. His face clouded over immediately.

“That better not be an accusation,” he said, frowning. “I was up taking care of that fool jeep.”

“What's wrong with the jeep?” Charlie asked. His body grew tense with anger as Pete and Rachel told him about the runaway jeep and the near-explosion. Rachel added that they had looked for a vehicle seen near the meadow. Then Pete told Charlie about untangling the rope from the jeep's steering wheel and returning the jeep to its place by the barn.

“This is getting way out of hand,” Charlie said. “I'm calling the sheriff right now.”

“Good idea,” Nancy said, and Charlie started back up the hill.

Nancy turned to the others. “In the meantime, let's look around here for clues.”

George, Bess, and Pete began to search the creek bank while Nancy and Rachel used the fallen tree to cross to the opposite side. Nancy had just jumped to the ground when she heard another small explosion.

She turned to see George fall backward as a small puff of smoke rose from the rocks in front of her. George landed on a mossy rock and slipped into the creek.

“George!” Nancy yelled as she splashed into the water after her friend.

Pete was in the water almost as quickly, and together they helped George to her feet.

“I'm okay,” George said, trying to laugh. “I needed a swim, anyway, after all the running around we've been doing.”

“You're a good sport, George, but whoever's doing all these things certainly isn't,” Nancy said, wading out of the cold water. Rachel had scrambled across the log. She offered a hand to Nancy, and Bess helped George, as the two girls climbed up from the creek, their wet tennis shoes slipping on the round rocks of the bank.

Nancy immediately searched the ground where George had been standing. On one rock she found a black, smoky mark. Near the mark was a small piece of metal. Nancy picked it up as Pete knelt down beside her.