NANCY DREW - white water terror | Page 6

sheds huddled under tall pine trees beside the road. As Nancy got out of the car, she saw that one of the sheds sported a crude sign that said White Water Rafting in crooked letters. The sign looked new, she noticed, in contrast to the old building. Down the hill, behind the building, she glimpsed a group of people standing on the bank of a river, next to two big rubber rafts.

�Looks like we�ve made it�finally,� Ned announced, turning off the ignition.

�Fantastic!� George exclaimed. She got out of the car, her concern about the trip momentarily forgotten. �Listen to that river!�

�I hate to tell you guys this,� Bess remarked, �but I hear roaring. Loud roaring.�

�Right,� Ned said, opening the trunk and beginning to pull out their gear. �Sounds like a pretty big falls not far away.� Grinning, he handed Bess her duffel bag. �That�s what white water rafting is all about, you know, Bess. Water falling over the rocks. It always makes a noise.�

Bess took the bag, shaking her head.

Nancy slung her backpack over her shoulder and followed George to the river. She was wearing khaki-colored safari shorts and a red knit polo shirt, a sweatshirt tied around her neck. The sun felt warm on her shoulders.

�Hi!� George said, hailing a tall, thin-faced young woman who was standing beside one of the rafts. �I�m George Fayne . Can you tell me where to find Paula Hancock? She runs White Water Rafting.�

The young woman looked up. Nancy couldn�t tell whether she was surprised to see them. �I�m Paula,� the woman said. She was in her early twenties, Nancy judged, wiry-thin and tense, like a nervous animal. �You�re late. We expected you last night.�

George bristled. �Yeah. Well, you might say that we�ve been victims of circumstance. That map you left for us at the airport took us on a wild-goose chase, and then we��

Nancy stepped in. �Then we got lost,� she interrupted smoothly, leaning her backpack against a tree. She threw George a warning glance. There wasn�t any point in alerting Paula Hancock to their suspicions. If she had anything to do with the warning phone call or the missing barricade, Nancy didn�t want to put her on her guard. �I�m Nancy Drew,� she said, holding out her hand and studying Paula. �George invited me to come along.�

�Glad to have you,� Paula replied brusquely. She ignored Nancy�s hand. She had odd amber eyes, Nancy noticed, cold and remote.

Nancy shivered as though somebody had dropped an ice cube down her neck. �Have we�.�.�. have we met?� she asked hesitantly. Those eyes�where had she seen them?

Paula straightened up. �I don�t think so,� she said more casually. �Not unless you�ve been up here before.�

�No,� Nancy said. �This is my first trip to Montana.� She was sure she had never met Paula, but she couldn�t shake the feeling that she knew those eyes.

Paula turned to a dark, good-looking young man in a faded blue denim work shirt and jeans, who was loading a radio into one of the rafts. �Max, come and meet our grand-prize winner, Georgia Fayne . Max is an expert river-rafter,� she said, turning back to George and Nancy. �He�ll handle one of our rafts. I�m taking the other.�

�It�s not Georgia, it�s George ,� George said, shaking Max�s hand. �This is my friend Nancy. And Bess,� she added as the others came up, �and Ned. We�re really looking forward to the trip. Ned�s been on a raft trip before, but the rest of us are novices.�

�Glad to meet you,� Max said. A long, hairline scar cut across the corner of his square jaw, giving him a lopsided look. He smiled at Bess as he shook her hand, his dark eyes glinting appreciatively. �Real glad.�

Nancy looked at Max closely. The voice on the phone could just as easily have been a man�s voice as a woman�s. In her experience, it was better to consider everybody a candidate for suspicion. And Max looked like a likely one. But then, so did Paula. Since she was the owner of White Water Rafting, she must have been responsible for the contest�and for that killer map. Nancy decided to watch both of them closely.

Paula glanced at the sleeping bags and packs that Ned was carrying. �Go ahead and stow your gear in Max�s raft,� she commanded. �The sooner we get started, the better.� She frowned at Max. �Did you check the batteries before you loaded the emergency radio?�

Max nodded. �Sure thing,� he said carelessly. �Can�t be out on the river with a radio we don�t trust, can we?�

�Hi! Let me show you where to put those.� A pretty girl walked over to Ned and took one of