Chapter Thirteen
"Nancy! Look out!" Ned shouted. He lunged at her, grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the path of the careening boulder. Nancy could feel the huge rock rumbling the earth beneath her feet as it thundered down the hill. When it reached the bottom, it tore like an out-of-control truck into two pines, splintering them at the base, before it rolled to a shuddering halt in a spruce thicket.
As Ned put his arms around her, Nancy began to tremble uncontrollably. Ned's arms felt so strong and protective, as if they could shield her from anything the world could throw at her. She leaned against him, gazing up the hill, and caught a glimpse of shadowy movement, something darting into the trees. Was it an animal she had seen—or a human?
Suddenly she realized the enormity of what had just happened. If it hadn't been for Ned's quick action, she'd be smashed like those trees. She swayed dizzily and sagged against Ned.
He held her tightly, then lowered her gently onto a rock.
After a few minutes, Nancy pushed her hair out of her eyes. "I'm okay," she said shakily. Then she laughed. "Lucky we let everyone go on ahead. At least they didn't see me playing handball with that boulder."
Ned grinned for a moment, tracing his finger along her cheek. But as he helped Nancy to her feet, he looked down at her, soberly. "I was scared, Nancy," he said hoarsely. "You could have been killed!"
"Ned," Nancy said, "I saw something moving up there, after the boulder came down. Do you suppose . . ."
". . . that it was Max?"
Nancy nodded.
"I didn't see what you saw, Nan, but it's entirely possible."
"Max might not have intended to kill Paula, but she's dead. Now he's got to worry about us. If we get out of here alive, he knows we'll go straight to the police!"
"So he's got to kill us?" Ned asked.
"If he's guilty," Nancy answered. "Or he might try to scare us so thoroughly that we keep our mouths shut." Nancy shuddered. "Hey," she said, "will you lend me your jacket for a little while? Thinking about Max out there loose gives me the chills."
Ned wrapped his jacket around her. "We've got to let the others know what happened," he said. "Otherwise I'd keep you warm myself."
Nancy grinned at him. "Control yourself, Nickerson—for the time being anyway," she whispered.
The rest of the group had already chosen a camping spot for the night and had divided up the responsibilities for getting settled.
Mercedes was bent over the fire, her cheeks flushed with the heat. She was stirring soup in a small aluminum pan, balanced carefully on three rocks.
Nancy sat down beside her. "Mmm, that smells good," she said appreciatively. "Vegetable?"
Mercedes nodded. "I wish we had more. I'm afraid this is just going to be enough to whet everyone's appetite."
"Well, maybe we'll get lucky tomorrow and find a berry patch," Nancy replied, laughing. "Minus the bear. Or a creek—then maybe we could catch some fish or something."
Mercedes laughed a little, too. "This has been some trip, hasn't it?" she said gravely. She shivered. "I can't believe what happened to Paula. When I get home, I'm going to have to tell her family . . ."
Nancy nodded sympathetically. Then, choosing her words carefully, she said, "Earlier, I asked if you knew about the contest. I was wondering if you remembered anything else about it."
