In that instant, Daniel knew for sure that there was more between the two old people than their passion for paleontology. They loved each other, and the sadness he felt knowing that was almost too much to bear. Neither he nor Dr. Roost could speak, as they strained to hear Pederson’s words.
“Mildred, even though I know you’re not lacking in anything, my shack and land are yours,” he continued. “When you’re done with them, I’d like them to go to Daniel.”
Dr. Roost nodded and clung to Mr. Pederson’s hand. “Take care of yourself and this brilliant young man, Mildred. You both have much to accomplish.”
A sob escaped from Daniel. “Please, Mr. Pederson, hang on,” he pleaded.
“Daniel, I’ve had a great life, made all the better because of you.” Pederson gazed lovingly at him.
“But, if I’d never taken you back in time, you’d be fine now,” Daniel’s words caught in his throat.
“Don’t ever blame yourself for my dying.” Pederson looked at him earnestly, “I chose to go back again; I was going to die soon anyway. Seeing the prehistoric world has been an incredible thrill at the end of my very long life. You’ve helped a lonely old man find much happiness. Always remember that.”
“I will,” said Daniel, letting the tears slide down his face.
“Bye, Mildred.” Pederson closed his eyes.
“I won’t be long behind you,” she whispered, still gripping Pederson’s hand.
“Bye, Daniel.” Pederson never spoke again.
Daniel laid his head on Pederson’s chest and wept. Mildred sat with an arm around each of them, looking out over the prairie.
Sometime later Daniel felt Dad’s comforting arms lifting him away from Mr. Pederson. Through blurry eyes, he saw Mom bend over the old man, and shake her head. The ambulance people and others arrived. They lifted Mr. Pederson’s body onto a stretcher and then he was gone. Daniel felt numb and hardly noticed as Mom guided him down the hill towards their truck. He sensed rather than saw that Mildred Roost lingered behind.
Daniel resisted them, and pointed to the shack. “I’d like to stay here for a bit. I’ll come home in a while.”
Mom nodded in understanding and hugged him. Dad hugged him briefly too and let him go with a quick shoulder squeeze. Daniel stumbled over to the shack and leaned heavily against an outer wall. As he slid down to sit on the ground, he heard the vehicles leaving, including Dr. Roost’s truck, but he stared blankly at the landscape. Dactyl came over and licked at the wetness on his face. He pushed his head under Daniel’s arm and laid his head on his lap. Absent-mindedly, Daniel stroked his dog’s head.
Gradually details of his surroundings came into focus, as the sun dried the salty tears on Daniel’s face. The little white crosses indicating places to dig for possible fossils; another for the gravesite of Pederson’s dog, Bear; and the one in honour of his wife’s last resting place. Daniel’s thoughts touched on the memories he’d shared with Ole Pederson – of their first meeting at Daniel’s hillside hide-out, their happiness at working together on Pederson’s Edmontosaurus discovery, their involvement in paleontology and the tours, and the wonder and amazement of Pederson’s first excursion into prehistoric time.
A deep sadness engulfed him, leaving him totally empty and hollow. He couldn’t believe his friend was gone, that he’d never speak with him again. He glanced at the door, half expecting him to walk out, join him and discuss their latest adventures.
What would Daniel do without him? What would become of the work they’d done so far?
A small spark flashed in Daniel’s brain. He’d have to make sure Pederson got the proper recognition for all his discoveries. Maybe they could name the Stygimoloch after him. Daniel shifted and Dactyl moved off him. Time to get home and find out what was going on. First, though, he had to retrieve his backpack and Mr. Pederson’s gear. Luckily, the stuff was on the way home.
Daniel walked up the hill, scouring the surroundings, but someone must have taken everything. Their gear was gone. He had to get to it fast. He knew for sure that neither he nor Mr. Pederson had brought back any more prehistoric material that could be accidentally picked up, but he didn’t want anyone to see the contents and the surprise of his or her life!
Daniel jogged across the pasture in a daze and made it home a few minutes later to find the yard filling with vehicles. Already the news about Ole Pederson had spread and neighbours had come to offer condolences and support. They milled about the yard, chatting quietly, gathered mostly by the outdoor kitchen, where Greta Lindstrom had set up a huge coffee urn. Mom saw Daniel and met him near the shop.
Tears sprang into his eyes again at the sympathetic look Mom gave him. She hugged him as he gulped back his sorrow.
“Go into the house if you like,” she suggested. “You don’t need to stay with the others.”
He swiped tears off his face. “No, I’m fine. I’d rather be out here.”
“Okay,” Mom said, tousling his hair.
Numbly, Daniel walked through the crowd accepting sympathy. He wandered over to Dr. Roost’s truck, hoping to find her there. She opened her camper door and stepped out, even before he arrived.
“I saw you were back,” she said. She avoided looking into his eyes. She seemed to know he was on the verge of crying again and didn’t mention Mr. Pederson.
“Do you know where our gear is?” he asked when he felt he could talk without breaking down.
“I have it safely here.” She motioned to the front seat of the truck. “Didn’t want it falling into the wrong hands. Get it whenever you want.”
He nodded with a tight smile of thanks. There was no hurry to go through anything. They leaned against Dr. Roost’s truck, watching as more vehicles arrived. Then Daniel spotted Corporal Fraser coming their way. When he offered his condolences, Daniel nodded thanks, then looked away to keep control of his emotions. A moment later, Dr. Roost stiffened beside him.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Newspaper time,” she answered.
“Not that Adrian McDermott again!” Daniel said.
“No. It’s Mr. Digby, the owner. Probably wants the info for Ole’s obituary,” she said.
“They sure don’t waste any time!” he said. “I wonder what’s happened to Adrian McDermott.”
Mildred Roost shrugged. “Probably not exciting enough for him to cover.”
Corporal Fraser had reached them and overheard Mildred’s remark. “Well actually, Mr. McDermott won’t be gathering news for the community any more.”
Dr. Roost and Daniel turned their full attention towards the officer.
“Turns out he and two of his buddies from Swift Current were the ones that stole the Stygimoloch from you,” Corporal Fraser said.
“Really?” Daniel asked, eyes widening. He’d always suspected Horace Nelwin. What shocked him was Adrian McDermott’s involvement. “But why did he do it?”
“Seems there wasn’t much news going on around here and he decided to create a sensational story of his own,” said Corporal Fraser.
“So, he’s one of those ambitious sorts, who wanted something that would garner him national attention and further his career,” Mildred Roost added with a touch of scorn.
“What a terrible thing to do!” Daniel exclaimed.
“Yes. And what’s worse,” said Corporal Fraser, “he was going to wait a while and then pretend to find the fossils.”
“Making out like he was some kind of a hero, I suppose,” Dr. Roost said.
Corporal Fraser nodded.
“How did he even know about the fossils?” asked Daniel.
“Horace Nelwin spouted off about the special fossil find in the bar one night,” he said. “When Horace went missing, McDermott lied about him going to Maple Creek to throw suspicion on him."
“I figured he’d actually done it,” said Daniel.
“No, he only set things in motion,” said Corporal Fraser.
“Todd told him, didn’t he? I knew he was involved some
how!” Daniel couldn’t keep the anger out of his voice. He stepped forward and scanned the yard looking for the Nelwin brothers.
“Not so fast,” Corporal Fraser said. “Apparently Horace overheard his sons talking about it one morning when they were doing chores at home. When Todd heard of the theft, he worried that his Dad had been listening. He was scared about what would happen to his dad and scared for his brother and himself.”
“So that’s why he’s been behaving so strangely,” said Dr. Roost.
Daniel’s anger over Todd’s blunder dissolved. He’d been wrong about Todd.
“But how did you know it was McDermott?” asked Daniel.
Corporal Fraser smiled. “As soon as you told me his source was listening to the police band on the Internet, I knew he was lying. Our calls aren’t transmitted that way.”
“So that’s why you doubled back at the old shack,” Daniel said.
“That’s right,” said the corporal. “I figured he’d show up.”
“Good thing you did too,” said Dr. Roost.
“I see your dad is asking people to leave,” said Corporal Fraser. “I’ll see if I can give him a hand and then I’ll be on my way.”
The corporal took a few steps away before Daniel suddenly remembered something he wanted to ask.
“Did you ever figure out who dumped the oil barrel?” Daniel called after him.
Corporal Fraser said, “It seems Horace Nelwin isn’t completely innocent in that event either. He was hauling used oil to be disposed of, but when one barrel fell off, he didn’t worry about it.”
“He probably didn’t even notice it happen,” said Dr. Roost with a snort.
“That’s his defence,” Corporal Fraser said. He wished them well and moved away.
Daniel frowned. “Horace Nelwin has caused a lot of problems.”
“Indeed,” said Dr. Roost. “The man’s a walking source of trouble. He’s certainly caused us a lot of grief over the Stygimoloch, that’s for sure.”
“Because of Todd!” Daniel’s anger flared up again and he wanted to lash out at him. If only Todd had spoken up sooner, Daniel would never have encouraged Pederson to take a trip into the past and his old friend would be alive.
Dr. Roost came up quietly beside Daniel. “Don’t blame anyone for this,” she said, with her eerie way of knowing what he was thinking.
She put her arm around Daniel’s shoulder. “Ole Pederson would have found a way to go anyway. He always knew you had something to transport you back to prehistoric time and he was determined to get there. You gave him the most incredible gift of his entire life.”
Mildred Roost squeezed Daniel tight. “He died carrying out his passion for research in paleontology. Don’t ever doubt that or blame yourself or anyone for his death. He would never have passed up the opportunity to experience what other humans will never know.”
Quietly Daniel said, “If only he’d seen your note. That might have stopped him from going the last time. I wonder what happened to the note.”
Dr. Roost pulled a scrap of paper out of her pants pocket. “Part of it’s here,” she said. “I found it trampled on the ground. The breeze or something must have knocked it off the peg on the door.”
“You’re not to blame either,” said Daniel, knowing how devastated she must feel.
Her eyes held a deep sadness. “You’re right. He’s gone, Daniel. There’s no going back, only moving forward.”
She patted his hand. “I’ll miss him.”
She turned heavily and entered her camper.
Daniel stared after her, until he heard his name called. He turned to find Dad beckoning. He met him midway across the yard.
“Everyone’s almost gone,” Dad said. “Let’s go in the house where it’s quiet. We have a lot to think and talk about.” Dad put his arm around Daniel’s shoulders. “Especially now that the bank said we could keep on going with the tourist operation.”
“They did?” Daniel looked at his dad in surprise.
“Yes, they phoned just before we got your call about Ole Pederson,” said Dad. “But I’m not sure what we’ll do now that he’s gone.”
Daniel suddenly remembered Mr. Pederson’s bequest to Mildred Roost. “I think Dr. Roost might be convinced to stay on.”
“That would be great,” said Dad. “We’ll talk to her after things have settled down a little and we’ve paid our respects to Mr. Pederson.”
Daniel told his dad about the last conversation he’d had with Pederson before he died.
“That was very generous of him,” said Dad.
Daniel nodded. “I still can’t believe he’s gone.”
“It’ll take some time to get over the shock,” Dad said.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get over missing him,” replied Daniel, feeling close to tears again.
“Come on, let’s get you inside,” Dad said.
But Daniel noticed Todd and Craig heading their way. “I’ll be there in a minute,” he said, indicating the Nelwin brothers.
Dad nodded and headed to the house.
When they reached him, the brothers murmured their condolences.
“We’re sure going to miss him,” said Craig. His eyes were shiny with held back tears.
“Yeah, he was an awesome person,” Todd added, his expression sombre, his face blotchy red. “He saw the good in everyone.”
Daniel glanced at Todd, feeling a jolt of guilt. “Unlike me,” he said.
“Yeah, I thought you suspected I was involved in the theft,” said Todd.
“You were acting pretty suspicious,” Daniel said in self-defence. “You took off right after it happened.”
“I suppose that’s the way it might have looked,” said Todd. “But you know I’ve changed. You should have trusted me.”
Daniel hung his head for a moment and then looked back up at Todd. “You’re right. I apologize.” Daniel spoke quietly. “I hope we can still be friends.”
Todd stared at Daniel for a split second and then nodded. “Yeah, I’d like that.” He reached out and shook Daniel’s hand. “But next time, just ask.” Although his voice was as gruff as usual, his face held a hint of a smile.
“Okay,” Daniel said, smiling back.
“Good,” said Craig, breaking into a relieved chuckle. “Well, I guess we’d better get home. We’ll come back later to help you with the chores, if that’s okay?”
Daniel smiled. “Yeah, I’d like that,” he said.
As they turned to go, Daniel said, “Uh, just one more thing. I was wondering if I could ask you something. It’s kind of personal, so you don’t have to answer.”
The boys looked at him expectantly.
“Go ahead,” said Todd at last.
“So where was your dad, anyway?”
Todd grimaced, a little embarrassed. “He was over with one of his bachelor drinking buddies on a longer binge than usual. He just lost track of time.”
“At least that mystery is solved,” said Daniel. “Thanks for telling me.”
All at once, Dr. Roost emerged from her truck camper and called to them. When they walked over to her, Daniel could see her eyes were red-rimmed and her face flushed and reddened.
“Boys, how would you like to go out prospecting Saturday morning?”
Surprised, they looked at one another, not sure what to say.
With a small smile, Daniel said, “Yes, I’d like to do that. I’m sure that’s what Mr. Pederson would have wanted us to do.”
“I say yes too,” said Craig.
“Count me in,” added Todd, shuffling his feet. There was silence for a moment and then he added, “I’m sure going to miss him.”
“We all are,” said Dr. Roost. “But I think this will be a nice way to remember him.”
“I do too,” said Daniel.
The brothers agreed.
“Okay, then, see you Saturday morning after chores,” said Dr. Roost, before returning to her truck.
A moment later, she called back, “Oh, a
nd see if Jed and Lucy or anyone else wants to come too. Everyone’s welcome. We’ll walk to the quarry and start from there. Maybe everyone should bring a lunch so we can make a day of it.”
Craig and Todd left then and Daniel took the opportunity to grab the backpacks from Dr. Roost’s truck.
After he’d safely stowed them in his bedroom, he examined his clothing and other gear to make sure there were no remnants attached anywhere from prehistoric time. He doubted he would ever have found the courage to go on another adventure to the Cretaceous Period, and he was relieved that nothing was left and he had absolutely no way to go again.
He stared out of his bedroom window across the pasture, drying under the autumn sun. Recollections of Ole Pederson and the times they shared flooded into his mind. For a brief moment, when the clouds obscured the sun and cast shadows over the landscape, he thought he saw his special friend striding across the hills. Then he was gone.
Daniel knew he would never let the memory of Ole Pederson or his work die. Every time he found a fossil or did any paleontology work, he’d remember him and their amazing connection. That meant he’d be thinking about Mr. Pederson a lot, because Daniel was sure there were plenty of other fascinating fossils buried in the surrounding hilly countryside. He would use the knowledge and wisdom Mr. Pederson had taught him and follow his guiding hand to find something spectacular that would have made his old friend proud.
VOCABULARY/DESCRIPTIONS
The material about paleontology found throughout this novel comes mostly from the Cretaceous Period. A brief description of some of the terms used follows, with their pronunciations. The Frenchman River Valley, where this story takes place, is located in the southwest area of Saskatchewan.
TERMS
cretaceous period (cree-TAY-shus):
The Cretaceous Period, 146 to 65 million years ago, was the latter part of the Mesozoic era when great dinosaurs roamed the land and huge flying reptiles ruled the skies. A variety of smaller mammals and creatures also populated the earth and seas. The world was one of tropical temperatures all year round. Flowering plants and trees made their first widespread appearance, creating bright, beautiful places with their reds, yellows, and purples. Before that time, there were only the browns and greens of trees and ferns and the blues of the skies and seas.
Dinosaur Blackout Page 14
