Danger at the Dinosaur Stomping Grounds

by Judy Young

  “Buck! Watch out! They’re coming!”

  Buck looked up just as Robert came around the boulder. Buck darted the other way and ran right into Nick. Nick grabbed at the phone. Buck tried to push send, but Nick wrangled the phone out of Buck’s hands. Buck pulled his arm back, his hand in a tight fist, and was swinging it toward Nick’s face when Robert grabbed ahold of his arm. He twisted it around, pulling it up tight behind Buck’s back. In too much pain to move, Buck didn’t put up a fight. Nick immediately turned off the phone, and Buck had no idea whether his partial message, Artifact thieves in salt val, was actually sent or not.

  “If it weren’t getting late, I’d let you two punch it out,” Robert said. “It would be fun to watch Nick beat the tar out of you, but we’ve got work to do. We’ve got to get that skull out of that rock before dark.”

  Robert pushed Buck along in front of him, keeping his arm pulled up tight.

  “What’s that flashlight on your head for?” Wyett sarcastically asked when they reached the ledge in front of the grotto. “Can’t see in the middle of the day?”

  “It’s a camera, you stupid idiot,” Nick said to his cousin. Nick rushed over, grabbed Buck’s hat, and put it on his own head. The red light stared at Buck. “This would be a good shot for the Wild World Wonder Boy to have on his show. It looks like Buck was caught trying to steal dinosaur fossils.”

  Buck tried to wrestle away from Robert’s grasp. As he did so, he quickly pinched the clip near his top buttonhole, letting the mic fall inside his shirt. He hoped it would still capture what was being said.

  “I’m not going to loosen my grip until you settle down,” Robert told Buck. “And I certainly can’t let you two near each other. Nick, you stay up here. Wyett and I will take care of these two and get some tools to chisel that skull out of there.”

  Nick stepped over to Toni. “Would you like me to hold your backpack for you?” he asked sweetly.

  “No, you just want to steal it,” Toni hissed.

  “Like you did my sunglasses,” Buck said. “But we found my bear sign and all the other stuff you stole.”

  “The rangers have it now,” Toni added, “and they know it was you who took it.”

  “Are you sure?” Nick said, smirking and holding up his arm. A colorful braided bracelet was looped around his wrist.

  “You didn’t take the midden items to the rangers!” Toni said in disbelief to Robert. “You kept them!”

  “Of course Uncle Bob gave them back to me,” Nick said smugly. “And this was a nice little find.” Nick raised his T-shirt, exposing Shoop’s tool in its sheath on his belt. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out the patch. “And thanks for leaving this on your desk for me, Toni!”

  “I had you all figured out,” Buck angrily spat out at Nick, then looked around at Robert, “but we trusted you.”

  “Seriously? You don’t think I’d turn my nephew in, do you?” Robert said. “But enough of this. We need to get that skull out of there. Stay here, Nick.”

  Robert pushed Buck ahead of him, not releasing his arm. Toni followed, Wyett tagging close behind.

  “What did Nick call you? Wild World Wonder Boy?” Robert asked when they reached the chimney. “You’re going down first. I’m sure you’ll wait for me without a fuss if you want to see Toni again, won’t you?”

  As Buck reluctantly sat down and started lowering himself into the chimney, Toni took off her backpack.

  “What are you doing?” Robert said.

  “I can’t climb down with this on,” Toni said. “I’m getting some cord to lower it.”

  Robert grabbed the backpack from Toni’s hands and flung it over the side. It landed with a thud at the base of the chimney. “There,” he said, and followed Buck into the fissure.

  Once down, Buck picked up Toni’s backpack. Robert started to reach out for Buck’s arm again, but the boy moved quickly away.

  “You don’t have to hold on to me,” he said. “I’ll go on my own.”

  When Toni and Wyett reached the bottom, Toni took her backpack from Buck, and the four wound their way down to the campsite. Buck and Toni were ordered to sit in the chairs.

  “Watch them,” Robert told Wyett. “I’ll get the tools, and then we’ll lock them in the trailer while we dig out that skull.” Robert walked to the back of the trailer. It didn’t take long before he came around to its side.

  “Wyett, bring me the key.”

  “I don’t have it.”

  “What do you mean, you don’t have it?” Robert hollered. “You’re the one who locked the trailer.”

  “You told me to lock it before I went up on top of the cliff, so I locked it,” Wyett said. “But the key wasn’t there. I thought you had it.”

  Robert was now getting angry. “It was in the lock!”

  “No, it wasn’t,” Wyett said. “Did you look on the ground? Maybe it dropped out.”

  Robert searched the ground but didn’t find a key.

  “Empty your pockets, Wyett,” he bellowed as he stormed back over to the chairs.

  Wyett started putting everything from his pockets on a chair. Some loose change, a gum wrapper, a piece of hard candy, and a wadded-up tissue came out of his front pockets; a wallet and a cell phone from the back. No key. Robert kicked the chair, and the contents went flying.

  “Go look in the tents,” he commanded.

  Wyett hurried into the first tent. Watching him through the open flap as he rummaged through the tent’s contents, Robert turned his back on Buck and Toni. Buck leaned over. Pretending to tie his bootlace, he grabbed Wyett’s cell phone and slipped it into his cargo pants pocket near his right knee. Wyett went into the other tent. He soon came out empty-handed.

  “Get up there and see if Nick has it,” Robert ordered.

  Wyett couldn’t get away fast enough. Robert paced back and forth in front of Toni and Buck. Suddenly he grabbed Toni by the arm and pulled her to her feet.

  “Come on,” he said. “And you, too, Wonder Boy.”

  The man kept ahold of Toni’s arm as he dragged her over behind the jeep, Buck following them.

  “Sit down there,” Robert said, pointing to the ground beside the trailer hitch. He let go of Toni. “And take off that friggin’ backpack.”

  Toni put her backpack in her lap. Buck watched helplessly as Robert took off his belt and wrapped it tightly under Toni’s arms and across her chest, strapping her to the trailer hitch.

  “You sit over there,” Robert said to Buck. “I want to keep you in sight, although I don’t think you’ll leave without her, will you, Wonder Boy?”

  As Buck sat down and leaned against the jeep’s rear tire, Robert opened the front door, climbed in, and started searching through the jeep. Buck inched over closer to the back of the vehicle and leaned around the corner.

  “He won’t find it,” Buck whispered to Toni. “I have it.”

  Buck looked back toward the open door and then reached into his pocket.

  “What’s Shoop’s number?” he whispered, showing Toni Wyett’s cell phone.

  Toni’s shoulders drooped. “I don’t know,” she said, her voice sounding despondent. “We just use speed dial.”

  “That’s okay. I’ll call 911,” Buck whispered. He glanced toward the open door just as Robert stepped out. Buck quickly slid the phone under his leg. Robert slammed the front door, opened the back one, and, dropping to his knees, looked under the backseat. He stood up and then, stepping over Buck’s outstretched legs, went to the rear of the vehicle and opened the tailgate.

  As Robert rummaged through the contents in the back of the jeep, Buck quickly pulled out the phone and pushed in the numbers. Keeping his back turned and scrunching over to keep the phone hidden, he put it to his ear. Nothing happened. It didn’t ring and no one answered. Buck glanced quickly at the phone. There were no bars. When he straightened up, Robert was standing over him.

  “Give it to me,” he said.

  Buck handed over the phone. The man put i
t in his pants pocket and leaned silently against the jeep until Wyett came back.

  “Nick doesn’t have it,” Wyett said. “He thinks Buck does.”

  “I don’t have it,” Buck said.

  “Let’s just see,” Robert said. “Empty your pockets.”

  Buck stood up and reached into his pockets. He put a granola bar wrapper, his compass, and his camera on top of the jeep. Robert put the camera in his pocket, then patted down Buck’s legs. When he reached the zipper pocket by Buck’s left knee, a big smile crossed his face.

  “Liar!” Robert unzipped the pocket and reached in. His hand came out holding a key. “Sit down!” He pushed Buck hard, and the boy landed on the ground.

  “It’s not your key,” Buck stated. “It goes to our camper.”

  “Sure it does,” Robert said. He tossed it to Wyett. “Go unlock the trailer.”

  Wyett hurried away but came back angry. He tossed the key onto the ground near Toni’s feet. “It doesn’t fit,” he stated, grabbing Toni’s backpack. “She probably has it.”

  Wyett dumped the contents of her backpack on top of the key.

  “It’s not in there,” Wyett said. “Did you check her pockets?”

  “I don’t have pockets,” Toni said.

  “I don’t know where it is,” Robert said angrily. “Go get Nick. We’re leaving.”

  “What about the dinosaur skull?” Wyett asked.

  “All the tools are in the trailer,” Robert said. “Unless you think you can dig that skull out of hard rock with your fingers.”

  “Are we still going to Arches?” Wyett asked.

  Robert gave his son a flick on the forehead. “Do you ever use what’s between your ears? If we can’t get to the tools, what good would it be to go to Arches?”

  Wyett shrugged. “I don’t know. I just thought—”

  “No, you didn’t,” his father said. “You never think. Now get up there and get Nick.”

  When Wyett left, Robert turned to Buck. “Don’t just sit there, Wonder Boy. Help me with this cooler. Then you two can take down camp for me.”

  Robert and Buck each picked up an end of the cooler and put it in the back of the jeep. Then Buck unbuckled the belt from the trailer hitch. Toni quickly grabbed her things and stuffed them into her backpack. She also reached up and took Buck’s compass from the top of the jeep, then followed Buck over to one of the tents. They crawled in as Robert sat guard in a camp chair.

  “What happened to the trailer key? Did you lose it?” Toni whispered so quietly, Buck could hardly hear her as they each slowly rolled up a sleeping bag.

  Buck smiled. “No. When Robert told Wyett to empty his pockets, I figured he’d have me do the same sooner or later. So when he wasn’t looking, I slipped the key into my sock.”

  “Good thinking!” Toni said, but then was quiet. When she finished rolling up the sleeping bag, she looked up at Buck. “What do you think will happen to us? Do you think they’re going to take us with them?”

  “I don’t know. There’s not going to be much room with all this stuff in the jeep. The cooler took up most of the back,” Buck said.

  “At least he can’t lock us in the trailer,” Toni said with a weak smile.

  “That’s right,” Buck said. “We need to stay positive, and concentrate on getting away. I’ve been trying to come up with a plan.”

  “Me too,” Toni said.

  Buck and Toni pulled all the things from the first tent and then took it down. They carried all the items over to the jeep and dumped them by the door. As they headed to the second tent, Robert stood up and looked toward the top of the bluffs. Buck looked up too, expecting to see Wyett and Nick, but nobody was coming down the rocky slope.

  “I’ve got an idea,” Buck whispered to Toni once they were in the second tent. “If we can cause a distraction before Nick and Wyett get back, maybe we can get away.”

  “We’ll have to stay away from the chimney, though,” Toni said. “Nick and Wyett will be coming down that way.”

  “I already thought of that,” Buck said. “If we head south toward the trailhead, we can follow the blue trail to our bikes. Nick has Dad’s phone, but as soon as we get to the Green Beast, we can e-mail Nash. He’ll be able to call the rangers.”

  “Okay. Let’s devise a signal,” Toni said. “You can’t just yell out, ‘Run,’ again.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Buck said. “How about just giving a thumbs-up?”

  “We might not be able to see each other,” Toni said. “How about sneezing?”

  “Okay, if either of us sneezes, that means we sneak away and hide as quickly as possible, but don’t run. Robert will notice if we take off running.”

  “Okay,” Toni said. “We should plan a meeting spot.”

  “Did you notice there’s a rock that looks like a crouching cougar?”

  “No,” Toni said.

  “Take these clothes to the jeep. When you come back, look about halfway up the slope, fifty yards or so farther south of the chimney. I’m sure you’ll see it.”

  Toni crawled out of the tent, carrying the clothes, then dumped them by the jeep and headed back toward the tent.

  “Did you see it?” Buck whispered.

  “Yeah, but wouldn’t it be easier if we just ran down here across the valley floor where it’s flat and there aren’t all those rocks?”

  “It’d be easier for Robert to catch one of us too,” Buck said. “At least in the rocks we have places to hide. And once we get a little farther south, it will be easier going. This mess of boulders changes to slickrock, remember?”

  “Okay, we’ll meet at the crouching cougar,” Toni said. “But we need to take different routes so that if Robert chases after us, he’ll only be able to catch one.”

  “Okay, but if either of us gets caught, yell so the other person knows,” Buck added. “The other has to keep on going and get back to the Green Beast.”

  “There’s a problem,” Toni said. “We only have one key. What if—”

  “You keep it,” Buck interrupted, thinking to himself, I won’t need it because there’s no way I would leave Toni if she got caught.

  “Are you sure?” Toni asked. “I know what you’re thinking, and I wouldn’t want to leave you behind either.”

  “It will be okay, Toni,” Buck tried to assure her.

  “What’s taking you two so long in there?” Robert’s voice boomed just outside the tent flap.

  “We’re all done,” Buck said, tossing a pillow out of the tent. As Buck backed through the open flap on his hands and knees, he whispered to Toni, “Don’t worry. We’ll be all right as long as we seem to be cooperating with Robert.”

  Buck and Toni took down the second tent. Then Robert made Toni sit by the jeep’s right rear tire. He didn’t tie her to anything but stood guard over her as he watched Buck stuff everything into the vehicle. It had been more than an hour. Neither Wyett nor Nick had returned, and Robert was getting madder by the second.

  “Wyett! Nick!” Robert yelled at the top of his lungs. “Where are you? Get down here!” There was no answer from above on the bluff. Robert stomped around, cussing and yelling toward the cliff, but there was still no answer from either his son or nephew.

  “Those two are about the most incompetent, worthless—” The man didn’t finish his sentence. He stomped over to the driver’s-side door, climbed inside, put his hand on the horn, and left it there. As the noise echoed off the bluff, both Buck and Toni sneezed.

  TAKE 20:

  “BIG AL COULD RUN ABOUT 21 MILES PER HOUR, BUT WEIGHING IN AT 3,300 POUNDS, HE SURE COULDN’T HIDE WELL.”

  The horn blared for several seconds. Toni quickly scooted over to the closest boulder and got behind it. To keep out of Robert’s sight, Buck scrunched down and darted behind a different boulder. The horn quit, but the instant silence was soon filled with Robert’s voice cussing and yelling. Toni and Buck kept moving, quickly scurrying for cover behind one boulder to the next.

  “What’s
going on?” Wyett suddenly yelled down from on top of the bluff. “You’re making a racket!”

  “I’m aware of that!” Robert shouted back. “Buck and Toni have run off. Can you see them?”

  Buck immediately pushed himself flat against a boulder, hoping it shielded him from Robert and also from Wyett above. He hoped Toni was doing the same thing.

  “No, I don’t see nothing,” Wyett said. “Why did you honk the horn? Why didn’t you just chase them?”

  “I honked to get your attention, you nitwit,” Robert said. “I didn’t know what was taking you so long. I only took my eye off those kids for one second and they ran off.”

  “We’re chipping away at the dinosaur skull,” Wyett said. “That fancy tool Nick found has a screwdriver on it.”

  “Forget the dinosaur!” Robert yelled. “Go get Nick and see if you can spot the kids. We can’t let them get away.”

  As Wyett and Robert were talking, Buck made a beeline to the crouching cougar rock. Toni darted around it from the other side.

  “Keep close to me on this side so they can’t see us from above,” Buck said. “I think that other rock blocks Robert from seeing us.” As Toni crawled around beside him, she poked her head up for just a second.

  “I could see Robert. He’s about halfway between us and the chimney, but it looks like he’s heading toward the chimney, not toward us,” Toni said.

  “Let’s just stay here for a few minutes,” Buck said. “If Nick and Wyett don’t spot us, they’ll probably climb back down the chimney and that will give us a chance to get away unseen.”

  They waited behind the crouching cougar but didn’t hear anything for a minute. Then there was the sound of a stone hitting a boulder several yards to their north. It bounced several times and stopped.

  “Stay still,” Buck whispered. “Either Nick or Wyett threw that down. They want us to peek out so they can see where we are.”

  A half a minute later another stone came down almost on top of them, and a third stone to their south after that.

  “I told you that wouldn’t work,” Nick said, his voice coming from on top of the bluff directly above Buck and Toni. “Not any more than their stupid stones worked with me.”