Chapter Five

“You didn’t think you’d get away without me, did you?” Dr. Roost chortled.
Daniel hadn’t heard her arrive. She must have parked the truck some distance away and walked from there to Pederson’s. She thumped her cane across the old boards laid over packed dirt that served as the floor and settled herself in a chair.

“And I agree, young man, you are staying home. Ole and I can go by ourselves.”

Daniel shuddered. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I know all your reasons why and I agree. It is dangerous for us. We’re not spring chickens any more. But I think with a few calculations we could come and go fairly quickly right close to where we saw the Stygimoloch.” She grinned at Mr. Pederson.

“We’d just stay long enough to observe their feeding rituals and take a few pictures. We wouldn’t venture anywhere else.” She turned back to Daniel. “We’d be back before you knew it.”

“How could you calculate where to go?” Daniel asked. He still didn’t agree, but he was willing to hear what she had to say. Now he knew how his parents must feel when he tried to talk them into letting him do stuff they thought was dangerous.

“You already know the approximate place you land in the past whenever you leave from your hideout. And we know where we returned this last time was only a couple of hills away from where we are right now. We just need to draw up a map and measure some distances here, then see if we can’t figure out how to land in the general location of the place where you and I saw the Stygimoloch.”

“I see what you’re saying, but some of that landscape was pretty tricky and we backtracked a couple of times,” Daniel answered.

“I’m sure if we put our heads together and studied our photographs, we’d be able to pinpoint the spot fairly accurately.” Dr. Roost’s enthusiasm for a return trip was evident.

“What do you think?” Daniel asked Mr. Pederson.

“I think we need to consider this carefully, before we make a decision as to whether or not we go.” Thank goodness. Mr. Pederson hadn’t made up his mind yet.

“What’s to think about?” asked Dr. Roost.

“The danger we’d be in, for one thing,” replied Pederson. “I’d like to consider all the possibilities first.”

Dr. Roost gave a brief rundown of what Ole Pederson could expect. As she spoke, Daniel could see the excitement grow in the old man’s eyes.

“This seems too good of an opportunity to miss,” he admitted. Maybe Pederson had made up his mind, after all.

“Indeed,” said Dr. Roost. “We’ll only be there for a short time.”

“Very short,” said Daniel, though he still worried about the old couple’s stamina and about how they would cope for even a few minutes.

Pederson handed the teacup and the plate with crackers and cheese back to Daniel. “Here, get rid of that and grab some paper. There’s some right over in that drawer.” He indicated a dilapidated cabinet along one wall.

He turned to Dr. Roost. “We need to think it through carefully so you and I can make the most of it while we’re there.”

“Whoa, wait a minute,” protested Daniel. “I still want to come with you.”

“Too dangerous,” Mr. Pederson and Dr. Roost said in unison.

“If you’re only going for a few minutes, it’ll be safe enough for me!”

“We’ll decide that later,” said Mr. Pederson, sidestepping the issue.

“Nope, I won’t help you unless you let me come.” He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the pair.

Mr. Pederson grinned sheepishly at Dr. Roost. “I think he’s got us.”

“Yes, we need him to pull it off.”

Daniel grinned at them. They sounded like they were planning a bank robbery. “Yep, without me you’re not going anywhere.”

“Fine, young man,” said Dr. Roost. “Grab that paper and let’s get started.”

“It’s a deal then? I come with you?”

Mr. Pederson gave a wry smile. “You drive a hard bargain.”

“It’s only fair,” replied Daniel.

Daniel scurried over to the old cabinet to get the paper and a pencil.

“You’ll need a ruler too,” said Mr. Pederson. “You’ll find one in the drawer with my cooking utensils.”

Daniel lifted his eyebrows in surprise.

“I always know where it is if I keep it in there.” The old man shrugged his shoulders.

Daniel found it and joined the other two at the table. Pederson began drawing the outlines of the surrounding land with the use of a ruler, plotting his shack and Daniel’s hideout on the diagram.

“How do you know where they go?” asked Daniel.

“I know how many steps I take to get to places and how long my strides are,” he answered, his eyes alight with interest. “It helps to keep track of where I’ve searched and where I’ve notated something unusual.”

“This is a good start,” Daniel said. “But for the Cretaceous Period, I’ll need my notebook and the pictures, which are at home.”

Dr. Roost nodded. “Yes, there’s plenty of time to do that tomorrow. I’ll see what I can remember and try to draw something to scale tonight.”

“I’d better get back. I promised I wouldn’t be long.” Daniel turned to Mr. Pederson. “So will we see you at breakfast tomorrow?”

“Wouldn’t miss your mom’s cooking for anything!” he smiled.

“I’ll give you a ride back, young man,” said Mildred Roost.

“Thanks. My folks will be glad to see you’ve returned too. Everyone kind of disappeared today.” He explained about the missing Nelwin brothers.

“Maybe they’re having problems with their dad. They know they can come to us if they need to. But it’s best to let them sort things out on their own until they ask for help,” said Pederson, rising to his feet. “Come on, I’ll walk you to the truck.”

Daniel smiled to himself as he watched Mr. Pederson accompany Mildred Roost across the pasture to her parked truck. What a change his old friend had gone through since they’d begun talking about going back into prehistoric time. His step was lighter and his voice stronger. Even Dr. Roost was chattier than usual as they walked along, almost touching.

“Thank you for making an old man feel better, lad.” Ole Pederson squeezed Daniel’s shoulder. “I’m looking forward to finishing our plans tomorrow.”

“I am too,” said Dr. Roost. “We’ll see you bright and early at the Bringhams’ for breakfast.”

“Bye, Mildred,” Pederson said with a smile that lit up his eyes.

Dactyl appeared and hopped into the truck ahead of Daniel. On the ride home, Daniel sat lost in his thoughts.

“And what’s that smirk doing on your face, young man?” asked Mildred Roost.

“Nothing,” he answered.

“Whatever you’re thinking probably isn’t right,” she retorted.

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Daniel. “I think Mr. Pederson’s kind of sweet on you.”

“Oh, bosh,” she said. “We’ve known each other for years. We get along fine, that’s all.”

“You mean to tell me you’re not sweet on him either?”

Dr. Roost squirmed a little and stepped on the gas without answering. After a moment, she said, “I think you’re getting a mite too personal.”

“I think I’m just getting too close to the truth,” quipped Daniel.

“Maybe you are at that,” she said quietly, as if to herself.

As they drove along, a companionable silence filled the cab of the truck. Daniel remembered how Mr. Pederson’s interest had been sparked and his attention diverted from the theft of his precious fossils. The only problem was that they’d actually have to travel back in time. He gave an involuntary shiver at the thought of the danger they’d be in. The only consoling thought was that they’d only be gone a short time – just long enough for Ole Pederson to see the Stygimolochs and to take a few pictures.

As if reading his mind, Mildred Roost said, “We’ll plan this trip really well to minimize the risks. I’m sure we can estimate where we need to be within a very short distance.”

“That will work if the Stygimolochs are still in the same grazing area,” said Daniel, a little bit doubtful.

“True, but we can probably assume they’re creatures of habit. We’ll make sure we come right back either way,” she reassured him.

“We’ll need to stay close together at all times.”

“Indeed. You and I can stay on either side of Ole. We’ll keep a close watch on each other and grab him if we need to leave in a hurry.”

“Sounds good,” said Daniel.

He felt his stomach churning at the thought of entering the treacherous world of the dinosaurs again. The last time he’d gone, he’d barely made it out alive. What would it be like having two elderly people to keep an eye on? Having Dr. Roost with him had been bad enough, especially when they’d had to climb a tree. Although Mr. Pederson was looking much better, he was still fairly frail, simply because of his age. But then, Mildred Roost had surprised him with her agility when they’d time travelled together; maybe things would be okay. Besides, they were only going for a few minutes.

When they returned to the yard, Mildred only stopped long enough to let Daniel out, honked hello to the Bringhams and continued to her parking spot on the far side of the yard. Daniel hurried to the barn. Dad had already milked the cows and Mom was doing the separating.

“Sorry, I’m late,” said Daniel, grabbing a pitchfork and heading for the stalls. “I didn’t mean for you or Mom to have to do the work.”

“It’s all right, Daniel,” Dad said. “I think it was more important for you to spend time with Ole.”

Mom came out of the separating room and poured some milk into the cats’ bowl. Cheryl toddled behind her.

“This is kind of like old times, all of us out here doing the chores together, isn’t it?” she said.

Daniel had to admit it was nice to share the work with his family. A warm feeling had replaced his sense of foreboding and for a little while as they worked, he forgot about their other problems.

“How is Mr. Pederson doing?” asked Dad.

“He’ll be fine. He promised he’d be here for breakfast in the morning. He said he wouldn’t miss Mom’s cooking for anything.”

Mom laughed. “Sounds like he’s got some of his old spunk back.”

“Dr. Roost will be here too,” said Daniel. “She was at Mr. Pederson’s.”

“Guess I’ll have to make something special then,” said Mom, wrinkling her brow.

“How about Belgian waffles?” Daniel suggested.

“I think that could be arranged.” She swung Cheryl onto her hip and left the barn. “I’ll let you feed the separated milk to the calves and I’ll get supper on. I’ve got the cream I need to whip for the morning.”

“Sure thing,” said Daniel, grabbing a bale and spreading the straw into the stall his dad had just cleaned.

When there was only one more stall to go, Daniel said, “I’ll finish up here, Dad.”

“Okay, son. I’ll take you up on that. I want to get working on the books.”

After a quick supper, Daniel wandered outside to spend some time with Gypsy. As he brushed her down, he thought again about Todd’s sudden disappearance. Did this point to his guilt or to knowledge about the theft? And what was up with Craig not returning either? A thought popped into his mind. He’d been so busy thinking suspicious things about Todd that he hadn’t considered whether there might be something wrong at their house. Maybe someone should go over and see if things were all right. They didn’t have a phone, so they couldn’t simply call.

Daniel returned the grooming tools to the barn and hurried to the house.

“Dad?” he called.

“In the dining room, son,” Dad answered.

Daniel rushed in. “Do you think we should go over to the Nelwins and see if they’re okay?”

Dad thought about it for a moment. “Maybe we should, but I hate to interfere in someone else’s business, when we’re not asked. There isn’t really any good reason to go over.”

“How about a purely social call? We could take some fresh cookies I baked this morning,” Mom suggested from the doorway, where she held a squirming Cheryl wrapped in a fluffy blue towel after her nightly bath. “You and I could go and chat with Horace...tell him how well his sons are doing, that kind of thing.”

Dad shrugged. “Sure, if you want to.”

“Yes, I do. I agree with Daniel and something tells me we should check it out.” She handed Cheryl over to Daniel. “How about you finish drying her off and get her into bed?”

Daniel sighed. He wanted to go with his parents, but he knew there was no point in arguing.

“Book,” said Cheryl.

Daniel smiled. “Yes, I’ll read to you. Come on.” He carried her upstairs.

From the window in Cheryl’s room, he watched his parents get into their car. Mom had her nursing bag in her hand. She often carried it with her, but Daniel was surprised she’d take it when they were only going a mile and a half away. Maybe she thought something had happened as well. Or maybe she was just being prepared.

By the time Daniel finished reading Cheryl her book three times and she’d settled down to sleep, he heard Mom and Dad returning. Quietly, he left his sister’s room and slid down the banister in time to meet them at the kitchen door.

“Well?”

“There wasn’t anyone home,” said Mom, seeming even more puzzled than before.

“We drove around the yard, but there weren’t any lights on anywhere,” said Dad.

Mom said, “I wouldn’t let your father get out of the car with all those vicious dogs.”

“The family was probably out somewhere,” suggested Dad. “We have no business nosing into their affairs.”

“You’re right, Ed,” Mom said, “but still I wonder if they’re okay.”

“Hard to say,” said Dad, heading back to the dining room. “Well, I have to get back to my paperwork. The bank is expecting a financial report by Tuesday.”

“Thanks for going anyway, Dad, Mom,” Daniel said, although he was disappointed with the outcome.

Getting ready for bed, his thoughts turned to the things they’d need for the journey to dinosaur time. They were only going for five minutes, tops, but he wanted to be able to take advantage of every opportunity. Dr. Roost would have her digital camera, but he’d take his as a backup.

He fell asleep still making plans.