Free The Eskimo's Secret by Carolyn Keene

nodded. “The authorities must be looking for your car,” she said. “We’ll be much safer in my rental.”
    “Okay, Nancy,” Alana agreed.
    There were some angry shouts from inside the lodge. Nancy looked up as lights went on behind some of the windows. “I hope they don’t hurt anyone,” she murmured, feeling guilty for having led the men to this refuge.
    “Don’t worry about the people who live at the Firebird,” Alana said. “They’re well able to take care of themselves. Those two may find themselves tossed out, if they get too pushy.”
    The girls moved from car to car leaving a trail of flat tires behind them. They’d just finished the last car when a dark form detached itself from the shadows. “What are you two doing?” Ben asked.
    “Just slowing down the enemy,” Nancy said.
    “How about letting me put the finishing touches on their car,” Ben said, releasing the hood of the big, mud-caked sedan. “You get your car started, Nancy. We don’t want to be here when they come out.”
    Nancy did as he suggested, feeling better than she had since the phone call about her father. She was really no closer to rescuing him, but at least she had gained some information as well as Alana’s and Ben’s help.
    “Let’s go,” Ben said, getting into the backseat.
    Nancy swung the small car around and headed down the rutted road just as the door of the lodge opened and the two men came racing out. Their shouts range in her ears.
    “What about your friends at the lodge?’ Nancy asked. “How will they manage with their cars disabled and the phone lines out?”
    “When they get ready to leave, they’ll just hike down to the harbor and take their fishing boats out,” Ben said. “Your playmates are the only ones who are going to be stuck at the lodge for a while.”
    “What a shame,” Nancy said, laughing.
    Alana sighed. “So what do we do now?” she asked.
    Nancy’s high spirits dropped. “I really don’t know,” she admitted.
    “I still can’t go to the authorities,” Alana said. “I couldn’t let you, anyway, not while they have my dad,” Nancy reminded her.
    “We need to come up with a plan,” Ben said. “A way to get your father back, Nancy, and to trick those crooks into giving up the Tundra. If we could do that, we could clear up everything.”
    Nancy nodded. “Sounds like the perfect solution. Do you have a plan?”
    “Not a hint of one,” he admitted.
    “How about you, Nancy?” Alana asked. Nancy bit her lip. “I don’t have any ideas either,” she said. “I just know we have to be very careful. I don’t want Dad to get hurt.” “Don’t even think about that,” Alana said. “They’re not going to do anything to him, not when they think they can trade him for me.”
    “I wouldn’t do that, Alana,” Nancy told her. “You know I wouldn’t. No matter what they say.
    “I think we have a more immediate problem,” Ben interrupted.
    “What’s that?” Nancy asked.
    “Where to go now. Those two are going to be stuck at the Firebird for a while, but once they get away, they’ll look for us again and I don’t know of any other place to hide Alana.”
    “I wish we could go to my uncle,” Alan said, “but I’m sure he’s being watched and I can’t bring him any more trouble.”
    “Well, you know, the kidnappers were kind enough to reserve two rooms at the hotel for my father and me, so I suggest we use them,” Nancy said. “What do you think?”
    “You mean stay at your hotel?” Alana and Ben chorused.
    “Well, they’ve been watching it pretty closely but since they obviously followed me when I left earlier, there’s probably no one watching now.”
    “That’s crazy,” Alana protested.
    “Why?” Nancy asked. “I have to be there so they can contact me about Dad.”
    “You’re right,” Alana admitted. “I’m sorry, Nancy. I guess I’ve been thinking of my own problems so long that I’d forgotten other people have trouble,