Kidnapper!

Run, Nancy Drew, run! ” the man with the mustache called in a taunting voice.

For a moment, she almost took his advice, but the bull was too close and the fence too far ahead. She knew she had no hope of outrunning him, for she’d seen how fast the bulls could move in the arena.

Nancy took one step, then remembered the rodeo clowns she’d seen during the bull-riding. It was a gamble, but as the bull shook the earth, she knew it was her only hope.

Taking a deep breath, Nancy ran two steps, then dropped to the ground and rolled toward the side fence as fast as she could. The surprisingly small hooves pounded by, filling her nostrils with dust, and the cruel horns raked the air where she’d been standing a moment earlier. Choking with fear and dirt, Nancy rolled under the fence to safety.

Other hoofbeats shook the earth as she struggled to sit up. When she looked around, she saw two riders, one in pursuit of the big Brahma, the other dismounting on the far side of the fence.

“Are you all right, miss? ” the cowboy asked as he offered her a hand and helped her up.

Nancy took a deep breath and cautiously shook herself. Everything seemed to be in working order, she decided. “I think so, ” she replied, beginning to brush the dust and dirt from her Levis and shirt.

“You shouldn’t have been in that pen, ” the cowboy admonished.

Nancy opened her mouth to tell him about the note she’d received, then looked toward where the man with the mustache had been waiting. As she expected, he’d vanished.

Before she could say anything, the other rider came galloping back and began yelling at the cowboy she’d been talking to.

“How did that bull get loose, Slim? ” he demanded. “What was he doing back here? ”

“As far as I know, he was driven into the chutes with the others, Les, ” Slim answered when the older man paused for breath. “I didn’t even know he was loose till somebody yelled.” “What about the rest of the bulls? ”

The younger cowboy shrugged. “The chute gate was shut and the rest of them are on the far side of it.”

“You mean they just missed shutting that bull in? ” Les didn’t sound as though he believed that.

“He wasn’t standing around outside the gate when we took them over, ” Slim insisted. “He’s a little big to be overlooked.”

There was a long moment of silence as the two men looked at each other, then Slim turned to Nancy. “That was fast thinking on your part, miss, ” he said. “If you’d tried to outrun Old 79, he would have got you for sure. I’ve seen him hook a cowboy off the top of the fence more than once.”

Nancy shuddered, then forced a rather weak smile. “I remembered what the rodeo clowns did, ” she told them.

“You’re a very lucky young lady, ” Slim stated.

“Now, would you like a ride to wherever you were going? ” He remounted, then pulled his foot out of the stirrup and offered her a hand.

“I think I’ll just go back to the bleachers, ” Nancy said as she swung up behind him on the horse. “The person I came out here to see seems to have gone.”

“You were meeting someone out here? ” There was doubt in Slim’s voice.

Nancy took the card from her pocket and offered it to him. He read it, then handed it back, stopping his horse behind the bleachers. “Do you think someone turned that bull loose on purpose? ” he asked as she slipped off the horse.

Nancy thought of the bouncing runaway stagecoach and nodded.

“Do you know who it was? ” he inquired.

“Not his name, ” she had to answer, and then her anger surfaced. “But I’m sure going to find out.” She smiled with genuine resolve. “Thanks for the ride.”

“Stay out of trouble, ” he called after her as Nancy made her way toward the bleachers where she suspected that three worried faces were watching for her.

By the time the rodeo ended, Nancy’s spirits were totally revived and her determination had hardened into resolve. “Tomorrow we’re going to try to trap one of those men, ” she announced after relating her close call.

“How are we going to do that? ” Ned asked. “By making ourselves very visible all day. I really think they’ve been following us all the time, so maybe we can set up a trap with Sergeant Hill. What do you think, Grace? Will he help us? ”

“I’ll call him in the morning and see what he says, ” Grace offered. “But I really don’t like the idea of you or Jennifer being bait in a trap, Nancy.”

Nancy sighed. “I’m not thrilled at the idea either, but it’s better than what nearly happened to me today.”

“What about tonight? ” Ned asked. “Do you have any plans? ”

Tonight I'd like to go downtown and ask Mr. Westmorelin about P and D from the diary. Do you feel like some square dancing, Ned? ”

Ned grinned at her. “I’m game if you are.”

“Can we go along and watch? ” Jennifer asked, looking up at Nancy, then turning to Grace.

“I don’t see why not, ” Grace answered. “I love to watch the dancers and downtown Cheyenne is always exciting during Frontier Days.”

That evening, the downtown area was thronged with people slowing the traffic to a crawl, but Grace easily directed them to a parking lot where they could leave the car. Nancy looked around as they walked away from the lot, trying hard to spot any car that might have been following them; but the traffic was too heavy and the crowds on the sidewalk blocked much of her view.

“All we have to do is follow the music, ” Ned told them and Nancy had to agree. The familiar music and easy authority of the square-dance caller's voice came early on the night breeze.

The roped-off area of the street was already filled with swirling dancers, and it was quite a while before a couple signaled their desire to leave the group they were dancing with and Nancy and Ned were able to take their place.

During the time they were waiting, Nancy had a few minutes with Mr. Westmorelin and she quickly confided what she’d read in the diary.

“P and D, huh? ” He frowned. “Boy, that is hard. It’s been a lot of years, you know.”

“I realize that, ” Nancy assured him. “I just didn’t know anyone else to ask.”

“Did she say anything about them, something that would give me a clue? ”

“There was something about living on a citrus ranch, I think.”

“Pete and Diane, ” Mr. Westmorelin said, snapping his fingers. “They lived on the Catlin ranch for about a year. There’s a little cabin in a canyon about four or five miles beyond the house. I didn’t take you there to search because Lindy and Leroy never lived in it.”

“Would you have a last name and an address for Pete and Diane? ” Nancy asked.

“Not with me, but I’m sure it’s on our old Christmas list. It might not be a recent address, but it shouldn’t be more than a year or two old.” He smiled. “I’m sure they live somewhere in California.”

“I’d really appreciate having the address, ” Nancy said. “If I’m right, they must be the people that Clarinda and Leroy went to for help when they left Cheyenne. They are probably the only people that can tell me where to reach the Catlins now.”

“I sure hope you are right, ” Mr. Westmorelin said. ‘Til call you in the morning.”

That good news made Nancy’s feet extra light and she found herself laughing as she and Ned twirled and danced through the patterns the caller gave them. They were panting into the final whirling steps when a scream brought them to a halt.

“Nancy! ” The voice was Grace’s, but when Nancy looked around, she couldn’t see her hostess standing where she’d left her and Jennifer.

“Something is wrong, ” she cried to Ned as she ran to the rope barricade and slipped under it, nearly stumbling over Grace’s legs as the crowd separated to let her through. “Grace, ” she gasped.

“I’m all right, ” the woman assured her. “Two men just knocked me down—I think they were the ones who’ve been trying to hurt you. Nancy, they took Jennifer! You’ve got to go after them. I think they were headed toward the parking lot.” “But...” Nancy began, hating to leave the older woman, yet aware that Jennifer was in terrible.danger.

“I’ll see that Grace gets home safely, ” Mr. Westmorelin said, coming to kneel beside Grace. “You go after the child.”

“Thank you, ” Nancy called as she and Ned plunged into the crow4, holding hands to keep from being separated.

“Where do you think they are taking her? ” Ned asked.

“If they were following us earlier, they probably ended up in the same parking lot, ” Nancy guessed.

“That does seem logical, ” Ned agreed.

“But if they take their car out of the parking lot ahead of us, we’ll never see which way they go, ” Nancy commented, her mind spinning.

“There’s just the one exit from that lot, ” Ned said, slowing his pace a little. “Why don’t you wait near it while I go and get the car. If you can spot them, we’ll know what kind of car they have and which way they’re headed.”

“Good thinking.” Nancy gave his fingers a quick squeeze, then ran to take a position near the exit while Ned raced into the lot, his muscular form disappearing into the shadows of the cars parked there.

Once she was alone, Nancy realized how visible she was and quickly took a position near the side of a big van parked close to the exit. The shadows were deep there, but any car leaving the lot would have to drive directly by the van and would be under the street light for a few seconds—long enough for her to see who was inside.

Two cars drove out as Nancy watched, then a third one pulled up. It was an older car, light in color, and Nancy had to cover her mouth to keep from gasping as she recognized the driver as the blond man.

There was no sign of Jennifer in the front seat, but she could see shadowy forms in the back seat. For a moment, she considered trying to jump in the car, but before she could move, it was gone.

Nancy memorized the license number and watched as the car merged slowly into the traffic. She looked back and was relieved to see the familiar shape of Grace’s car. She leaped in, hardly giving Ned a chance to slow down.“ They went that way” she said, pointing. “It’s a different car, older and light-colored.” She gave him the license number.

“I only hope we can catch them, ” Ned said, maneuvering into traffic with the ease of an expert. “I just wish we’d had time to call the police, too. I don’t want to give them a chance to hurt you or Jennifer.”

“I don’t think we should try to catch them, ” Nancy told him, her mind spinning with plans. “I think we should follow them, find out where they are taking Jennifer.”

“And if we do find out, what then? ”

Nancy shrugged. “I guess we won’t know that till we see where they go, ” she admitted. “I only hope they’re taking her to where they are holding her mother.”

“You really do think they are the ones who have Lorna Buckman, don’t you? ”

“It’s the only thing that makes sense, ” Nancy replied, hoping that she was right. “Or as much sense as anything has made since we got to Cheyenne.”

“Maybe we’ll find some answers this time, ” Ned told her, then gave her a grin. “After all, this was your plan, wasn’t it? For tomorrow, I mean.”

Nancy sighed. “I didn’t count on them hurting Grace and I really planned on being the one who was bait in the trap. I’d never have risked Jennifer.”

“I know that, ” Ned assured her. “But we’ll catch them.”

“We have to, ” Nancy murmured grimly as she peered ahead at the endless stream of cars. “For Jennifer’s sake, we just have to! ”