Daniel raced to Dr. Roost’s side. Throwing her backpack on the ground, he grabbed her hands, pulling her clear of the dangerous fray. Then he tried to help her to her feet.
“I don’t think I can stand up,” she said, grimacing as she made an attempt to rise. “My ankle may be sprained.”
“Let’s just get you back then!” said Daniel.
“Wait!” she shouted. “My backpack!”
Her eyes raked over the spot a couple of metres away where Daniel had dropped it, but there was too much dust and debris flying about amid the huge stump-like legs and flipping tails. There was no way they could retrieve it.
“We’ll have to go without it!” Daniel screamed, as another massive herbivore brushed close by them.
Daniel cringed as it stomped on a small creature the size of a cat. He didn’t need any more prompting. He felt for the cone in his pocket, breathing a sigh of relief when he located it. He glanced at the sky as he readjusted his backpack. The sun was almost overhead. They needed to get back immediately, but where they’d land, he didn’t know.
He turned his attention to the cone clutched in his hand. As he tightened his fingers around it, he grabbed Dr. Roost’s hand. He took one last look around and then looked at his companion.
Suddenly, she screamed. “Look out!”
Out of nowhere, a tail whipped Daniel into the air. He lost his grip on Mildred Roost’s hand and felt the cone slipping from his fingers.
“Dr. Roost!!” he shrieked, knowing he was returning to his own time without her.
Then a sizzling blackness engulfed him.
Chapter Thirteen
“Dr. Roost!” Daniel shrieked again. He had landed on a hillside, falling on his side, instinctively rolling into a ball.
“I think you can call me Mildred now,” a voice said behind him.
He turned. Mildred Roost lay on the ground, her crumpled face white and stunned.
“I thought I’d lost you!” Daniel sputtered, crawling to her side.
“You almost did, young man!” She stayed where she was as she struggled to gain her composure, taking in deep breaths.
“What happened?” Daniel felt the blood pounding through his veins and his heart thumped loudly. The terror of almost leaving Dr. Roost behind sunk in and he couldn’t stop trembling.
“I grabbed onto your shirt-tail,” she said with an indignant snort.
Daniel bowed and let his forehead touch the ground, resting for a moment and letting the peacefulness surround him. “I have never been so happy to touch this earth.”
“I’m definitely happy to be on our home turf,” she said, lying there. “But I’d be even happier if I were standing on it.”
She began to tussle with her cane and flare gun, her arms and legs flailing like a beetle on its back trying to right itself. Daniel rose and helped her to her feet. But as she stepped down onto solid grassland, her legs almost buckled. Daniel saved her from falling. She tried again to put some weight on her right foot, but quickly lifted it again. She leaned heavily on Daniel, until she could get her cane in the right position.
“We’ve got to get help for you!” Daniel peered around. He wasn’t quite sure where they’d landed. He couldn’t see the hideout or anyone about, although they were definitely back in his own time in the rolling hills of the valley.
Judging by the position of the sun, he guessed it was mid-morning and someone had probably missed them by now. He fumbled in his backpack and drew out his whistle.
“This ought to get them here, if they’re close by.”
He gave three long piercing whistles, the signal for distress that they’d decided to use for guiding the tourists. He listened for a few moments, but didn’t hear an answering response. He blew again, and the high-pitched notes sliced through the air, halting all natural sounds.
“Did you hear anything?” he asked Mildred Roost, thinking there might have been a muted reply.
She shook her head, and he immediately blew as hard and as long he could, until he was out of breath. When the shrieking echoes in his ears stopped ringing, he listened again.
“There!” he announced triumphantly, as another three shrill sounds permeated the air in return. “They’ll be here soon.”
“I’m so glad we both made it back safely,” said Mildred. “Especially, you! I’d never have forgiven myself if something had happened to you.”
“I wouldn’t have felt very good about leaving you behind either!” Daniel patted her arm.
“Whew, I’m exhausted though.” She leaned heavily on Daniel. “I can tell you one thing for sure. I’ll never take this good old world and where we live for granted again!”
“I second that,” Daniel said.
He blew the whistle again, to give the rescuers a sense of direction. Moments later, two figures appeared on the crest of a hill in the distance to their left. As they drew closer, they could make out Craig Nelwin and Ole Pederson hurrying towards them.
“Are you two out of your minds?” Mr. Pederson fumed, reaching them with long strides. “You went back to the past again, didn’t you?”
He grabbed Daniel by the shoulders as if to shake him. Instead, he hugged Daniel hard. When he released him, Craig stepped forward, the relief noticeable on his face.
“We thought you were gone forever!” Craig thumped Daniel on the back. “Good to have you back!”
Pederson reprimanded them. “I ought to take that cane and use it on you both! What a dangerous, foolish thing to do!”
Although Pederson clamped his lips tight together in disapproval, the relief at having them back again was evident in his eyes. Then he embraced Dr. Roost. She let out a little moan.
“Mildred, you’re injured!” He took stock of her.
“Just a wee bit of a problem with my ankle,” she reassured him.
“We’ve got to get you off that foot.” He turned to Craig, puffing a little. ”Come on, lad. Let’s get them over to my cabin. It’s not far from here.”
Craig and Mr. Pederson went on either side of Dr. Roost, but Daniel intercepted the old man and locked hands with Craig to form a chair with their arms. Ole Pederson conceded and reached for her cane and Daniel’s backpack. Dr. Roost rested her arms over the boys’ shoulders and allowed them to carry her.
“What about you, Daniel?” asked Ole Pederson. “Are you hurt at all?
Daniel shook his head. “Nothing that a little rest won’t cure.”
“Well, we can see that you get that!”
As they set off, Daniel realized the dig was just back over the hills in the direction that Craig and Mr. Pederson had come from. The old paleontologist’s cabin lay just over the next hill. He also noticed that the sun was almost directly overhead. They’d been gone for several hours. Had anyone else noticed their disappearance?
“How did it go with chores this morning?” Daniel asked Craig, fishing for information on the situation at home.
“Fine,” Craig answered, as the struggled with the weight of Dr. Roost. “Although your dad wasn’t happy that we were doing them ourselves.”
Daniel held his breath waiting to hear if there was more.
“Your mom wasn’t either, but at least she defended you. She understood how important spending time at your hideout was for you.”
Daniel felt a pang of guilt at having told his mom a lie.
Then Craig snorted. “If she only knew! How could you do such a stupid thing?” he scolded. “If I’d known we were covering for you so you could go back to dinosaur time, I never would have agreed.”
“And you, Mildred,” Pederson focused on Dr. Roost, as they jostled down a hillside. “You intended on going all along,” he accused her. “I thought we were supposed to stop Daniel from going.”
“Did you really think we could stop this young man when he was so determined?” she answered.
“I suppose not.” Pederson shook his head, obviously n
ot pleased with the way things had gone.
“I decided it was better if I went with him than if he eluded us another time and went alone.”
Pederson grumbled, but conceded, “At least you’re both safe!”
Mildred Roost sighed. “Yes, we’re certainly thankful for that.”
“For sure!” Daniel agreed.
Not long afterwards they reached the dilapidated cabin. It was more like a weather-beaten wooden shack really, crammed into a gully as close as possible against the hillside. A long, narrow lean-to jutted out from the main shack and butted into the hill. A pile of excavation dirt was dumped about twenty yards away. Just beyond it was a little white cross where Pederson’s dog Bear was buried. He had died of old age the winter before.
Daniel hadn’t been here for ages, but as Pederson opened the rickety door that threatened to fall off its hinges, he smiled. Nothing much had changed. The air smelled of mustiness and of earth. He and Craig followed Mr. Pederson as they stumbled through the gloomy darkness into the simple one-room cabin. Dumping Daniel’s backpack just inside the door, Mr. Pederson leaned Dr. Roost’s cane against the wall, then helped Daniel and Craig to ease her into the only comfortable seat in the house – an old armchair, missing some of its stuffing.
“Definitely a bachelor’s pad!” Dr. Roost observed.
She and Craig stared about in silence as their eyes adjusted to the dimness. The floor was old boards laid over mounds of packed dirt that took a sudden dip towards the far wall and then disappeared under the makeshift cot. A wood stove, cold now, stood in the middle of the room, its pipes contorting and rising through the rafters. Against one wall, a small wooden hutch, which served as a kitchen cupboard, leaned precariously.
Weathered boards served as shelves all along the length and height of one sidewall. Stacks of books and magazines filled the bottom racks. The top ones were lined with a myriad of jars, bottles, and tins in all shapes and sizes.
“An apothecary too!” Mildred observed.
“What does that mean?” asked Craig.
Mildred pointed to the labelled containers of dried plants, powders, crushed blossoms, dehydrated berries, and seeds in various shades of greens, browns, and yellows, all assembled neatly in alphabetical order. As Craig examined them, she explained that Pederson mixed his own concoctions for medications.
“Amateur only,” Pederson grunted, as he opened a small door that led into the lean-to.
Moments later an engine started, and Daniel knew Pederson had switched on the generator for power. He returned and yanked on a chain. Instantly, one side of the cabin flooded with light to reveal a long, rough-hewn table covered with dinosaur bones and various samples of fossil imprints beneath the slanted ceiling of the shorter wall.
“Wow!” Craig instantly went over to examine the fossils.
While Pederson busied himself searching for a Tensor bandage, Daniel pulled up a wooden chair, which was missing a few rungs, beside Dr. Roost and collapsed on it.
“How are you feeling?” he asked quietly.
“I’ll be fine, lad,” she said, patting his hand. Then she smiled. “Didn’t we just have the adventure of a lifetime?”
“I’ll say,” Daniel agreed, grinning.
“Let’s hear about it, then,” Mr. Pederson said, as he turned on the nearby lamp and sat down.
He gently removed Dr. Roost’s shoe and sock, noticing the mud on them. “I think I can lend you a clean pair of socks,” he said, slipping the one off her injured foot. “These are only good for the fire.”
“Not on your life,” Dr. Roost hooted. She grabbed it and tucked it into her pocket. “This is a specimen!”
Pederson grinned. “Sorry, I didn’t even think about that.”
He began winding an elastic bandage around her ankle. She grimaced as he tightened it, but didn’t complain.
“Where should we begin?” she looked at Daniel, when Pederson finished and gently laid her swollen, bandaged ankle on a chair with a pillow on it.
“How about we just hit the highlights for now?” Daniel raised his eyebrows at her and she nodded. Neither of them really wanted to tell about all the danger they’d been in. “First, we’ll tell you about finding the Edmontosaurus.”
Craig pulled up another chair and joined them, as Daniel and Mildred relayed their findings about the mother dinosaur and the nest.
Pederson became extremely excited. “So would you say this was our Roxanne?”
“I’m positive,” said Daniel.
“I agree,” said Dr. Roost. “But you can take a look for yourself.”
Daniel scooted over to his backpack and brought it to them. He fished out the camera and scanned the shots until he came to the right ones. He handed it over to his old friend.
Mr. Pederson’s face filled with wonder as he viewed one photograph after another.
“Amazing,” he said. “There are creatures here that no one knows anything about.” He clicked through several more. “Incredible. Stygimoloch in action. I always wondered what their thickened skulls were used for. Do you know how extraordinary these photos are?” He suddenly turned to Mildred and Daniel.
Their eyes sparkled in acknowledgment. “This will fuel and direct my research for years!”
“Our research,” Mildred said.
“Wait until you see all the things we collected.” Daniel stopped, his shoulders drooping. “Except, we had to leave Dr. Roost’s pack behind. Almost everything was in it.”
Dr. Roost looked as forlorn as Daniel felt. Then she said, “Never mind. We have a lot of it up here.” She pointed to her head. “We’ll just need to jot it down before we forget. The pictures will help.”
“I have a few things in my notebook,” admitted Daniel, “but only some maps, and notes, measurements, and sketches of the Edmontosaurus.”
“Well, at least that’s something,” Pederson said. He continued looking at the photos, constantly amazed by the number of species they’d captured.
Craig looked over his shoulder, totally enthralled. “Do you think I could learn how to do the kind of work you do?”
“I don’t see why not,” Mr. Pederson said. “In fact, I could help you get started. Of course, you’d have years of study ahead of you.”
“I’ll find a way somehow!” Craig vowed.
“Excellent! I’ll be looking forward to having you in the field,” said Pederson, rising and handing the camera over to Craig. “Many paleontologists get started by volunteering and doing work just like you are right now. Did you know it was an amateur that discovered Scotty, the Tyrannosaurus rex at Eastend?”
“Really?” Craig bubbled over with enthusiasm.
“I could lend you some of my books too,” Daniel offered.
“Thanks.” Craig beamed at them, as Mildred Roost chuckled.
Pederson headed over to his little hotplate and turned it on to heat some water for tea.
“So what’s going on back at the farm and the dig?” asked Daniel, still fishing for information.
“Why don’t you just come out and ask what you want to know?” said Craig with a teasing grin. “No, no one knows where you are. Todd and I covered for you. He’s back at the farm right now, helping your dad with the haying. Your dad said he’s a good worker and he might be able to hire him for a few days.”
“Awesome!” Daniel answered. “Then will you continue helping at the dig?”
“Sure!” Craig answered. “Being fed by your mom is payment enough for me!”
They all laughed.
“So what’s happening with the tourists?”
“Lindsay and Jed have the hikes covered and the tours to the quarry don’t start for a while yet.”
“Thanks!” Daniel said, relieved. He wouldn’t be totally off the hook with his parents, but at least they weren’t overly concerned about where he was.
“By the way, young man,” Pederson came over and stared
down at Daniel. “I don’t ever want you to time travel again!”
“Well, but I didn’t do it on purpose to start with,” stammered Daniel.
“No, but this last time you did.” Pederson shook his head. “I don’t even want to think about what could have happened to you. Did you ever think about what it would do to your parents if you simply disappeared?”
Daniel stared down at his feet, not knowing what to say. He realized he actually hadn’t considered their feelings or what they would think or do if he never came back. He’d only reacted to the sheer excitement and wonder of the opportunity to time travel.
“You have great parents. They love you very much. I want you to think about them too.”
“That’s true, Daniel,” Craig said. “You don’t know how lucky you are. You have a wonderful mother and a dad who treats you nice.”
“You’re right, Mr. Pederson,” said Daniel, quietly. He had a great deal to think about. He didn’t want to hurt anyone. His mother, his dad, even Cheryl would be crushed if he disappeared.
“I would be devastated too if you time travelled again and didn’t come back. How could I ever face your parents, knowing the truth and not being able to do anything about it?” Pederson’s eyes glistened as he spoke.
Daniel suddenly realized how much he meant to Mr. Pederson and how close he felt to this special old man, as if Pederson were his grandfather. He really was old and vulnerable, thought Daniel, recalling how he’d panicked when he’d come across Mr. Pederson lying prone at the quarry, and he was alone. Daniel slipped an arm around Mr. Pederson’s waist and gave him a quick squeeze.
Daniel understood what Ole Pederson was saying about being aware of other people’s reactions, but he also knew how important these trips were. Maybe he could go again when he was older. Or maybe he could figure out ways to make it safe. Daniel glanced over at Craig and saw that he was probably thinking the same thing.
When he stepped back, Daniel said, “I sure appreciate what you’ve said, sir, but I think what we’re accomplishing is important too.”
“It certainly is, lad,” agreed Pederson. “But it’s just too dangerous for you or anyone else to go there again.”
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