Fossil Hunters

by Marilyn Helmer

Back at the cottage, Shelley showed Aunt Joan and her mom the fossil rock.

  “You had better put it in a safe place,” said Mom.

  “Good idea,” said Aunt Joan. “You don’t want to lose that one.”

  Shelley went to her room. Where would be a good place to put the fossil rock?

  She spotted her tote bag on the floor beside her bed. It was her favorite bag. It had a little plaid Scottie dog and buttons on it.

  Shelley put the fossil rock on her bed and reached for the bag.

  Topper came into the room. She saw the fossil rock. She sniffed it and licked it.

  “Did you find your ball yet?” Shelley asked. Topper whimpered. She looked sad.

  Shelley patted her. She remembered what Marcus had said. “We’ll help you look for your ball later,” she said. “Don’t worry, Topper. We’ll find it.” Shelley put the fossil rock into her tote bag. She closed the zipper and put the tote bag back on the floor by her bed.

  Topper sniffed at the bag.

  “My fossil rock will be safe there,” Shelley told her. “Let’s go and have lunch.”

  After lunch, Shelley put on her oldest shoes. You never knew what you might step in at Applegate Farm.

  Marcus came down the hall. “Look at this, Shelley,” he said. He held out a stone. The stone was pearly white with shiny gold flecks all through it. It was one of the prettiest stones Shelley had ever seen.

  “I’ll trade you,” said Marcus. “I’ll trade you for your fossil rock.”

  Shelley shook her head. “No way,” she said. “I’m keeping my fossil rock.”

  Marcus turned and stomped out the door.

  Shelley grabbed her jacket and hurried to the car.

  They visited all the barns at Applegate Farm. The last barn was the pig barn. In one of the stalls was a huge pig. Against her belly were one, two, three, four…twelve baby piglets! Imagine having twelve babies to look after, Shelley thought.

  After visiting the barns, they went into the old farmhouse.

  “Shelley, Marcus, come see this,” Kyle called from one of the rooms.

  Kyle was standing beside a small table. Shelley and Marcus looked over Kyle’s shoulder. Under the glass top was a collection of arrowheads.

  “Awesome!” said Marcus.

  “My teacher brought some arrowheads to school,” said Shelley. She remembered touching one. It felt smooth and bumpy at the same time. It was neat to touch something that might be hundreds or even thousands of years old.

  Chapter Eight

  Something Lost

  The next morning Kyle and Marcus went back to Rocky Beach. Shelley went to town with her mom and Aunt Joan instead.

  When she came back, Kyle and Marcus were sitting outside at the picnic table. The table was covered with rocks.

  “Did you find anything interesting?” Shelley asked.

  “I did,” said Marcus. “Look at this.” He held out a small rock. It was pointy at one end.

  “It’s just a pointy rock,” said Shelley.

  “It is not,” Marcus declared. “It’s an arrowhead.”

  Shelley looked closer. It did look like an arrowhead. Sort of. But it wasn’t like the ones at Applegate Farm.

  “I’ll trade you for your fossil rock,” said Marcus.

  “No way,” said Shelley. “I’m not trading my fossil rock.”

  Marcus frowned. He snatched up the rock and went inside.

  “Marcus really wants your fossil rock,” said Kyle.

  “That’s too bad,” said Shelley. “I’m not trading. Not for anything.”

  After lunch, Kyle and Marcus went off to build a fort. Shelley went swimming in the lake and played beach ball with the rest of the family.

  Topper stayed on the shore and ran along the beach barking. Topper wanted to play, but she did not like the water.

  When Shelley walked back to the cottage, Topper followed her.

  “I’ll play fetch with you as soon as I change,” said Shelley.

  Topper wagged her tail. But there was no gray, lumpy ball in her mouth.

  Shelley remembered. “Poor Topper,” she said, “is your ball still lost?”

  Topper barked. Shelley patted her. “Don’t worry,” she said. “As soon as I get changed, I’ll help you find it.”

  Although Shelley and Topper searched and searched, they couldn’t find the ball anywhere.

  Kyle and Marcus came back from building their fort. Soon everyone joined in the search. They found an old shoe, Uncle Ray’s missing cap, a rusty toy truck and part of a broken paddle, but they did not find Topper’s ball.

  “Don’t worry,” said Uncle Ray. “Topper always finds her ball.”

  “It will show up sooner or later,” said Aunt Joan.

  But this time Topper did not find her ball. This time Topper’s ball was lost for good.

  Chapter Nine

  Gone

  The next day after lunch, Marcus came into Shelley’s room. “Can I see your fossil rock again?” he asked.

  “You’ve already looked at it a gazillion times,” said Shelley. She took the rock from her tote bag and handed it to Marcus.

  Marcus turned the rock over and over. “Are you sure you don’t want to trade?” he asked.

  Shelley shook her head. “My fossil rock is the best thing I have ever found,” she said. “I’m going to keep it forever.”

  Marcus gave the fossil rock back to her. Shelley put it into her tote bag and zipped the zipper.

  Later, Shelley decided to go for a walk with her dad and Uncle Ray. The weather had turned cool and windy.

  “You’ll need a sweater,” said Dad.

  Shelley went inside. As she headed down the hall, she saw Marcus standing in the doorway of her room.

  Marcus looked up at Shelley. Then he ducked into Kyle’s room and closed the door.

  Shelley stared after him. Had Marcus been in her bedroom? What was he doing there?

  “Hurry up, Shelley. We’re waiting for you,” Dad called through the screen door.

  Shelley dashed into her room. Everything looked just as she had left it. She grabbed a sweater and ran outside.

  When they got back, Shelley went to find Kyle. He was in his bedroom. He was looking at something on the windowsill.

  “Come see this,” said Kyle. In his hand was a magnifying glass.

  Shelley looked over his shoulder. Kyle was looking at a dead fly. The magnifying glass made it look huge. “Oh, yuck! Gross!” Shelley gagged.

  “It’s not gross,” said Kyle. “Flies are cool.”

  Shelley made a face. “I’d rather look at something else,” she said.

  “I know,” said Kyle, “let’s look at your fossil rock.”

  “I’ll get it,” said Shelley. “It’s in my tote bag.”

  She went to her room. Her tote bag was on the floor, just where she had left it.

  Shelley picked up the bag. Wait a minute. The zipper was open. She had left it closed.

  Shelley reached into the bag. Her heart did a quick flip-flop. The bag was empty. Her fossil rock was gone.

  Chapter Ten

  Guilty?

  Kyle came looking for Shelley. “What’s taking you so long?” he asked.

  Shelley was searching under the bed. “My fossil rock is gone,” she groaned.

  Kyle’s eyes widened. “Gone?”

  “It was in my tote bag.” Shelley scrambled to her feet. She grabbed the tote bag and turned it upside down. “It’s empty,” she declared. “My fossil rock is gone.”

  “You must have put it somewhere else,” said Kyle. “I’ll help you look.”

  Kyle and Shelley searched her room. They looked everywhere, but they did not find the fossil rock.

  “Think, Shelley,” said Kyle. “You must have put it somewhere else.”

  Shelley thought. A picture flashed across her mind. Marcus! That afternoon he had been standing right here in her doorway. He must have been in her room.

  “I know where my fossil rock is,�
� said Shelley. She raced out of the room. “I’m going to get it back!”

  She found Marcus in the den. He was playing a video game.

  Shelley stuck out her hand. “Give me back my fossil rock,” she demanded.

  “What are you talking about?” Marcus snapped. “I don’t have your fossil rock.”

  Kyle came into the den. He sat on the couch. “Did you find it?” he asked.

  Shelley clamped her hands on her hips. “No,” she said. “I did not find it because Marcus took it.”

  Marcus jumped to his feet. “I did not take your fossil rock,” he declared.

  “You were in my room,” said Shelley. “Now my fossil rock is gone.”

  Marcus’s face turned as red as a ripe tomato. “I just went into your room to look at it again,” he said. “I put it right back in your bag.”

  “It isn’t there now,” said Shelley.

  Kyle turned to Shelley. “Marcus wouldn’t take your rock,” he said.

  Shelley didn’t answer. She glared at Marcus. He looked guilty. Very guilty.

  “Don’t worry,” said Kyle. “We’ll find your fossil rock. We’ll get everyone to help look for it.”

  They told Uncle Ray what had happened. “Something mysterious is going on around here,” said Uncle Ray. “First Topper loses her ball. Now you lose your fossil rock.”

  Shelley wanted to say, “I didn’t lose my fossil rock. Marcus took it.” But she saw Marcus’s face. He looked like he was going to cry.

  Shelley was sure Marcus had taken her fossil rock. Almost sure. But almost wasn’t good enough. She didn’t say anything.

  Although everyone joined in the search, they did not find Shelley’s fossil rock.

  Chapter Eleven

  A Surprise

  After breakfast the next morning, Shelley’s mom got out some baskets.

  “Who wants to go raspberry picking?” asked Aunt Joan.

  “Not me,” said Kyle. “I’m going fishing with Dad and Uncle Ken.”

  “I don’t like fishing,” said Marcus. “But I like picking berries.”

  “I pay good berry pickers a dollar a pail,” said Aunt Joan.

  “All right!” said Marcus.

  Mom turned to Shelley. “You’ll have to come raspberry picking too,” she said. “We can’t leave you home alone.”

  Shelley groaned. She wanted to stay home alone. Then she could really search for her fossil rock. Everywhere. Especially in Marcus’s bedroom.

  “Can’t I stay by myself?” Shelley pleaded. “There are things I want to do here.”

  “We won’t be leaving for an hour or so,” said Mom. “Maybe you can get your things done before then. But when we go, I want you to come with us.”

  Shelley felt restless. She wanted to look for her fossil rock. She went to her room. Topper followed her.

  Shelley picked up a book. Topper paced around the room. She was restless too.

  “If your ball wasn’t lost, we could play fetch,” Shelley said to her.

  The minute Topper heard “play fetch,” her ears perked up. She barked a happy “Woof!” and raced out of the room.

  Had Topper found her ball? Shelley hurried after her.

  Topper headed for the back porch. She went right to her doggie bed and shoved her nose under the mattress. When she looked back at Shelley, she had something in her mouth.

  “Topper, you found your ball!” Shelley cheered.

  Topper’s tail wagged back and forth. She dropped the object at Shelley’s feet.

  Shelley picked it up. Her heart jumped, and she let out a shriek of delight.

  Chapter Twelve

  Found And Lost

  The object in Shelley’s hand was gray like Topper’s ball. But it wasn’t soft like a ball. And it was heavier than a ball.

  Marcus came out to the porch. “Your mom said we’re ready to go raspberry picking,” he said.

  “I found my fossil rock!” Shelley yelled. “Topper had it all the time. I’ll bet she took it because it looks like her ball.”

  Topper looked at the rock in Shelley’s hand. She whimpered.

  Shelley felt bad. “I’m sorry, Topper,” she said, “but you can’t have my fossil rock to play with.”

  “I’m glad you found it,” said Marcus.

  Suddenly, Shelley felt even worse. She had accused Marcus of taking her fossil rock. And she had been wrong. “I...I’m sorry, Marcus,” she said. “I really thought you had taken it.”

  Marcus frowned. “I told you I didn’t take it,” he said. “You should have believed me.” He shrugged. “Anyway, I’m glad you found it.”

  Shelley gave a small smile. “Actually, Topper found it,” she said.

  Aunt Joan joined them on the porch. “Are you two ready to go?” she asked.

  She saw the rock in Shelley’s hand. “You found your fossil rock!” she said.

  Shelley told her what had happened.

  “So, Topper had it all the time,” said Aunt Joan.

  Topper barked when she heard her name.

  “I think she took it because it looks like her ball,” said Shelley.

  Marcus patted Topper. “She needs something else to play with,” he said. Topper wiggled and wagged as though she understood.

  “You’re right,” said Aunt Joan. “But right now we’re going raspberry picking. Are you two ready?”

  “Yes,” said Shelley. Now she wanted to go berry picking. But Topper had to stay behind. She watched everyone leaving and whimpered.

  “We’ll play with you when we get back,” said Marcus.

  We? Shelley thought. Does Marcus mean him and me?

  In the car, Shelley glanced over at Marcus. He looked sad. Was he upset because she thought he had taken her fossil rock? She wanted to say something to him.

  But what?

  Aunt Joan parked near the raspberry patch. As they got out of the car, Marcus turned to Shelley. “It’s all my fault,” he said.

  Shelley looked at him in surprise. “What’s your fault?”

  “That Topper lost her ball,” he said. “Remember a couple of days ago? We were playing fetch with her, and I threw the ball really hard. I’ll bet that’s when it got lost.”

  “It’s not your fault,” said Shelley.

  “Yes, it is,” said Marcus. Without another word he turned and headed for the raspberry patch.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lucky Day

  Shelley took off her hat and fanned herself. She blew a strand of damp hair away from her face.

  Her mom shaded her eyes against the bright sun. “It’s too hot to keep picking,” she said.

  “My pail is full anyway,” said Shelley.

  “So is mine,” said Marcus. “And I’m thirsty!”

  “We forgot to bring cold drinks,” said Aunt Joan. “Let’s drive into town and have an ice-cream cone instead.”

  “Yay!” Shelley cheered.

  “Let’s go!” said Marcus.

  At Dairylicious, they each chose their favorite ice-cream cone. Then they headed for a picnic bench to eat them.

  Shelley was about to sit down when she spotted a shiny quarter on the seat. With a whoop, she picked it up.

  “Lucky you,” said Marcus.

  Shelley grinned. This really was her lucky day.

  When they finished their ice cream, Aunt Joan gave Shelley and Marcus each a dollar for the raspberries they had picked.

  “Now I have a whole dollar and twenty-five cents to spend,” said Shelley.

  “I have to pick up a couple of things at the grocery store,” said Aunt Joan.

  “Can I go to Dollar Daze?” asked Marcus. “They’re having a sale. There’s something special I want to buy.”

  “Okay,” said Aunt Joan. “We’ll meet you there.”

  “Can I go too?” Shelley asked.

  “Yes,” said her mom, “but be sure you stay together.”

  Shelley waited for Marcus to protest, but he didn’t say anything. He seemed to be lost in thoug
ht.

  “You can find some really good stuff at Dollar Daze,” said Shelley as they started off. “What are you going to buy?”

  “It’s a secret,” said Marcus. “You’ll find out later.” He had a big grin on his face.

  What is Marcus going to buy that makes him so happy? Shelley wondered.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Something Special

  “Wait up,” called Shelley. Marcus was walking up and down the aisles so fast she could hardly keep up with him.

  Shelley stopped. Ahead was a big bin. A sign on the bin said Everything Half Price.

  She looked up. Marcus was at the other end of the aisle. What was he looking at? Shelley couldn’t see. She turned back to the bin.

  As Shelley searched through the bin, she found stickers and notebooks and pencils. She found tiny dolls and big earrings. She found party hats and balloons and little stuffed animals. She dug deeper into the bin and pulled out a necklace.

  “Oooh,” Shelley gasped, holding it up. The necklace was made of woven string. A pretty silver-colored shell hung from the middle.

  Shelley held her breath as she looked at the price tag. It was marked down to a dollar. Shelley almost cheered out loud. She had enough money to buy it.

  She hurried to catch up with Marcus. “Have you found anything?” she asked.

  Marcus showed Shelley a ball. The ball was red and blue and had a white stripe around it.

  “Neat ball,” said Shelley.

  “Topper would like it,” said Marcus.

  So that was the special something Marcus was looking for! “Topper will love it,” said Shelley. “She doesn’t have anything to play with since she lost her old ball.”

  Marcus put the ball back in the bin. “I can’t buy it,” he said. “The ball costs a dollar ninety-eight. I only have one dollar.”

  Shelley looked at the bin. It was not marked Everything Half Price like the bin she had found her necklace in.

  Shelley looked at the necklace. It was pretty. It was special. She thought about Topper. Topper was more special.