The Fossil Hunter of Sydney Mines

by Jo Ann Yhard

  As Grace watched the rain sloshing out of the drainpipes and turning the garden into oozing mud, she had a vision of all of Sydney Mines collapsing into one giant sinkhole.

  Chapter

  22

  “THIS IS HOPELESS!” MAI MOANED, SITTING DOWN ON A FALLEN LOG. She reached down to rub her shin and frowned at her mud-covered hiking boots. “My feet are killing me.”

  Grace’s legs were sore too. There were puddles of water everywhere, and moving around felt like trying to walk on a wet sponge.

  They had been searching for the PA3 sinkhole for ages, with no luck. It was much harder to find an exact spot than Grace had thought, even with a map. None of them had paid much attention to landmarks the first time they’d come. Who knew they’d want to find it again?

  “It took us two hours to get here and we’ve been roaming around at least that long,” Grace complained. “The day will be over and we won’t have accomplished anything.”

  “That darn hole is around here somewhere, I know it is,” Fred said, continuing ahead, his eyes glued to the ground.

  Grace plunked down beside Mai and pulled out her water bottle. She took a long drink. “Maybe we should just concentrate on trying to find the new site, the PA4. It would be closer to the shore.”

  “Why don’t we look at the map again?” Mai suggested. “Maybe it’ll help.”

  Grace was feeling discouraged. She’d been so sure the day would be perfect, like it was meant to be or something. She’d come here, find the PA3 and PA4…

  Grace grabbed the map from her pack and unfolded it. She and Mai held it between them, examining the area closely. Mai traced out the markings lightly with her finger, occasionally lifting her head to scan their surroundings. It was no use. The map couldn’t help much when they were surrounded by trees.

  “Let’s get back to searching,” Grace sighed, dejected.

  “Sorry, Grace,” Mai said, reaching out to touch her arm.

  Grace shrugged and moved away, avoiding Mai’s touch. She felt like she’d crumple into a ball and never move again if she didn’t keep going. Mai looked hurt and quickly pulled her hand back.

  “Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!”

  They both whipped around at the same time. Fred had disappeared.

  “Fred, where are you?” Mai cried, running in the direction of his scream.

  “Uh, I think I found it!” came his muffled yell. They both looked down. Fred was sprawled on the ground in a sinkhole.

  “Oh, there you are,” said Grace. She peered down into the crater. It was so wide—how had they missed it?

  “Next time, try not falling in the hole,” Mai shouted down to Fred. “You’re going to get yourself killed!” She turned to Grace. “At least that’s one thing we can scratch off Jeeter’s list of crimes. He didn’t push Fred.”

  “Geez!” Fred muttered from below. “It’s not like I fall on purpose!”

  Grace felt the excitement well up inside her. She tied her caving rope securely to a nearby oak tree. After pulling on her caving gloves, she carefully lowered herself into the sinkhole. The descent was jerky. Chunks of earth at the edge of the hole kept breaking away, tumbling into the open space below her. Water dripped in steady streams around her from the wet ground above.

  Grace’s heart was hammering. Her instincts were screaming that this was a bad idea. The line jerked even more as she lowered herself another metre.

  “Grace,” Mai said from above, “all this rain…are you sure—?”

  “It’ll be okay,” Grace said. She ignored the uneasiness crawling up her spine.

  Grace touched down at the bottom of the hole and tilted her head back to watch Mai’s descent. It started out smoothly, but halfway down the line jerked.

  “Help!” Mai cried. She spun crazily in a circle, her eyes wide and frightened.

  “Take it easy,” Grace soothed. She grabbed the bottom of the rope to steady it.

  More clumps of dirt and grass fell down from the lip of the crater. The ground up top was too wet to hold.

  “Come on,” Grace encouraged. The sooner Mai was on solid ground, the better.

  Mai slowly descended into the sinkhole. Her hands held the rope in a death grip. When she finally touched down, she sagged against Grace. “Whew,” she breathed. “That wasn’t fun.”

  Grace gave her shoulder a quick squeeze.

  “Hey, guys,” Fred called, sounding excited. “Look at this!” He emerged from a nearby tunnel and handed something to Grace.

  Her heart jumped. It was another fossil. Could it be another clue? She flipped it over. Darn! No code.

  Grace retrieved her flashlight from her pack and walked into the tunnel, shining her beam on the floor. Fred and Mai followed behind her.

  There were pieces of broken shale everywhere. Bending over to get a closer look, Grace could see outlines of seed ferns, cyclopteris leaves, and calamite tree bark in the shale fragments. The remnants of an entire carboniferous forest were scattered at her feet! She picked up a beautiful stigmaria fossil and carried it back to the tunnel opening to get a better look in the natural light.

  “Fred, Mai,” she called. “Come and see this one.”

  BBARRUMMBRRGG!!!

  Suddenly, the sky was falling. Rocks and earth crashed down from above, blocking out the light. It was another cave-in!

  Grace heard a scream. Before she could run toward the sound, pain exploded in her right arm. Instinctively, Grace crouched low and covered her head with her uninjured arm, keeping her other one close to her chest. Debris continued to fall all around her. Dust clogged the air and filled her mouth. It was getting hard to breathe.

  Something hit Grace in the shoulder, knocking her off balance. As she tumbled sideways, she saw Mai and Fred collapsing under a pile of earth.

  They were all going to die!

  Chapter

  23

  “DAD,” GRACE SAID. “THIS ONE’S NOT GOING TO COME OUT.”

  “Patience, Grace.” He was crouched beside her on Battlemen’s Beach. Waves from Hurricane Ivan had beaten the shore and cliffs all the previous day. Now, it was sunny and calm. Barely a ripple broke the ocean surface in the early morning sun.

  Grace and her dad had been the first ones to the beach when the tide went out, excited to see what treasures the waves had wrenched from the cliffs.

  Trying to keep her eagerness in check, Grace concentrated on tapping gently but firmly on the large piece of slate. The sigillaria tree bark fossil was perfect—or it would be, if only she could get it out.

  Her dad reached over and adjusted her grip. “Gently, now,” he cautioned. “You don’t want to split the fossil.”

  Grace held up her hammer, defeated. “You’d better do it!”

  “No, Grace. I know you can do it. Keep going.”

  “Like this?” Grace tapped lightly with the rock hammer.

  “Exactly!” her dad cheered. “A light touch. You’re doing great. You’re going to be a pro before you know it!”

  Grace beamed with pride.

  “Grace.”

  She looked around. Who said that? “Dad, did you hear something?”

  He smiled down at her silently.

  “Grace, wake up!”

  Who was doing that? She wished they would stop.

  Suddenly the fossil broke free in her hands. She held it up in triumph. “I got it, Dad!”

  But the sun and ocean had disappeared—her dad, too. Grace couldn’t see anything. Her arm was throbbing and her mouth tasted like dirt. Someone was shaking her gently.

  She slowly opened her eyes, only to squint them closed again.

  “You’re alive!” someone shouted, grabbing her and squeezing her.

  “Ow!” she screamed. “My arm!”

  “Oops, sorry.”

  She opened her eyes again. Fred’s face was inches from hers. He had a scratch down the side of his cheek and a thin trickle of blood was snaking a path through the soot on his face. His white teeth were a shocking contrast against
the coal dust as he broke into a toothy grin.

  “I thought you were…that you’d—” he broke off.

  “I think I’m okay,” she said. “But I hurt my arm. Help me up?”

  Grace reached with her uninjured arm to grasp Fred’s outstretched hand.

  “Where’s Mai?”

  He didn’t answer.

  Fear clutched at Grace’s stomach. Something was wrong. “Fred?” she said, afraid to look away from him.

  Fred grimaced. “She’s okay. Sort of.”

  “What do you mean, ‘sort of’?” She stood up gingerly and stepped over the piles of rubble to a smoother spot on the ground. She heard a sniffle and her eyes swung wildly in the direction from where it came. Her eyes finally adjusted to the dark and she saw Mai sitting curled up against the wall in a corner.

  Crouching down beside her, Grace wrapped her arm around Mai’s shoulders. “Shhh…it’s okay,” she whispered.

  “Sorry, Grace,” Mai mumbled, rubbing her face. “I’m not brave like you are. I’m scared.”

  You’ve got it all wrong, Mai, Grace thought. I’m not brave at all. She brushed the hair back from Mai’s face and tucked it behind her ear. “Don’t be sorry. This is my fault. I should never have asked you guys to come here.” Guilt clawed the inside of Grace’s stomach as she looked at her two best friends’ wide and terrified eyes.

  “Don’t worry. We’re gonna get out of here,” she said, trying to sound upbeat. “How about a little help?” She pointed to her sore arm.

  Mai seemed to perk up a bit as she went into nurse mode, wrapping Grace’s arm in a sling from her first aid kit. As Mai cleaned Fred’s cut, Grace prowled around the tunnel, looking for an exit. The opening they’d come down was totally blocked from the cave-in. She shone her light in the opposite direction. The tunnel was blocked on the other side, too, but it looked like there might be a gap at the top of the rubble.

  Grimacing in pain, Grace carefully climbed the pile to see if they could get through the gap. If they were able to move some of the rocks, they might be able to squeeze through. Then they’d hopefully find the PA4 sinkhole farther down the tunnel and be able to get out that way.

  Grace called for Mai and Fred to come help her move the rocks. Grace couldn’t do much lifting with her arm in a sling, but she moved what rocks she could and shouted encouragement to Fred and Mai as they lifted away the heavier ones. They removed as much as they were able. But there was one big boulder in the way. It wouldn’t budge—no matter how hard they tried.

  “Oh, man,” Fred said after they’d been working for what seemed like hours. “It’s a furnace in here. I need a sugar fix.” He climbed down, dug some chocolate bars from his backpack, and passed them around. “Anyone want a drink?”

  Grace grabbed a can of pop and sighed as the warm soda trickled down the back of her parched throat. It tasted wonderful.

  “Mmm….” Mai sighed in between mouthfuls of her chocolate bar. “Fred, I’ll never tease you about your choco stash again.” She looked down at her sticky hand. Grace waited for the handy wipe to come out. Instead, Mai shrugged and continued eating.

  Grace leaned against the wall and stared up at the mound of rocks. They had been working for a long time and it had barely made a difference. Not with that monster boulder still on top, anyway. And what if they did get through? What if the rest of the tunnel was blocked too? They could be stuck here forever. Shuddering, she wondered if someone would be examining her fossil bones in this very spot in a hundred million years.

  Grace looked over at Fred and Mai. They were huddled together, whispering. A lump swelled in her throat. They had always come when she’d called, did whatever she’d said. She’d always had to be the boss. Some friend she was. She’d really done it this time.

  Kchhhhh!!!!

  “Come in, Grace,” her walkie-talkie squawked suddenly. “Grace, Mai, Fred! Where are you guys?”

  Grace scrambled to her pack. “Jeeter, is that you?”

  “Yeah,” he replied. “Where are you?”

  “We’re trapped. There was a cave-in. We’re in big trouble here. Where are you?” Grace sputtered into her walkie-talkie.

  “I’m at another sinkhole out here,” he said. “I thought it was the same one as before, but I think I missed it and went too far.”

  “It must be the PA4!” Grace cried. “I think it’s part of this same tunnel. Can you get in? Is it clear?”

  “I’m in it already,” he said.

  “Can you get to us?” she asked. Mai and Fred had jumped up and they all huddled around Grace’s walkie-talkie.

  “I’ll try,” he said. “Hold tight.”

  Grace closed her eyes and prayed. Please, please, please, let him find us.

  “Grace?” Fred whispered.

  “What?”

  “I have Jeeter’s walkie-talkie, remember? Where did he get another one?”

  Weird, Grace thought. More secrets.

  “What difference does it make, as long as he gets us out of here?” Mai said.

  “She’s right,” Grace said. “Now’s not the time for questions.”

  They huddled together in the small circle of the flashlight. Dust swirled and curled in the beam like black smoke from a pipe. The minutes ticked by.

  “Hey,” Jeeter called, finally.

  Grace looked down at her walkie-talkie. The sound hadn’t come from there—he was on the other side of the blockage!

  “Are you guys all right?” he called again. “I’m gonna try and push through the rocks. Stay back.”

  They could hear Jeeter grunting as he pushed against the large boulder at the top of the pile. Grace watched in anticipation.

  Nothing happened.

  Jeeter kept trying, but only a few small rocks tumbled down. They could hear his muffled curses and groans as he pushed.

  It wasn’t working.

  “Jeeter, stop,” Grace finally said. “It’s no use!”

  “It’s this big honker on top,” Jeeter muttered. “If I could just budge it a bit, I think it would roll right down.”

  Staring up at the boulder, Grace tried to think. She had watched her dad around rocks her whole life. Sometimes at the shore, he would wedge a piece of driftwood under a heavy rock to move it out of the way. Could that work?

  “Fred, see if there’s any wood around,” she ordered. ”Maybe from an old rafter or something.”

  “Wood?” he asked with a hint at his old joking self. “We can’t have a bonfire now! I don’t have marshmallows for s’mores.”

  “Very funny,” Mai said. She turned to Grace. “There are some old planks stacked on the side here.” She pointed to the wall. “Will one of these work?”

  “It might,” Grace said hopefully.

  Grace instructed Fred and Mai where to wedge the plank, hoping she remembered it right. The top of the board was almost touching the ceiling. They were going to have to pull down on it instead of pushing from above like her dad normally did. “Okay, we’ll have to work together,” she told Fred and Mai. “Jeeter, you push on the boulder from your side.”

  “I hope the wood doesn’t crack,” Mai said. “It’s so old…”

  “Keep your fingers crossed!” Fred said.

  They got in position. “Ready!” Grace called out. “One, two, three, go!” She, Fred, and Mai pulled on the plank with all their might while Jeeter pushed from behind.

  Grace felt the boulder move. It was working! She put all her weight into pulling the plank down, ignoring the burst of pain in her arm.

  Suddenly the boulder dislodged from its place and started rolling toward them.

  “Out of the way!” Grace cried.

  Chapter

  24

  GRACE, MAI, AND FRED JUMPED OUT OF THE BOULDER’S PATH JUST in time. It rumbled past them and crashed to the ground below.

  “Let’s get out of here!” Fred cried as he scrambled down the rock pile and returned with their packs. The three of them wiggled through the opening as fast as t
hey could.

  Jeeter helped them down the other side and they raced toward the PA4.

  Grace’s arm was throbbing, but it didn’t matter. She was focused on getting out of the tunnel. No one wanted to get caught in another cave-in.

  Finally, a faint glow of light appeared ahead of them. Grace saw Jeeter’s rope hanging down from the side of the opening. They’d made it to the PA4!

  “Woohoo!” Fred cried. “We’re safe!”

  “I can’t believe we made it,” Mai said, tilting her head up. “It’s so nice to see the sky again.”

  Now that they were out of immediate danger, anger began boiling in Grace’s stomach. Yes, Jeeter had saved them. But it didn’t matter to her right then. She whirled around to confront him. “You lied to me!” she blurted out. She could hear a tremor in her voice.

  “I didn’t have any choice,” Jeeter said.

  “What do you mean?” she spat.

  “Grace, please! Can’t we talk about this later?” He touched her hand. “You can trust me.”

  “Trust you?” she said, pulling her hand away. “I told you everything! All I got back was lies!”

  “I just saved your life.”

  “Why?” she whispered. “Why did you lie?”

  “I had to.”

  “What does that even mean?” Grace shook her head. “All those lies about Stanley. The faked video, the note…why would you do all that? This is my life! Was it all some kind of sick game to you?”

  “Game? No!” Jeeter looked into her eyes. “Grace, I—”

  “Shhh,” Mai hushed suddenly. “Do you hear that?” She pointed above them.

  Everyone stepped back into the cloak of darkness.

  “Flashlights!” Mai whispered. They all clicked off their lights.

  A shadow fell across the opening.

  “Dad, there’s a rope here. Do you think it’s those kids?”

  “I wouldn’t doubt it!” Stuckless’s voice was loud and clear. “They’re up to something. Let’s go back to the truck and get some gear. We’ll have to go down there!”

  A beam of light swung back and forth in the sinkhole.

  Grace, Mai, Fred, and Jeeter receded further into the dark.