Dinosaur Breakout

by Judith Silverthorne

  All of a sudden, Cheryl threw back the quilt and popped her head out.

  “Here!” she said, laughing.

  Mom reached over and picked her up, teddy bear, book, and all.

  “How are you feeling this morning, son?” she asked, turning her attention to Daniel. She examined his cuts and bruises.

  “Stiff, sore,” he admitted.

  “When you’re ready, let’s get you up and moving. Getting some circulation going will help,” she suggested. “I’ll have breakfast on in ten minutes. We all seemed to have slept in this morning.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” Daniel said, glancing at the clock. Nine a.m. They really had slept in. He heard the shower running; must be Dad, running late too.

  Then Dactyl began barking below his window and he heard the crunch of gravel as a vehicle drove into the yard. Daniel eased himself out of bed and over to the window. An rcmp vehicle stood in the driveway. He heard Mom hustle down the stairs with Cheryl, then the opening of the back door.

  “Good morning, Jim,” Mom called out cheerily.

  “Morning, Libby,” he heard Constable Fraser say.

  “Come right in. I’m afraid we’re later than usual this morning. We had a rather active late night. I’ll get some coffee on right away.” He could hear the scrape of a kitchen chair across the linoleum and the squeak as the officer sat down.

  “Daniel,” Mom called up to him.

  “Coming,” he called back, reaching for his clothes. Manipulating them and dressing was one of the toughest things he’d done in a long time. This must be what it feels like to be a really old man in pain, he thought, as his body creaked and protested with each movement.

  At last he made it downstairs. Dad was already there, shiny and fresh from his shower. The officer had his statement pad out on the table, and Mom poured coffee for everyone, then set a plate of banana muffins down. Cheryl sat in her high chair, mashing a peach. Daniel sat down beside her, suddenly shy with Constable Fraser in their house on police business.

  “You know our son, Daniel, from the baseball field, of course,” Dad said.

  “Sure do!” the constable smiled and shook his hand.

  “How are you doing, sir?” Daniel said politely.

  “I’d say a mite better than you, by the looks of you, son.” He peered over at Daniel with twinkling eyes, taking in all of his wounds and bandages. “Heard you had a bit of a run-in with the Nelwin brothers. They did all of this to you last night?”

  “Well, I did have a few marks on my head from something else before that,” he admitted, thinking of his encounter with a tree trunk.

  “They also ambushed you, and you smashed the back of your head into a rock a couple of days ago,” Dad noted.

  “Yeah,” said Daniel, touching the bandage at the back of his head.

  “And tell them what happened on your way to town yesterday,” Dad prompted.

  Daniel launched into the highway scene and the incident with Lucy. Mom hovered in the background pre-paring the pancake batter, listening intently. Constable Fraser jotted the important details down on his notepad.

  “Guess we can see about adding dangerous driving to the list of charges. I’ll speak to Mr. Pederson and see what he has to say.”

  He continued to write the account of the night before, without emotion, pausing only to ask for more clarification on some detail as Daniel explained what had happened.

  Finally, Constable Fraser stopped writing, tucked the notepad under his arm, and stood up. “Now, I guess I should take a look at the damage from last night.”

  “Sure thing,” Dad said. “We can take the truck.”

  He turned to Daniel. “Are you up for this, son?”

  He nodded and rose out of his chair stiffly. “Just a little sore, is all,” he said, limping to the door.

  When they arrived at the rest area, they found only one picnic table had been seriously damaged with carvings. But the Nelwins had spray-painted the backs of the outhouses in glowing purple and orange offensive graffiti. They also saw evidence of various objects having been shifted. The garbage cans were tipped over and one of the benches parked upside down over the hitching post.

  Daniel stood at the edge of the hill and looked down to where the barrel lay damaged at the bottom, resting beside some bushes.

  Beside him, Constable Fraser whistled. “That’s quite a hill.”

  The hill was even steeper and longer than Daniel recalled. No wonder the horrible trip down had taken so long! The constable started heading down.

  “Hop in the truck,” Dad offered. “We’ll go down the easy way.”

  Reluctantly, Daniel climbed in. He wasn’t eager to see that barrel again. As they jostled along, a warm breeze puffed into the open windows. Songbirds greeted them, and a few grasshoppers made their first morning forages. The sun was already warm and the few clouds drifted high in the sky. It was going to be another hot day!

  The offending barrel, although dented from the unexpected trip down the hillside, would still be useful as a container for grain or water. Once Constable Fraser had a look at where it lay, Dad tipped it back upright. Daniel peered inside. The interior was covered with rust flakes, most of which had fallen off on the tumble down. Dad turned it over and banged out the loose grit. Then he loaded it onto the back of the truck.

  “You certainly do have a lively anecdote to tell now,” said Constable Fraser. “Good thing you weren’t more seriously hurt!”

  “I know,” said Daniel.

  They slowly made their way back up to the rest area in the truck. Once the barrel had been deposited in its place, they headed for the house. They stood talking in the yard by the police car.

  “So what happens now?” Daniel asked, dreading the outcome.

  “Well, I’ll go and have a little chat with Jed and Lucy, then with the Nelwins.”

  “Then what?”

  “We’ll see if the story checks out –”

  Daniel started to protest. The constable held up his hand, motioning him to wait to hear everything he had to say, and continued.

  “Which it probably will, seeing as how you have two witnesses.”

  “So they’ll be out of the way for a while?” Dad asked.

  The Constable pursed his lips. “Well, it depends on what you want to do. The process could take some time. They could be charged, if we feel the mischief and bodily harm warrant it,” he automatically put up his hand again to stop Daniel from protesting, “then they’ll go to court in Shaunavon. If they plead guilty, the judge will decide on the sentencing, but if they plead not guilty and it goes to trial, the process could take several months.”

  Daniel sighed and shook his head, then looked up at his dad, who didn’t seem too happy about the prospect either.

  “Well, at least then they’ll be put away for a while, right?” Daniel asked with renewed enthusiasm.

  “Not necessarily. Only if they’re convicted and if they have several previous serious offences, then the judge might sentence them to some time in a juvenile detention centre,” the constable said. “That could take a while. And they probably won’t be held in custody while they await trial.”

  “So then, what are the possibilities for punishment?” Dad asked. “Or even of restitution?”

  “Depends on how lenient the judge is and how serious he feels the other charges against them were in the past. These two are fairly well-known in these parts,” the constable answered. “This is a case of assault and we can

  certainly charge them, if all the conditions are met in

  the investigation. The judge might give them one last chance and tell them that with the next offence they’ll go to jail, or a youth facility. Then he might sentence them to restitution and/or community service, and probably some counselling.

  “But they’ll be back at it again soon either way, won’t they?” Daniel asked.

  “That’s always a possibility.”

  Daniel looked over at Dad for support and asked, “So what goo
d is charging them going to do?”

  “Let’s hope they can’t keep doing these kinds of things without some sort of serious consequences,” Dad said, clearly agitated by the possibility that the Nelwins might not have to suffer what he thought were proper consequences for their actions.

  “At least, they’ll have to consider what they’ve done,” said Constable Fraser, “and counselling sometimes helps.”

  Dad stroked his chin thoughtfully, and his eyes seemed deep in thought.

  Daniel sighed. They’d also have time to think about how to get back at him when they were free again.

  “What do you want done, then?” the constable asked.

  Daniel could see no great long-term solution, only maybe a reprieve for a bit, if the Nelwins stayed clear of him while their charges were pending.

  “”Restitution would be good for a start,” Dad said, surveying the damage. “I don’t know that locking them up would help anything. It never did their father any good! What do you think, Daniel?”

  “Yeah. They sure made a mess!” Daniel agreed, shaking his head. “A lot of hard work gone down the tubes.”

  Constable Fraser said, “All right, I’ll get this paperwork filed and go talk to the others involved. I happen to know the Nelwins aren’t going very far. I’ve confiscated their dad’s truck. He was a little unstable for driving last night. The boys will be sticking close to home.”

  Somehow that didn’t feel very reassuring to Daniel.

  Chapter Ten

  Dad came out to help Daniel with the chores, and by the time they were finished, he found Mom had been right. He didn’t seem quite so sore. Not that he could do any acrobatic movements or run any marathons, but at least he could function again without being in total pain.

  Just as they finished a hearty breakfast of pancakes and eggs, Mr. Pederson arrived to check on Daniel. He sat down for a cup of coffee.

  “Glad to see you’re none the worse for wear, young man,” Pederson said. “I don’t suppose you feel like coming over to the dig site for a while this morning?”

  “You bet I do,” Daniel looked over at Mom for approval. He might be in pain, but he didn’t want to miss an opportunity to do some digging.

  She nodded reluctantly.

  “Just as long as you stay out of the sun as much as possible, and if you’re tired or feel sick, you come home right away.”

  He nodded and turned to Dad.

  “Dad, can you spare me?”

  “You bet. Doug and I are almost done the other work at the campsite. Besides, the work you’re doing is important too!”

  Daniel was pleased to hear his dad so enthusiastic.

  “When do you want me?” Daniel asked Mr. Pederson.

  “Any time you’re ready.”

  “How about now?”

  Pederson pushed his chair back and got up. “Okay.”

  Daniel suddenly remembered that Jed was probably coming over with his dad. “Is it okay if Jed comes later?”

  “Certainly! We’ll make a paleontologist out of him yet!”

  Everyone laughed. Jed was forever getting things mixed up.

  “We’ll send him to the dig,” said Dad before Daniel could ask.

  “But he may get lost,” Daniel said, suddenly worried about his friend’s problem with directions.

  “I’ll make sure he gets there.” Dad smiled.

  Just then the phone rang. Mom answered it.

  “Just a moment, please. He happens to be right here.” She motioned to Pederson. “It’s the rsm in Regina, some news about your Edmontosaurus, Roxanne.”

  As Pederson listened, his eyes became excited. “Yes, thank you, it’s good to have confirmation. Sure thing. Thanks. I appreciate your calling.”

  He hung up the phone and turned to the others in the room. “They think they may know how our Edmon-tosaurus died. They’ve been preparing the left hind quarter and found some breakage in the bones.” He turned to Daniel. “They’re e-mailing some photos to your computer later today.”

  “Wow!” Daniel said, pleased that progress was being made on finding out about Roxanne’s life.

  “This is exciting!” Mom went to hug Daniel, but seeming fearful of hurting him, held back, smiling at him. Dad gave him a thumbs-up.

  “Let’s go, Daniel!” Pederson said with a spry step towards the door. “Time to see what we can find today!”

  Daniel hurried to grab his backpack, water, and tools. Mom sent a thermos of coffee along for Mr. Pederson and a few cookies for the both of them for a mid-morning snack.

  “Will you be back for lunch?” she asked, “or should we bring it out to you?”

  “Ahh,” Pederson looked tempted, but reluctant to put anyone to extra trouble.

  “Never mind,” said Mom with a laugh. “I know how you two get caught up in what you’re doing. I’ll make sure something gets out to you.”

  “Much obliged, ma’am,” Pederson said with a grin of relief on his face.

  “You’re the greatest, Mom!” Daniel added and gave her a quick hug. He meant it in several ways. She didn’t fuss over him as much as some moms did, and she had some good ideas sometimes. What he liked best was that she really listened to him when he talked to her.

  Once outside, Pederson picked up the gear he’d left on the back step and they headed across the farmyard in the general direction of Daniel’s hideout. It was also the way to Pederson’s home and to the new dig site. Dactyl trotted along beside them. They were careful to make sure no one was following or otherwise spying on them. Daniel still didn’t trust the Nelwins. The police probably hadn’t talked to them yet. However, they reached the site without incident.

  As they dropped down a hill into the fossil quarry site, the sun was high in the morning sky, casting shadows across the immediate south side of the slope. A portion of the dig had been roped off where Pederson was doing his serious work. He didn’t want anyone touching it, except maybe Daniel. The rest of the dig was portioned off in sections where the tourists could try their hands at fossil finding. The sections were cut into the hillside at various levels of rock formations. A crude path ran along the top of Pederson’s special area so that those on tour could watch him work. He would also take time to explain to them what he was doing.

  For now the two unwrapped their tools and set to work on an area covered with a light tarp to keep the rain off. Not that there had been any rain for several weeks, but they weren’t taking any chances. So far they weren’t sure what the exposed, dark brown-pitted bones belonged to, but they hoped to uncover enough by the end of the day to determine if they were part of a large skeleton or a smaller animal of some kind.

  Carefully, they descended the rugged side of the hill into the pit, making sure they didn’t dislodge any rocks or stones. On their hands and knees, they lifted the tarp and folded it, setting it to the side. A hawk sailed high overhead in the clear sky. The chattering of swallows and the clear caw-caw-caw of a crow sounded across the valley.

  While Daniel worked on one end, Pederson took the other. Dactyl sniffed around the site for a bit, but mostly seemed bored with the lack of attention and soon wandered off back home. He’d already experienced all-day digs and never stayed long. The occasional garden-variety snake or sand lizard that showed up didn’t interest him much. He preferred searching for the sharp-tailed grouse or grey partridge that inhabited the area.

  First Daniel used a narrow brush to disperse the dirt from a small area, and then he used a small curved pick to clean debris out of a crevice. After several minutes, he pushed his cap back from his forehead and studied the round piece he’d uncovered. It looked like the tip of some kind of tooth. He continued, oblivious to Pederson working in silence across from him.

  The sun rose higher and the day became hotter, but it wasn’t until Pederson tapped him on the shoulder that Daniel even thought about stopping for a drink of water.

  “Let’s not get dehydrated,” he said, passing him the water flask.

  They t
ook a break then, sitting against the hillside in the only spot of shade they could find. As they munched on Mom’s chocolate chip cookies, they surveyed their work.

  “I think I might have found a small tooth.” Daniel explained what he’d done so far.

  Pederson said, “I’ll come and take a look at it, and you might want to see what I’ve found.”

  Daniel noticed the catch in Pederson’s voice and looked at him in surprise. He had a twinkle in his eyes again, which meant he’d discovered something really interesting. They crouched down at Daniel’s spot first.

  “Yes,” said Pederson, peering at the exposed piece with his magnifying glass. “I’d say it’s definitely a tooth. Looks like it’s more rounded, maybe from a herbivore.”

  Pederson sat back on his heels with his hands on his knees. “Good work, my boy! Now let’s take a look at my portion.”

  They climbed over to the other side of the fossil cavity. Daniel studied the shape and felt along the curve of the rough, narrow bone.

  “Is it a rib?” Daniel asked, puzzled by the thinness.

  “I think so, but not of a dinosaur. At least not unless it’s a very young one, but I don’t think so.” His voice held a touch of excitement.

  “What do you think it is?” Daniel asked, not able to keep his curiosity from showing.

  “Keep it to yourself, now!” Pederson reminded him.

  Exasperated, Daniel promised. “Have I ever told before?”

  “No, but it can’t hurt to remind you!” Pederson smiled. Then he took a breath and said, “It may be a flying reptile!”

  “Cool!” Daniel knew how rare it was to find them. Generally, their skeletons were so delicate that they rarely withstood the ravages of so much passing time. They usually disintegrated from being transported down a river, where the bones crumbled along the stream or riverbed, and then from various erosional factors, such as wind, rain, or snow in the current world.

  Pederson examined the rib through his magnifier, then picked up a little brush and began working again. He seemed to forget all about Daniel standing beside him. Daniel moved away quietly and went back to his workplace.