Chapter Four

While they discussed Adrian McDermott’s sudden appearance, Ole Pederson and the others returned from town. Daniel rushed over to them even before Mr. Pederson could park his old Studebaker truck.

“Did you talk to anyone in town about the theft?” Daniel asked.

“And hello to you too,” Ole Pederson said with a brief smile, as he exited the truck.

“Sorry,” Daniel said. “But we just had Adrian McDermott here asking us questions.”

“Did he actually ask about the theft?” Dr. Roost asked, coming around the front of the truck with Craig right behind her.

“No, but he sure knew something was going on out here.”

“Well, we certainly didn’t say anything,” said Old Pederson. “He’s probably just fishing to see what he can get out of us.”

“You didn’t tell him, did you?” asked Mildred Roost.

Daniel shook his head. “I’d like to know how he got wind of it.” He turned to look at Craig.

“Don’t look at me. I haven’t talked to anyone,” Craig said.

“If it will make you feel any better,” said Dr. Roost, “we only went to the T. rex Discovery Centre and spoke to the general manager there, and then we talked to Tim Tokaryk and Wes Long in the lab. In Climax, we talked to the staff at the museum and the same at the one in Shaunavon, but we asked them all to keep everything confidential and I know they will.”

“We did stop in to see how Corporal Fraser was doing, but we were only there briefly and no one else was about,” added Ole Pederson.

Dr. Roost said, “Most likely one of the neighbours saw the rcmp car in the yard.”

Pederson looked around. “I suppose Ed, Doug and Todd are still down working at the campsite? “

“Todd went home,” Daniel said.

“He left?” interrupted Ole Pederson.

“He told Mom he needed to take care of something,” Daniel said.

The focus turned to Craig. “Don’t look at me. I don’t have a clue why he left!”

“I’m sure he must have had a good reason.” Mr. Pederson tried to brush the absence off, but Daniel noted the concern that clouded his grey eyes.

“So did Corporal Fraser have any news?” Daniel asked, pushing aside his own anxiety about Todd.

Pederson‘s body seemed to droop. “Nothing...and I’m not holding out any great hope...” A tickle seemed to catch in his throat as he talked, causing him to cough and his eyes to water.

“There’s something else,” said Daniel. He told them about the oil spill.

“Landsakes!” Dr. Roost protested. “What more can happen?”

Mr. Pederson looked even gloomier. “I think I’ll just go home now,” he said, reaching for a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping his eyes. “I’ll talk to you all tomorrow. Keep me posted if there’s any news about the fossils.”

“We will,” Daniel and Dr. Roost said together, as they watched Pederson shuffle back to his truck, looking like a much older man than he’d looked first thing that morning.

“If we don’t get that Stygimoloch back, I worry what it will do to him,” muttered Mildred Roost.

“Me too,” Daniel whispered.

“He’s more upset than I’ve ever seen him. Discovering the Stygimoloch specimen meant everything to him.”

“We just have to get the fossils back!”

Dr. Roost seemed lost in her own world. “Wish I knew how we could do that. I’d give anything to see him inspired again.” She wandered off, leaning on her cane as if she too had suddenly aged.

Daniel stood in the middle of the yard for some time, thinking of the look on Pederson’s face. When he heard Mom and Cheryl returning from the henhouse, he headed off to begin evening chores. Craig was already in the barn, heaving bales.

By the time Daniel had finished milking, Todd had still not returned, so he and Craig completed the barn chores together. When they were almost done, Daniel asked him about his brother.

“I don’t understand why Todd left,” Craig admitted. “I’d better get home and see what’s going on.”

“Let us know if you need anything,” Daniel said, as Craig hung the pitchfork on its usual nail on the wall stud and left.

Daniel leaned against a post and sighed. He was glad the day was almost over.

Lying in bed that night, he found himself haunted by the day’s happenings and Mr. Pederson’s look of despair. If only he could do something to bring back the old man’s spirit.

Would taking Pederson on a journey into prehistoric time help him recover from this loss?

If he and Ole Pederson went, then Dr. Roost probably would insist on going too. She was brave, he had to give her that, but she wasn’t spry enough to climb trees, nor was Mr. Pederson. What could they do instead to keep safe?

He thought of a series of pulleys and ropes, maybe with some kind of harness system to hold them on their way upwards. But that sounded too cumbersome if they needed to escape quickly. Or could they take some kind of stun gun or tranquilizer darts like the ones used on elephants and other large wild animals? But even if they could get their hands on such things, he was sure the dinosaurs had thicker hides, and even if the darts could penetrate them, there might not be much effect.

He’d do some research on the Internet when he had a chance. Maybe there was something that originally had a different purpose that they could use. He remembered reading a science fiction novel called The Dechronization of Sam Magruder in which a man had gone to the Cretaceous Period and existed there for years, having discovered that large dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus Rex had poor eyesight, and that if he stood close to them, they couldn’t see him. But the book was a story and he seemed to recall that recent research indicated the T. rex actually had great eyesight. Daniel would wait and see what happened tomorrow. No point in rushing things.

But the next day was no different. Although the police were making inquiries and searching abandoned buildings, nothing had turned up. Every time a phone rang or someone drove into the yard, Daniel’s stomach did a little flip-flop, but it was always quarry tour business.

There seemed to be an extra flurry of visitors trying to see the excavation before the season closed. The only thing that distracted Daniel from his worries was taking the odd group to the paleontological site. But this depressed him even more each time he arrived and saw the path that led to the devastation. Although he avoided taking any of the visitors to the Stygimoloch area, his thoughts were there and he could feel his enthusiasm drain away.

“This is really tough going,” said Jed, as they took a break in the yard before the next groups arrived.

“Good thing today is the last day,” Daniel agreed.

“Yes,” said Lucy, joining them. “This should be a really happy day to celebrate the end of the summer and our success. Instead, everyone is moping around.”

“I haven’t even seen Dr. Roost yet today,” said Lucy. “Your mom said she drove off without breakfast this morning.”

Daniel nodded. “And Craig and Todd haven’t put in an appearance all day either. And they didn’t let us know they weren’t coming.”

“That is unusual. What do you think is up with them?” asked Jed.

Daniel shook his head. “Everything seems so strange now. Even Mr. Pederson didn’t show up.”

“But this is the last day,” said Jed.

“I know,” Daniel said. “But Dad stopped by to see him and he said he wasn’t feeling well today, so he wasn’t coming over.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” said Jed.

“Me either,” Lucy agreed.

“Good thing we could manage taking his place as the guide at the quarry,” said Jed.

“Maybe we should pay him a visit,” Lucy suggested. By the time they had shown the last of the visitors off the property, though, it was late and Jed’s parents wanted to head for home right away.

“We’ll come by in the morning and take stock of everything,” Doug Lindstrom said.

“Why not make it in a couple of days instead,” Mom put forward. “Give yourselves a break.”

Dad added, “Libby’s right. We’ll get to it over the next few days.”

Daniel silently agreed. Even if Dr. Roost or Mr. Pederson came for breakfast, it would still be a nice change not to have an extra family around all the time as they’d done every day of the summer. Besides, now that the theft had happened, the planned prospecting tour for the next morning was called off.

Doug leaned out of his truck window. “Thanks, Ed. We could use a bit of time to get back on track at home before school starts.”

Doug and Ed shook hands, and the Lindstroms pulled out of the driveway, with everyone waving from the crew-cab truck and Dactyl barking at the shouts from the youngest children.

“I’m going to head over to see how Mr. Pederson’s doing,” said Daniel.

“Don’t be long,” said Dad. “We still have evening chores to do and it looks like it’s you and me tonight, son.”

“Ask if there’s anything we can do for Mr. Pederson,” Mom suggested.

“I will. See you soon.” Daniel whistled for Dactyl, who trotted up in moments. His dog was the only one that had any bounce left in him.

“Come on, boy!” Daniel gave his pet a scratch behind the ears and they set off.

All was silent as Daniel approached Mr. Pederson’s shack. Should he disturb him? But then he remembered how two winters earlier Mr. Pederson had been quite ill. He probably wasn’t anywhere near that sick right now, but still it would be good to see how he was doing.

Crunched into the side of the hill with a lean-to attached and desperately needing some paint, Pederson’s place wasn’t much to look at, Daniel thought, but its rough look also kept intruders out. As they neared the door, Dactyl noticed some movement in the brush close to the shack and wandered off to investigate.

Daniel knocked on the solid, rough-hewn door, quietly at first, and listened for a response. Then he banged louder and thought he heard a weak, “Come in.”

The door creaked as he entered and stared into the gloom. Mr. Pederson lay on his cot in one corner of the room, but made no move to rise. Daniel walked over to his side. His friend seemed frailer than ever, his face sunken in.

“You okay, Mr. Pederson?” he asked.

“Just extremely tired,” admitted the older man.

“Have you eaten today? Would you like me to make you something?” Daniel asked.

“Some tea and some cheese and biscuits would be nice.” Mr. Pederson pointed to a cooler on the floor. “You’ll find the food in there. Tea’s in the thermos on the table. I brought it from town. I haven’t bothered turning on a generator for power.”

As Daniel bustled about preparing the snack, Pederson shuffled over to the table, but neither spoke of matters on their minds. Pederson’s hands trembled as he accepted the cup of tea and nibbled on the crackers and cheese. His coughing seemed to have subsided, though, and Daniel thought that was a good sign, but the old man didn’t seem to want to talk.

“Mom wants to know if you need anything.”

“Only the Stygimoloch back.” He grimaced and set his cup of tea down.

Neither one of them mentioned that even if the Stygimoloch fossils did turn up, there was no telling what condition they’d be in, but they were both thinking it. Daniel hated to see his old friend so miserable. Something had to be done to perk Mr. Pederson up.

Without thinking it through, Daniel blurted out. “How would you like to see the real thing?”

An instant sparkle lit up Mr. Pederson’s eyes.

“You know I would.” He tilted his head and looked at Daniel. “So you still have what you need to go back to the past?” he asked.

Daniel nodded.

“Grand!” Mr. Pederson sat up a little straighter. “Let’s talk about how I can go.”

“How we can go,” corrected Daniel. “You and me.”

Mr. Pederson shook his head. “No, I won’t let you go.”

“You can’t go without me,” Daniel protested. “You don’t know anything about it or what to expect!”

“But I do!” said Mildred Roost’s voice from the doorway.

Daniel groaned. He hadn’t meant to talk about going back to the world of the dinosaurs, not yet. But the words were out, and there was no taking them back.