Dinosaur Stakeout

by Judith Silverthorne

  Contents

  Title Page

  Book & Copyright Information

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Vocabulary/Descriptions

  Creatures Mentioned in this Book

  Other References & Notes

  Bibliography

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  © Judith Silverthorne, 2006.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.

  This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Edited by Barbara Sapergia

  Cover illustrations by Aries Cheung

  Cover and book design by Duncan Campbell

  National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data

  Silverthorne, Judith, date-

  Dinosaur stakeout / Judith Silverthorne.

  (Dinosaur adventure series ; 3)

  Includes bibliographical references.

  ISBN-55050-344-8

  I. Dinosaurs—Juvenile fiction. I. Title. II. Series:

  Silverthorne, Judith, date— Dinosaur adventure series ; 3.

  ps8587.i2763d57 2006 jc813'.54 c2006-901289-x

  Available from:

  Coteau Books

  2517 Victoria Avenue, Regina Saskatchwan Canada S4P 0T2

  www.coteaubooks.com

  The publisher gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance of the Saskatchewan Arts Board, the Canada Council for the Arts, including the Millennium Arts Fund, the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP), Association for the Export of Canadian Books, and the City of Regina Arts Commission, for its publishing program.

  As always to my son, Aaron,

  who inspired me with this series

  from the ­beginning.

  To ­Danion and Modeste

  for their enthusiasm and support

  In memory of Blackie and Wild Bill.

  Chapter One

  Daniel bolted upright before the six a.m. alarm rang. Daylight streamed across his bed through the slits in the blinds. Without hesitation, he threw the covers off and limped into the bathroom as fast as he could to beat the rest of his family. Today, the first of the tourists would be arriving at their dinosaur dig operation, and he didn’t want to miss a thing!

  The idea for a tourist business had begun a year and a half earlier when the Bringhams’ reclusive neighbour, Ole Pederson, had located an almost complete Edmontosaurus skeleton right on the border of their adjoining property. Daniel had helped with this important find and other fossils they’d unearthed too. Their discoveries had been housed in the Climax museum soon afterwards so the public could view ­them.

  A short time later, he and Mr. Pederson had campaigned for a paleontology tourist operation with Daniel’s parents. They agreed the plan would be a great way to bring ­much-­needed income to help them keep their farm. Then the Lindstroms, his best friend Jed’s family, had become partners in it too. Tourists could visit a real dig, stay for lunch, or even camp overnight in the new campground the two families had ­built.

  Stepping into the shower stall, Daniel groaned. He clung to the towel rod as the water cascaded over him, trying to avoid getting the scrapes on his head wet. He examined the abrasions on his arms and legs and the long scratch across his chest. He thought again of the past few days and how the bullying Nelwin ­brothers – ­Craig and ­Todd – ­had caused many of his injuries. Of course, tussling with dinosaurs hadn’t helped any, but he hadn’t told his parents that part of the story. Who would believe that he’d been flung into prehistoric ­time?

  It was bad enough that the Nelwins had attacked him and tried to destroy his secret hideout. Their jealousy over his and Ole Pederson’s previous paleontology ­finds – ­and the special recognition that ­resulted – ­had boiled over the day before. They’d caused some serious damage to his hideout and to his parents’ property too. The worst thing was that they’d been hurled into the time of the dinosaurs with him, and now they were in on his ­secret.

  Daniel had acquired a piece of redwood bark a few days earlier when he’d been unexpectedly transported back in time to the Cretaceous Period, and he’d learned that even a small object from that time had the power to send him back to the era of the dinosaurs. He’d hidden the bark in his hideout, but the Nelwins had uncovered it as they tried to wreck Daniel’s belongings. When Daniel had grabbed Craig to keep him from touching it, Todd had seized his arm. They’d all connected when Craig touched the bark, and found themselves instantly thrown back to a dangerous prehistoric ­world.

  The Nelwins couldn’t believe it. They’d thought Daniel had tricked them somehow, and Craig wouldn’t give him the piece of ­bark – ­their only way to get back to their own time. Only after a Troodon ripped a chunk out of Daniel’s pant leg and a Tyrannosaurus rex tried to eat them for dinner had Daniel been able to convince Craig to give up the piece of bark. Even so, at the last moment a Dromaeosaurus narrowly missed slashing Daniel’s chest open. So much for his trying to save the Nelwins! He shuddered again as he remembered the harrowing ­experience.

  Once they’d returned safely, Daniel demanded that the Nelwins restore his hideout and swore them to secrecy about its location. He also secured Pederson and Jed’s silence about their time travel ­adventures.

  Back at home, Daniel’s family decided to drop the charges of vandalism against the Nelwin brothers in exchange for restitution. This meant they would have to work off the damage they’d done around the farm and at the campground after they’d cleaned up Daniel’s hideout. They also had to help Daniel with his barn chores, because he’d been hurt when they pushed him down a hillside in a barrel during their ­rampage.

  They had seemed contrite enough the evening before, but would Craig and Todd keep up their end of the bargain and show up for work ­today?

  By the time Daniel dressed, he could hear his mom rattling breakfast dishes in the kitchen. She had worked some of her nursing wonders on him the night before, and his scrapes and cuts were already beginning to heal over. Even his leg seemed to have limbered with the hot water from the shower and his moving about. As he stepped into the hallway, he met his dad with a fresh towel slung over his shoulder, heading for the ­bathroom.

  “I can see you don’t need any prodding to do your chores this morning, son!” Dad’s dark eyes rested on him with affection. He tousled Daniel’s hair, avoiding the painful areas on his ­head.

  Daniel grinned and headed towards the stairs. When Dad had safely closed the bathroom door, Daniel slid down the banister, and with a thunk landed on the floor at the ­bottom.

  “Daniel!” Mom said, with a warning raise of her ­eyebrows.

  “It’s easier, Mom!” He pointed to his sore ­leg.

  She shook her head and popped the ­batter-­filled muffin pans into the oven. “We don’t need you falling on your noggin too!”

  Daniel headed out the door to do his barn chores. As he
made his way across the yard, the twittering of the sparrows in the caragana hedge signalled a perfect July day. A gentle breeze ruffled his still damp dark hair and there wasn’t a cloud in the bright blue morning sky. Dactyl, his golden retriever named after the prehistoric pterodactyl, dashed across the yard towards him. Daniel sank slowly down on one knee to pet him, then continued on his ­way.

  With each step, he studied the ground and thought of the many layers of rock underneath him, which designated the various geological ages of the earth towards its molten centre. The one he was most keenly ­interested in – ­the Cretaceous ­Period – ­lay only a few metres below his feet. A flush of excitement coursed through him as he recalled the fantastic things he’d discovered in that prehistoric world. He got goosebumps just thinking of what fossils might lie beneath where he walked. If only he could explore more of ­it.

  Once at the barnyard, he herded the two milk cows into the barn, luring them with a ready pail of ­chop – ­today, just crushed ­oats – ­from the feed room right inside the barn. He fed and watered the two animals, then eased himself carefully onto the milking stool by their prize Holstein, Lily. As he leaned his head against her soft belly and began milking her, the Nelwin brothers entered the barn. They already knew what they were supposed to do. Daniel watched to see how they’d do ­it.

  Todd, a strapping ­sixteen-­year-­old with dark, bristly hair, grunted hello to Daniel. Snatching up a pitchfork, he moved into a newly vacated stall where he hoisted manure onto the stoneboat parked in the middle of the barn. He attacked the muck in short rapid movements as if he was afraid of being reprimanded for not doing the work fast ­enough.

  Craig shuffled behind his brother, sullenly letting his ­shoulder-­length brown hair fall over his eyes. The stocky ­fifteen-­year-­old nodded at Daniel as he picked up a second fork and began cleaning out a ­stall.

  They all worked quietly for a few minutes. The only sounds came from the scraping of pitchforks on the wooden floor, the squirt, squirt of milk hitting the metal pail, and the soft mews of the kittens as they chased one another through the loose straw. Dust motes floated in the air, caught on the sunbeams flowing from a high, small window. Daniel glanced over at the brothers across the barn in the subdued light of the interior. He could see they’d rolled up their sleeves and were working ­industriously.

  When he was done milking Lily, Daniel gave her a pat on the rump and moved over to Daisy. Robotically, he milked the second cow while she stood placidly chewing her cud. A few moments later, Dactyl came through the open sliding door to investigate. He sniffed Todd and Craig all over as they petted him eagerly, then he wandered about the barn examining the ­stalls.

  “Dactyl!” Daniel called ­softly.

  Wagging his tail happily, Dactyl came over and licked Daniel’s face. Daniel gave Dactyl a nudge with his shoulder and continued milking Daisy. His pet wandered back outside, and gave chase to some crows that had landed on a nearby fencepost. From the pasture just beyond the barn, Gypsy, his grey pinto mare, whinnied anxiously for her ­breakfast.

  Daniel’s stomach rumbled too and he quickly finished milking. Releasing Lily and Daisy to wander back into the fenced part of the farmyard, he stepped outside to pour some milk into an old tin saucer for the kittens and Marble, the mother cat. Then he dropped the pails of milk inside the separating room. With a quick backward glance at the Nelwins, he walked outside to feed Gypsy and the older horse, ­Pepper.

  When Daniel headed back to the separating room, a shaft of daylight shone across Todd and Craig. Daniel looked more closely at the pair and noticed there were bruises on Craig’s arms. He approached the brothers, who were talking together, but as he drew closer, they went silent again. At least they were keeping up their end of the work bargain so far. What was going on with them wasn’t any of his ­business.

  Some minutes later, Daniel finished separating the milk. Dismantling the machine, he left the components to soak in the hot water provided by Dad earlier. Mom would finish washing them later when she fed the chickens and gathered eggs. When she had to be at work at the hospital early, these tasks became Daniel’s, and he was relieved that he didn’t have to do them today. Many families in the community just bought milk products and eggs at the store, but the Bringhams preferred fresh, ­home-­produced foods wherever ­possible.

  “I’m going in for breakfast now,” Daniel said, carrying the pails of milk and cream to the door. The boys continued to work, barely acknowledging ­him.

  Suddenly, a thought struck him. He turned back to the brothers. “Have you eaten?”

  More mumbles came from the brothers with a general nod of their heads that Daniel could only take to mean they had. Thoughtfully, Daniel limped across the yard towards the house. How had Craig got the ­bruises?

  In the kitchen, he sat down beside Cheryl in her high chair and helped himself to muffins and chunks of juicy cantaloupe. Shortly afterwards, Dad came in and joined them at the table. Cheryl poked at the muffin, broke a piece off and popped it into her mouth, then offered a chunk to Daniel, her blue eyes sparkling with mischief. She laughed as he took a big bite and chomped it ­down.

  There was a knock on the door and Ole Pederson appeared. He was ­clean-­shaven and his white wisps of hair were patted down. His grey eyes twinkled with ­anticipation.

  “Anything for you, Ole?” Mom ­asked.

  “Just coffee,” he answered, sitting next to Daniel. “Had breakfast some time ago.”

  As Mom poured the steaming brown liquid, she glanced out the window at the sound of a tractor starting ­up.

  “That’ll be the Nelwins hauling the stoneboat to the manure pile,” Dad said, without getting up to look. “They’re done in good time.”

  “Guess it makes a difference with three of you doing the work.” Mom smiled at ­Daniel.

  He nodded with a wry look on his face. “Sure is a hard way to get some help!” Daniel declared, pointing to his bruises, as they all ­laughed.

  “Do you know if they’ve had breakfast?” Mom asked ­Daniel.

  “I think so,” he answered, passing the plate of fruit to Mr. Pederson. “At least, that’s what they said.”

  Without a word, Mom poured juice into two disposable glasses, grabbed a couple of serviettes, and a paper plate, placed four muffins and a stack of fruit on it, and headed out the door. Dad and Ole Pederson didn’t seem to notice. Daniel stared after her with ­curiosity.

  A few minutes later, he peeked out the window and saw Mom heading back to the house ­empty-­handed. So the Nelwins hadn’t eaten breakfast after ­all.

  When Daniel’s mom reappeared in the kitchen, he thought she looked ­upset.

  “Something wrong, Libby?” Daniel’s dad ­asked.

  “It’s the Nelwins. I don’t think they had any breakfast before they left.”

  “That’s not good. We’ll have to feed them well when they’re working here.”

  “Yes,” she said, “we can certainly do that.”

  Pederson addressed Daniel. “So, you all set to go?”

  “You bet!”

  Dad consulted a sheet of paper at his elbow. “The first guests will be here in an hour or so. They’re doing the quarry tour, and some hikes, and are camping here tonight.”

  “How many are there?” asked ­Daniel.

  “Looks like two adults and their two young children.”

  “Piece of cake!” said Daniel. He thought about his best friend Jed and his sister Lucy, coming to help as ­guides.

  “Yes, but there are twenty other groups coming throughout the day!”

  “Whoa!” Daniel took the last bite of his muffin. All three of them would be busy keeping track of the visitors, while the adults did their respective ­jobs.

  Dad continued reading down the list as they finished their ­breakfast.

  “Most are staying over,” he said. “Then there are the ones that may just drop in.”

  “We have our work cut out for us today!” Ole Pederson said. �
��So let’s get to it!” He downed the last of his coffee and shuffled to his ­feet.

  Daniel felt the excitement ripple through his body. Sharing their paleontological finds with others was a thrill, although maybe not as exhilarating as seeing the creatures in the flesh. He had learned a great deal about dinosaurs by flipping into prehistoric time and would love to know more, but he could do without the danger. Going to the ancient past again was out of the question ­anyway – ­since he’d tossed away the scrap of redwood bark on his last trip. He had no way to get back, and no way to return. Still, a little part of his adventurous spirit wished he could find a way to go back one more time. The rest of him was relieved it could never happen ­again.

  Chapter Two

  “A penny for your thoughts,” said Ole Pederson when they stepped into the bright sunshine of the farmyard. Dad had stayed behind to have a last minute conversation with Mom, so they were ­alone.

  “Just thinking about seeing live dinosaurs,” Daniel said ­quietly.

  Pederson cocked his head and waited for Daniel to ­continue.

  “Mr. Pederson, do you believe I’ve been going back to prehistoric time?” Daniel asked ­tentatively.

  The old man took his time responding, as they sauntered over to his old Studebaker ­truck.

  “I don’t know what to think, Daniel. I can’t imagine how you could have. Yet you certainly experienced something. Do you think it was real?”

  “Sure felt like it,” answered Daniel. “It was just like you and I standing here now. I’ve had dreams, but they weren’t that vivid.” He eyed Mr. Pederson, waiting for his ­reaction.

  “I’ve never experienced anything like it, but this old world is a strange place and I’ve always tried to keep an open mind. So I suppose, why not this?” said Pederson, unloading the equipment he’d take with him for the ­day.

  “I can’t think of any other likely explanation,” said Daniel, watching the old man. He was pretty sure Pederson believed ­him.