Dinosaur Blackout

by Judith Silverthorne

  “Yes, and a few neighbours have suggested we start looking for him in the countryside in the morning. Corporal Fraser agrees. Of course, there’s a chance he may just have gone some place to be alone. Or he could be sleeping off too many drinks somewhere,” Dad said.

  As Daniel mulled the information over, Dad guided him upstairs. “It’s late, son. Try to get some sleep. We’ll see if we can’t get things straightened out in the morning.”

  “Will Craig and Todd be coming?”

  “Yes, we’ve told them to make sure they come for breakfast and to bring us any news. They feel bad about not coming today, but we reassured them that we weren’t angry.”

  “Yes,” said Mom from the doorway. “The poor things didn’t know whether to keep searching for their father or not, and then they were afraid to show up here late, so they just stayed away.”

  “I’m glad you went to check on them then,” said Daniel, heading to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

  “Yes, we had a nice long chat and told them they could come to us any time they had a problem,” said Dad.

  As he swished the toothbrush around in his mouth, Daniel wondered if Horace Nelwin’s disappearance had anything to do with the fossil theft. Was it just a coincidence that both events occurred so close together? He still wanted to speak to Todd alone. He’d make sure to do that first thing in the morning.

  His head whirled with images of the Nelwins, the absence of Horace and the missing Stygimoloch and the dinosaurs he’d soon be confronting again. He’d have to keep a close eye on Dr. Roost and Mr. Pederson too. He had no intention of letting them slip away without him. If they did manage it, he wouldn’t be far behind them. As soon as he could the next day, he’d go over to Pederson’s and help with the planning.

  Partway through the night, he awoke from a nightmare. He’d been running from tree to tree, trying to escape the giant shadow of a Pteranadon that droned like an airplane overhead. He lay panting and it took him a long time to get back to sleep.

  Chapter Eight

  Daniel woke early the next morning and rushed to do his barn chores. He stopped short when he saw Todd heading towards him from the corral and Craig approaching from the barn, carrying pails of separated milk to the house.

  “Morning,” said Craig, setting the pail down with a sigh. “Everything’s done.”

  “Whoa, you must have been up early,” Daniel said.

  “Didn’t go to sleep,” Todd answered, coming up to them. His clothes were all askew and crumpled and his bristly hair was flat in places. Craig’s hair had an unwashed sheen to it and his wrinkled clothes had seen better days.

  “Any word on your dad?” asked Daniel.

  Both boys shook their heads.

  Dad emerged from the tool shop and joined them. “Let’s get some breakfast, then everyone can gather and search for him.”

  Dad herded them all towards the house. Once inside, he began the phone tree calls. In their district, they had set up a system where one person called two others, those two each called two more, and this procedure continued until everyone in the area was notified. Within minutes, Dad had arranged for all the neighbours to meet at the Nelwins in the next half hour. He called Corporal Fraser to confirm the arrangements. He’d just finished as Dr. Roost and Ole Pederson arrived for breakfast. Mom’s waffles were an instant hit, but everyone gobbled them quickly and prepared to join the search party.

  Daniel didn’t have an opportunity to speak with Todd or Ole Pederson or Mildred Roost. Pederson winked at him across the breakfast table and Dr. Roost patted his arm, but otherwise the two kept to themselves. Even when he sidled up to them to see when they were meeting again, Dr. Roost motioned him to silence. He gave up and went to prepare for the search.

  With Daniel on Gypsy, Todd and Craig saddled horses that had been used on the trail rides and they all headed out. At the Nelwins, they were joined by Dad on his atv and Doug Lindstrom and Jed in their Jeep. The Nelwins’ mean dogs had been locked in the barn to keep them from attacking anyone.

  The rest of the neighbours soon arrived in various four-wheel-drive trucks, dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles. Corporal Fraser divided the surrounding area into quadrants, assigning several people to each one with instructions to call on their cell phones or return each hour to report on their progress.

  Although the warm autumn sun beamed down on them, Daniel shivered. Thoughts of what he might find whirled in his mind like chips of ice in a blender. He, Craig and Todd swept out of the yard to search an area to the east, which covered several steeper gullies that were easier for their horses to navigate. As they rode away, they could hear the others calling for Horace.

  For the first half a mile, the three of them walked their horses in silence a few yards apart. They examined small stands of trees and under bushes, keeping an eye out for tracks of any kind. Obvious deer and antelope trails criss-crossed on the hard ground, amid drying tufts of grass and the occasional clump of black-eyed Susans at the edge of the pasture. As they turned towards the centre of the quarter, the vegetation became scrubbier and more hilly. Tracks were harder to trace and there was no sign of human habitation anywhere.

  After a while, they came to another fenced pasture that blocked their way, and decided it was time to head back and report in.

  “Whose property is that?” Daniel asked before they turned around.

  “Some people by the name of Collins homesteaded there, but there’s nothing left anymore but a heap of rotting boards that was once their house,” said Todd.

  “Yeah, there’s not even a road into the property anymore,” Craig said, “I think Herb Milner bought it a few years ago. He rents it out for pasture land to Abe Johnson, I think. Or at least he did.”

  As they headed back to the Nelwins’ place, they rode close to one another. At one point, Todd was nearly beside Daniel.

  “Do you think your dad is out here somewhere?” Daniel asked.

  Todd shook his head. “Nah, but if everyone thinks it will help to look for him, that’s okay.”

  “Do you have any idea where else he might be?”

  “Not really, but he might have just gone visiting or something.”

  Daniel stared at Todd. “You mean, he’d just up and go for a visit somewhere and not tell you?”

  “It’s possible,” Todd answered, shrugging.

  “But why? Has he ever done that before?” Daniel persisted.

  But instead of answering, Todd made a point of guiding his horse around some rough terrain away from Daniel. Daniel had no choice but to skirt around in the other direction. Then Todd scooted ahead, so it wasn’t convenient to question him anymore. His evasive manner told Daniel he either didn’t want to talk or was hiding something.

  Others had arrived back before them and no one had seen anything. They were just deciding whether or not to spread out farther and do another section, when another vehicle swirled into the driveway in a cloud of dust. Almost before the car had time to come to a full screeching stop, Adrian McDermott jumped out and scooped up his camera. He began snapping photographs of the searchers milling around, then sauntered closer to the group.

  Corporal Fraser made his way through the throng.

  “Hello, Adrian. Can I help you with something?”

  The eager reporter swung the mike into his face. “Can you confirm you’re searching for Horace Nelwin?”

  “He’s been missing for a couple of days, and we’re checking on his whereabouts to make sure he’s okay,” said Corporal Fraser.

  “I spoke to Horace Nelwin two nights ago and he said he was going to take a little trip over Maple Creek way for a few days.” Adrian McDermott chuckled. “This wild goose chase will make a great story.”

  “What?” Todd stepped forward.

  The reporter repeated himself as Craig moved up beside his brother, and Daniel stepped closer to the four of them.

  “I don’t get it,” Craig said. “He told you, but not us?”

  “That doesn
’t make any sense,” Todd said. “Did he say why he was going?”

  “I don’t recall,” the reporter shrugged.

  “Where did you see him?” asked Craig.

  “In the bar in town.”

  “That’s a reliable place to hear things,” Todd said sarcastically.

  “Don’t knock it. I hear all sorts of news there,” said McDermott.

  Todd gave McDermott a furious look and stomped away.

  “Look, it’s not my fault he doesn’t let you know where he’s going,” McDermott said to Craig.

  Craig shook his head in disgust and followed his brother to the house.

  “I think you and I need to have a more in-depth talk,” Corporal Fraser told McDermott. “Wait here.”

  Turning back to the search group, he said, “I guess we’ll have to call off the search until I check out this story. Thanks for all your help. I’ll be in touch.”

  Everyone dispersed quickly after that.

  “He sure finds out about things quickly, doesn’t he?” Dad said, joining Daniel and Doug.

  “He seems to cover everything that goes on in the community, that’s for sure,” agreed Doug.

  “Mom says he’s way better than old Lorna Findlay used to be, anyway,” Daniel said.

  “That’s for sure,” said Doug. “She hardly ever left the newspaper office.”

  Doug went over to begin unsaddling his two trail horses. “It’ll save me a trip later,” he said.

  Daniel and Dad helped him tie the horses behind his Jeep to take them home.

  As they tied the final knots, Doug said, “What a life those boys lead. I feel sorry for them.”

  “You and me both,” Dad said. “They’re good kids. Horace doesn’t deserve them.”

  Daniel realized again how lucky he was to have parents who cared about him. He couldn’t imagine them leaving without telling him they were going somewhere, not even for a couple of hours. How empty and lost the Nelwin brothers must feel. Did he dare knock on their door and ask if they needed anything? Or had Todd had enough of him for one day? As he stood undecided, Dad took the decision away from him.

  “You go home, Daniel. I’ll make sure they’re okay.” He looked across the yard to the house. “Tell your mom I’ll be back in a while.”

  Daniel nodded and swung onto Gypsy’s back. He paused by Corporal Fraser’s car, where the officer was standing talking on the radio. McDermott was gone. Daniel waited for him to finish his conversation.

  “Uh, Corporal Fraser, I was just wondering if you’d made any progress on the Stygimoloch theft.”

  “Sorry, Daniel, nothing has come to light yet.” He patted Gypsy’s neck. “I’ll let you know as soon as I find anything out.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate it,” said Daniel. Trotting back home, he made good time and found Mr. Pederson and Mildred Roost waiting for him.

  “I’ll take care of your horse, young man,” offered Dr. Roost. “You go get your notebook and pictures; we have work to do.”

  Surprised, Daniel obeyed, not even questioning whether Mildred Roost knew anything about horses. He had assumed she didn’t, but he could see from his bedroom window that she handled Gypsy as if she’d bred and raised horses all her life. Gypsy responded with measured ease.

  From his bedroom closet, Daniel grabbed his backpack, still packed with the research he’d done the day before. He called to Mom across the yard, passing on Dad’s message and letting her know he was leaving again.

  “See you all at lunchtime,” Mom waved from the garden where she was pulling cornstalks.

  “Don’t count on Ole and me,” said Dr. Roost, “but Daniel will be back.”

  Daniel started to protest, but Dr. Roost shushed him. “We’re only going to town to pick up supplies, once we figure out what we need.”

  “We’re not going to exclude you on the plan making,” Ole Pederson said gently. “We’ll pool our ideas and see what we can come up with.”

  Mollified, Daniel asked, “Are you going for your doctor’s appointment too?”

  Pederson looked surprised. “How did you know about that?” He shook his head. “Never mind, no one can keep a secret for long around here.”

  “Should you be going into the past if something’s wrong?” Daniel asked, his brows knitting in worry.

  “It’s nothing,” Ole Pederson said. “Just a little checkup. I’m fine.”

  Dr. Roost shrugged her shoulders. “Not much is going to stop him.”

  When they reached Mr. Pederson’s shack, they drew up a list of supplies, checking off those they had and noting those they needed to buy. Daniel explained his theories. They began a deep discussion about the merits of halothene, liquid nitrogen, novocaine and ether as ways to knock out a dinosaur.

  “I do know that halothene takes quite a long time to wear off,” said Pederson.

  “Yes, the subject might wake up, but they still act sedated for hours,” Dr. Roost agreed.

  “We still don’t know how much we’d need, or where to get it,” Daniel piped up.

  “I’ve used liquid nitrogen for preserving certain specimens. I might be able to get some shipped out from one of the museums,” suggested Dr. Roost. “I’ll make some enquiries on what it might take to sedate an elephant or rhinoceros and we’ll calculate how much we’ll need from there.”

  Daniel interrupted. “But how are you going to administer it?”

  “Hmm.” Pederson stroked his chin. “Good question. Injections and gas masks are obviously out.” He smiled.

  Daniel shook the image of a giant gas mask plastered over the mouth of a T. rex out of his mind. “What about some kind of a spraying apparatus?” he suggested.

  As they mulled over the possibilities, they at last decided that a hand-pumped system might work.

  “I already thought about that,” said Daniel, “but a little motor or something like an oxygen tank gadget would be too heavy to transport.”

  “Maybe there’s some kind of canister we could find that would explode like a hand grenade,” Pederson offered.

  “What about dry ice?” suggested Mildred Roost. “Dinosaurs are reptiles, after all, and they’re cold-blooded, which means that as the temperature falls, so does their metabolism. If we could get the temperature cold enough around them, that would slow them right down.”

  “Not a bad idea, Mildred,” said Pederson. “But again, how much would we need and how would we be able to apply it in this situation? They’re not going to stand still while we pack it around them.”

  “And how quickly does it work?” added Daniel.

  “Obviously we have a little research ahead of us,” Pederson said. “How about we get started and see what we can find out.”

  “I had another thought. How about lasers?” Daniel suggested, though he hadn’t finished the research on them.

  “Great idea, Daniel,” said Dr. Roost. “Ole, do you have any idea where we might get some?”

  “Not at the moment, but let’s get into town,” Pederson suggested.

  “We can start at the library and with the experts at the T. rex Discovery Centre. Surely we can figure out something,” Dr. Roost said.

  “We’ll see what else we can find while we’re there,” said Pederson. He turned to Daniel. “Okay, lad, we’ll drop you back off home for lunch and see you later.”

  Daniel felt a lump of disappointment settling in his throat. He wanted to go with them, but that obviously wasn’t in their plans. Besides missing out on the action, he knew they’d go to Jack’s Café, his favourite eating place.

  Dr. Roost patted his hand. “We’ll keep you posted on what we find out.”

  Daniel sighed. It wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but it was better than nothing. The two of them were keeping tight with their plans. He knew it was because they worried about his safety, but still, he couldn’t help feeling left out.

  Several times throughout the afternoon, Daniel walked back over to Pederson’s. But the truck was nowhere to be seen. Finally, o
n the last trip over, he thought to peer through a small window and noticed Dr. Roost’s backpack and other gear on the table and he knew they still hadn’t returned from town. Mildred would never have left her gear behind, so they hadn’t hidden the truck somewhere as he was beginning to imagine. Even so, on his way home, he checked other locations he figured would be suitable for them to leave on a trip into the past. But there was no evidence they’d returned home and gone again without him.

  Surely they wouldn’t chance going in the evening. He’d have to be up early, though, to catch them, if they were going in the morning. Maybe he was being too suspicious. They’d assured him they’d keep him posted.

  But when he stopped to think about it, he realized Dr. Roost hadn’t been specific about when she meant. Would they keep him posted about the results from their trip to town, or would they fill him in after they came back from the past?

  By the time he headed for bed, the paleontologists had not returned. Were they deliberately excluding him? Had they already travelled without him so he couldn’t tag along, even by accident? Daniel dropped uneasily off to sleep.

  Chapter Nine

  Daniel awoke very early the next morning to a quiet house and bright sunshine slipping through his blinds. Chickadees and sparrows chattered in the caragana hedge outside his open window. A breeze sent gentle puffs of cool air into his room. He breathed deeply and stretched, then rose quickly.

  By the time he headed to the barn to do his chores, there was still no movement from anyone else. Only Dactyl padded up to him and pushed his head under Daniel’s hand for some attention. Daniel quietly slid the huge door open and started his morning routine. The crispness of the early morning refreshed him.

  After Daniel finished his chores and went back to the house, Mr. Pederson drove into the yard, but didn’t stop. He waved to Daniel, who was standing at the kitchen window, from his old Studebaker truck and drove right up to Dr. Roost’s vehicle. She opened her camper door and scuttled into his truck. He backed around and the pair disappeared out of the yard and down the gravel road in the direction of his shack.