Chapter Five

Caroline struck the chisel with the mallet again, and bits of rock flew in all directions. “My usual procedure is to wrap the bones in burlap, pack them on the travois, and transport them back to the cabin. I cover some of the smaller ones with plaster of Paris for protection. When I have enough to fill a crate, I ship them to Connecticut by rail.”

“And then Marsh pays you for them?” Nick asked.

She nodded without looking up. “Our arrangement is one hundred twenty-five dollars a crate.”

He reached over and whisked the chips away with his brush. “I can see you know what you’re doing, but I’m surprised the professor agreed to hire a woman for a job like this.”

The next stroke of her mallet missed the chisel and grazed her thumb. He’d touched a sore spot, like poking a bruise. “He doesn’t know,” she admitted. “I’ve signed all my correspondence C. P. Hubbard.”

“So he would assume you’re a man.”

“I hoped so.” She raised her gaze to meet his. “You won’t tell him, will you?”

With Nick’s rugged good looks no longer hidden by the ridiculous hat, she suddenly questioned whether she’d insisted he wear it for his protection or her own. Then he smiled and yesterday’s tingle struck again without warning, sending a tiny shudder racing through her body. She quickly banged the mallet into the chisel to cover the involuntary movement.

If Nick noticed, he gave no sign. “Why would I tell Marsh? He’s getting his fossils, and it’s none of my business. Besides, I can see how important your work is to you.”

Did he, really? She studied his expression for hints of condescension but found none. His words were the first glimmer of professional support she’d received, and she wondered if she dared share her secret dream. He’d seemed supportive thus far, but the memory of Arthur’s sweeping dismissal of her ambitions still stung. She decided to take the chance. She gulped and blurted it out. “I hope to discover a new species and publish a paper in a scientific journal.”

He didn’t appear shocked. He merely nodded. “That’s an impressive goal.”

Tight muscles in her shoulders relaxed. Was it possible he understood? “There’s so little opportunity or recognition for female scientists.”

He opened his mouth to reply, but his words were drowned out by a deafening explosion. He snapped his head around in the direction of the blast. “What the hell was that?”

Caroline stuffed her tools in the saddlebags and ripped off her gloves in disgust. “That would be Harlow and Edwards.”

“Cope’s men?”

“Yes, and I’ve had just about enough of them and their dynamite. I’m going over there and give them a piece of my mind.”

Nick stood and helped her to her feet. “How close are they?”

“Far too close for my liking. They’re supposed to stick to the north end of the ridge, but they keep creeping southward like primordial ooze.”

He shouldered the saddlebags and took her elbow. “We’ll go together. Perhaps I can help persuade them to keep their distance from your site.”

“There’s no reason for you to get involved. This isn’t your problem,” Caroline protested as she hurried down the rocky hillside behind him. “You’re still recovering from a nasty bump on the head. Harlow might be a little weasel and Edwards a bit of a blowhard, but I’m sure I can handle them. You stay with Jasper.”

Nick halted and turned, and she stumbled to a stop to avoid plowing into his chest.

“I am not staying with the mule.” His tone forbade discussion.

He started down the hill again, and she rushed to keep up. “I still don’t think it’s a good idea,” she called out to his back. He didn’t reply.

Jasper had no interest in carrying a double load again and kept backing away, but a big drink and another carrot persuaded him to cooperate. After Caroline was settled on his back, Nick mounted behind her, and they set out.

Before they reached the railroad men’s blast site, two more explosions rocked the air. At the second, Jasper balked and brayed, nearly sending his riders into the dust. Caroline grabbed the saddle horn, and Nick clutched her waist so hard the soft flesh ground into her ribs. She sucked in a quick breath.

“Sorry,” he said, releasing his grip. “Maybe we should get down and walk the rest of the way before we end up with broken necks.”

She nodded. “We’re close now. They’ll be near the base of that cloud of dust.”

They slid off Jasper’s back and walked the remaining hundred yards to the tent and pile of boxes that marked her rivals’ camp. Fifty feet past the camp, two men squatted behind a sandstone outcropping. “Mr. Harlow! Mr. Edwards!” Caroline called out, waving her arms in the air. “Please, you must—”

Kaboom!

Another thunderous blast shook the ground, knocking her off balance. She swayed, and her flailing arms sent her hat sailing into the air. Nick reached for her a second too late, and she landed on her behind in the dirt.

Horseapples!

Was that snickering she heard, or were her ears still ringing? She glanced up at Nick and caught the tail end of a smile before he quashed it.

“That’s it!” She glared and thrust her hand toward him. “So help me, I’ll jerk a knot in their tails.”

His features contorted with the effort to control his laughter, but he lost the battle and let out a snort. She narrowed her eyes. “You’ll be next if you don’t watch your step. Bump or no bump. Now help me up.”

He obliged and pulled her to her feet before retrieving her hat. He was still chuckling. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh, but you can be very...uh...colorful when you’re angry.”

Caroline yanked her arm from his grasp and rammed her hat on her head. “I’ll show you colorful.”

Nick’s expression sobered. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

She slapped the dust from her skirt and frowned in disgust. “Only my dignity, but I happen to value my dignity.”

“Want me to shoot them for you?” he offered.

“You don’t have a gun.”

“No, but you do.”

She did, and she was half-tempted to go back to Jasper and get it. “I don’t need your help. If I want anyone shot, I’ll do it myself.”

“Just trying to be of service.”

She’d had precious little sleep on the floor the night before, her eyes stung from the sun and dust, and she was half-deaf from the blasting. She was in no mood for teasing. “Then keep quiet and stay out of my way.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She was tempted to knock the smirk off his handsome face. And she could do it, too. She’d been Arthur’s sparring partner the summer he was thirteen and decided to take up fisticuffs. What she lacked in size, she made up in speed. However, Nick was not the real adversary here, and punching him would only damage her dignity further. Instead she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and counted to three. When she opened them, she’d refocused her anger on the proper culprits.

She marched toward the men. “You there, Harlow and Edwards, I demand you stop this blasting immediately!”

The men rose and turned. The big, burly one with the huge, drooping moustache removed his hat and flashed a grin featuring a gold front tooth. “Miss Hubbard, have you come to see how it’s done?”

Caroline rammed her hands on her hips. “Mr. Edwards, I insist you stop trying to excavate with dynamite. In addition to disturbing the peace of every living creature for miles, can’t you see you’re destroying hundreds of fossil specimens?”

He smiled again and instead of answering, pulled a fat, ugly cigar from his shirt pocket and struck a match on a rock. He continued to smile as he lit the stinking thing. The smoke drifted toward her on the breeze, and Caroline’s stomach lurched. She despised the smell of cigars. The sweet scent of pipe tobacco always brought back memories of her father’s study when she was young, but she’d never understood how anyone could tolerate cigars. Ugh.

“We’re still getting plenty of bones,” Edwards drawled. “The professor has no complaints.”

Her stomach rebelled at the foul odor, causing her to retreat a step or risk losing her breakfast. “You are not scientists,” she accused. “You’re just a couple of mercenaries.”

Edwards grinned around the cigar he held clenched in his teeth. “That we are. Are you saying Professor Marsh doesn’t pay you for your finds?”

He had her there, but it was their methods she had issue with. “Yes, but he would never condone the use of dynamite.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. Those two would do just about anything to win this little competition.”

Indignation threatened to choke her. “Is that how you see scientific exploration, as a game?”

Edwards shrugged his hulking shoulders. “I think that’s how the professors see it. For Harlow and me, it’s a business proposition.”

“You’re a couple of traitors,” she said in disgust. “I know you used to work for Professor Marsh before switching sides.”

“We did what any good mercenary would do. We signed with the highest bidder.”

Caroline winced. Science was, of course, her overriding motivation, but money was a bit of a sore point at the moment. Professor Marsh tended to be tardy with his payments, and she was still waiting for the latest. Still, she straightened her spine and pressed forward. “Regardless of compensation, you must agree to stop excavating with dynamite.”

Edwards removed his cigar and spat on the ground. “No, Miss Hubbard, we do not. We have a letter specifically authorizing us to use ‘whatever means necessary’ to get those bones.”

“Dynamite is not necessary; it’s merely expedient.”

“And speed is necessary. We need our money as speedily as possible.” His smile would have curdled milk. “Now, unless you want to get blown off your feet again, I suggest you leave. We’ve got a busy afternoon ahead of us.” He turned his back and joined his partner, who’d begun preparing a fresh charge.

She felt a tug on her sleeve. “Caroline, let’s go.”

Nick. In her indignation at Harlow and Edwards, she’d forgotten him.

She jerked her arm free. “I’m not finished here.”

“Yes, you are.”

“But they refused—”

He grabbed her arm again and guided her toward Jasper. “You’ve done all you can for the time being.”

“Let go of me!” She wriggled and twisted free.

Anger clouded his expression. “Stop and think. There’s nothing you can say to persuade them today, and we’re not armed. Even if we were, are you prepared to shoot two men over a bunch of old bones?”

Fury rose in her throat. Old bones? Old bones?? “You don’t value my work at all, do you? I thought you understood.”

“I don’t want you hurt.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Harlow and Edwards wouldn’t hurt me.”

“Fine. If you’re so certain, I’ll leave you to argue away the rest of the day in the hot sun until you’re shriveled like a raisin.” He spun on his heel and marched past Jasper back the way they’d come.

“At least I’m wearing a hat!” she yelled after him.