Dinosaur Hideout

by Judith Silverthorne

  “Dad, do you have any paper or something that we could start a fire with? This wood is soaked.”

  Dad searched in his pockets and then checked the saddlebags on the Ski-Doo. All he found was a crumpled repair bill.

  “We’ll have to make this do,” he said, returning to Daniel’s side.

  Daniel felt over the ground looking for dry twigs. He managed to find a handful. Using the candles to keep the wood heated until it dried enough to burn on its own, he and Dad finally lit a small fire. Then they sat huddled in blankets and old sleeping bags, feeding the wavering flame.

  “I have water we could heat and drink, if we had something to cook it in,” said Dad, now that the hot chocolate was gone.

  “I have just the thing.” Daniel’s teeth chattered as he searched for an old pan. Wait – his stash of chocolate bars and the beef jerky! He’d forgotten all about them.

  “Nice touch,” Dad said, as Daniel handed out chocolate bars and then gave some jerky to the dogs.

  It wasn’t long before they had a nice little blaze going. Dad dug his cellphone out of his pocket, and dialed, but it was dead. He moved closer to the doorway and tried again. Daniel could hear the crackling from where he sat, but there was no connection. Finally, Dad crawled outside into the blasting wind and dialed again.

  “Libby? I can’t hear you at all, but I hope you can hear me. We’re in a safe place, waiting out the storm,” he shouted. “We’ll be okay!” Then the phone died.

  Dad came in on his knees. “I’m going to pull the snowmobile into the opening – at least as far as I can. To protect the motor so we can start it later.” He struggled with it for a few minutes, then seemed satisfied.

  For some time Daniel and Dad sat by their mini-fire in the middle of the hideout, with Pederson lying beside it under a blanket. They all sipped hot water.

  “Quite a place you have here, Daniel,” Dad remarked appreciatively, peering around at the bones, pails of rocks, and other paraphernalia.

  Daniel grinned.

  “You find all this?” Dad asked.

  “Yes.” Daniel reached into his pocket and handed Dad the taculite fossil. Dad cupped it in his hands.

  “So what’s this? The markings almost look like the head of a sunflower.”

  “A fossil from a receptaculites.” Daniel explained its significance.

  Dad raised his eyebrows, peered around the hideout again and then stared back down at the fossil. “So is this why you didn’t want the land leased to the oil drillers, or for us to sell the farm? You have a pretty special place here.”

  “Does this mean you’ll change your mind?” Daniel asked excitedly.

  “I doubt it very much, Danny. I mean, what you have here is interesting, but nothing really substantial. Nothing that would make a real impact on the outside world.”

  Daniel sighed. “But Dad, this could mean so much more is out here. Edmontosauruses and other duckbills.... And if we could prove that, who knows how important the land would be then? We could open up a museum, and charge people to go on digs, and all kinds of things to make money.”

  “That’s only a pipe dream, Danny – you don’t have anything but this little chunk of rock,” Dad objected. “Besides there’s already the T-rex Discovery Centre at Eastend and the big museum at Drumheller. They took years to develop, and plenty of money. Who knows if you’d ever find anything really significant? Looking could take years. We need to make payments right away.”

  Daniel looked down at the ground, discouraged.

  Suddenly, Pederson grunted. His voice crackled and he tried to clear the phlegm out of his throat. “Can’t do it,” he sputtered and coughed.

  “Pardon?” Daniel’s dad leaned over him.

  “Can’t lease or sell,” the old man gasped out.

  Dad looked at Daniel to see if he’d understood Pederson’s words.

  Daniel shook his head.

  “Don’t sell or lease your land,” Pederson croaked out again.

  Dad turned back to him, “Why not?”

  “Tell him, Daniel,” he whispered.

  Daniel looked at Pederson in amazement.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  Pederson nodded and closed his eyes.

  “Well, Dad, you see it’s this way.” Daniel’s voice shook. “Mr. Pederson is a real paleontologist – Doctor Pederson – and he’s found an Edmontosaurus. But even better, the skeleton is wrapped around a nest, and there’s a baby skeleton! Nothing like this has ever been found before anywhere!” Daniel stopped to catch his breath.

  It was clear from Dad’s face that this time he did realize the importance of the find.

  “This means we’d be able to have tour expeditions. Or maybe have the land declared an archaeological heritage site.” Excitement raced through Daniel. “There’s so much we could do! The bank just has to cut us some slack!”

  “That’s telling him, lad.” Pederson wheezed out and grinned, patting Daniel’s hand.

  Dad laughed. “I don’t know what to say. You two are quite the pair.”

  Then he looked at the fire and turned serious. “But you seem to have forgotten a few things. It takes a great deal of money to fund these sorts of excavations. It’s a major investment just to get a research station operational, never mind a real museum. Not to mention the biggest drawback: the find is on Mr. Pederson’s land, not ours.”

  Startled, Daniel felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. He hadn’t thought about that!

  Pederson added breathlessly, “I’m convinced there are other sites – close by.” He coughed. “Right on your land.”

  “Where?” Dad asked.

  “Right where you thought, Daniel.” Pederson coughed again. “The spot you pointed out to me the first day you came to my place.”

  “YES!!” Daniel shouted, startling the dogs, who began barking and wagging their tails.

  “I have another one marked, too, not far from my cabin.” Pederson winked at him.

  Daniel stared at him in surprise. “The white cross?”

  Pederson nodded.

  Daniel breathed deeply and grinned. The dream had been right. The cross hadn’t marked Mrs. Pederson’s grave like they’d all thought!

  His dad chuckled. “Well, I have to say, you two seem to have it all figured out. But I’m not totally won over yet. And I don’t know that we’ll be able to convince the bank to turn your schemes into money, but it’s sure worth a try. We don’t have anything to lose.”

  Daniel hugged him and grinned at Pederson. Then over the course of the next hour, he highlighted his adventures for Dad. He explained how even though Pederson had been really sick, he had ventured out in the storm to rescue Daniel. For his part, the old man was all praises for Daniel’s healing abilities, and for having saved him the first time in the tunnel.

  “I’m proud of you, Son,” Dad said, hugging Daniel around the shoulders. “You’ve done well. I’ve been just sick about losing all that my grandfather and his father worked for.”

  Daniel felt warm all over. Then his father offered to have Pederson stay with them until he was entirely well again.

  “You’ll have your own personal caregiver,” Dad informed him. “My wife’s a nurse.”

  Pederson grimaced. “I’m sure I’ll be fine, once I’ve been watered and fed and had a good night’s sleep.”

  “We all will!” Dad laughed. “Still, the offer is open for you to stay as long as you need.”

  “Thank, you. I appreciate the invitation, but I’m sure I’ll be on my way tomorrow.”

  Daniel smiled and snuggled into his blanket, listening to the storm raging outside and the muted voices of Dad and Mr. Pederson. For the first time in weeks, he felt a bit hopeful. Then he smiled to himself at how similar he and Pederson were – like kindred spirits. Slowly, blackness and silence descended.

  A nudging woke him some time later.

  “It’s safe to go now.”

  Dad roused Pederson, then pushed the snowmobile out of t
he entrance and warmed the motor as Daniel gathered their belongings and doused the fire. Pederson stirred, but when he tried to walk he was hunched over and stiff-legged. He collapsed back down on his bedding, wheezing and coughing. Daniel and his dad slid him out through the snow-encrusted entrance on the sleeping bag, then gently lifted him onto the Ski-Doo.

  The frosty glitter of sunshine made them squint, but once their eyes had adjusted, they set off. The dogs scampered ahead with Dactyl in the lead. They cut through the huge drifts of snow, leaving a wavering pathway behind them.

  ~

  Mom took one look at Pederson and insisted he be taken straight to the hospital for a checkup. He didn’t have a chance to resist. He was lying in a hospital bed within the hour, being rehydrated and treated for bronchitis.

  Although he insisted on being released the next day, he was only given permission on the condition that he return to the Bringham home, where Daniel’s mom could take care of him. So, armed with a prescription for antibiotics and an inhaler, plus strict instructions to have plenty of fluids and rest, Pederson came to stay.

  Chapter Twelve

  The kids on the bus surrounded Daniel the next morning. As usual Jed had spilled the news almost as soon as Daniel had filled him in about his adventures. He’d called Jed right after the blizzard to tell him about their narrow escape. First, his friend had opened his mouth and told his chatty sisters that Pederson was staying at Daniel’s house, and then his parents. They’d somehow spread it from there. Now the whole town seemed to know.

  Squishing himself onto the back seat of the bus between Jed and some of the other boys, Daniel gave his friend a poke in the shoulder and said, “See, can’t tell you anything!”

  When he saw Jed’s obvious embarrassment, Daniel grinned.

  “Doesn’t matter now.” He poked Jed again and then whispered a warning. “Everyone knows about Pederson staying at my place, but don’t you dare breathe a word about where my hideout is, or my plans for a research place, or I’ll never tell you anything again!”

  Jed gulped.

  “Don’t tell me you’ve told already?”

  Jed shook his head emphatically. “I swear, I didn’t. I’ll try not to say anything else,” he said, squirming on his seat.

  Daniel was glad he hadn’t told Jed the full details about Pederson’s Edmontosaurus find. They were trying to keep it quiet until the museum people came and Pederson was fully recovered from his bout of bronchitis.

  Brett swaggered to the back of the bus and prodded Daniel. “So you have a murderer staying with you,” he said loudly.

  All of a sudden the noise on the bus stopped and everyone turned to look at Daniel.

  Jed grinned and Daniel laughed. “He didn’t murder anyone.”

  “Yeah, right!” said Wade, joining them. “What about those bones he was hacking up on his table?”

  “Skeletal bones from archaeological digs,” Daniel said somewhat smugly, keeping the main news to himself. “He’s a paleontologist.”

  “You were really in his place?” asked Craig, the braver of the Nelwin twins, with his big eyes turned intently on Daniel.

  “What was it like?” Lucy, one of Jed’s sisters, asked, squeezing herself in beside Daniel.

  “Yes, I’ve been there a couple of times,” he answered. “It was no big deal. He sort of camps out in his cabin, with only a few pieces of furniture and a wood stove. He’s just a scientist, who lives on his own.”

  “ ’Cause he murdered his wife!” Brett interjected.

  Daniel sighed. “No, he didn’t.”

  “I saw the cross,” piped up Wade.

  “I think that’s just where he found some other fossils.”

  “Well, what about all those jars of poison, then?” asked Brett.

  “Harmless! Just teas, and herbs, and cooking stuff,” Daniel said patiently. “I ought to know. I made tea for him when he got sick.”

  “Weren’t you scared going there?” Lucy asked quietly. Her sisters Lindsay and Leanne moved in to stand tightly beside her, their eyes big and round with anxious curiosity.

  Daniel nodded. “I was at first. He has a huge dog! It’s called Bear – and it looks like one!”

  Then he launched into the story of when he had first met Pederson, leaving out the fact that he had been in his secret hideout at the time. The kids on the bus were all hanging off the edges of their seats to listen.

  ~

  Over the next few days, Daniel spent as much time as he could with Pederson. He seemed shy and reluctant to say much at first, especially to Daniel’s parents, but one day Daniel came home from school to find him chatting with Dad.

  As usual, the vaporizer sent swirls of mist into the air. Sunlight filtered through the sheers, giving a warm glow to the pale blue room. An antique maple dresser stood opposite the foot of the bed, under a large oval portrait of Daniel’s great-grandparents.

  “You were right, Ole. I talked to the bank manager again, as you suggested,” Dad said, shifting uncomfortably on a straight-backed wooden chair that he’d pulled up to the bedside.

  He continued, “There may be something we can do yet. When I told them that the experts from the Royal Saskatchewan Museum and the Royal Tyrrell Museum were coming to take a look, they seemed willing to give me a little more time to sort things out.” Then Dad raised his shoulders in a gesture of awe. “They want to talk to the people you contacted.”

  “I’ll give you their names,” Pederson said, coughing slightly.

  “I’d appreciate that.”

  “I’m glad to hear my past experience has come to some use.” Pederson sighed. “I’m a little surprised they gave me the time of day, to tell you the truth. Haven’t been in touch with anyone in Drumheller or Regina since my wife died. I’d guess half of them have never heard of me.”

  Daniel moved to stand beside Dad, sliding his backpack to the floor with a small thud. “Yes, they have – I saw all those articles with your name on them in those magazines.”

  “Magazines?”

  “The ones I left on your table.” Daniel felt his face flush again at his failure to return the books to the shelves. “Palaeontographica Canadiana, or something like that.”

  “You mean the journals.”

  Daniel nodded.

  Dad stared at Pederson in wonder. “You’ve done write-ups in professional journals? I’m impressed,” he said.

  “That was a few years back when I was still working in the regular paleontology circles. Then I became fed up and branched out on my own.” Pederson sighed again and stared at the ceiling, deep in thought.

  Daniel noticed how frail Pederson looked. He was lying in the double bed under the puffy quilt with a blanket stacked on top. His grey hair was combed and flat on his head. Even his beard was combed down. But his eyes still held some sadness.

  “”Well, I’d best get back to my chores,” Dad said, standing up. As he headed for the door, he nodded pointedly in Daniel’s direction. “We’ll see you shortly.”

  “I’ll be right there, Dad,” he promised. “Mr. Pederson, do you want to rest now, or would you like to see a new book on dinosaurs I just found in the school library?”

  A glint of interest sparked in the old man’s eyes, and Daniel grabbed his backpack and dug out the book. He handed it over, propping a pillow behind it so that it wouldn’t flop out of his hands.

  “Here let me fix the pillows behind you so you can read.” Daniel adjusted them behind Pederson’s back.

  “I’ll be back in a while,” he said, smiling and heading to the door.

  “Ah, Daniel?” said Pederson. “Would you mind finding my glasses before you go?”

  Daniel looked at Pederson in surprise. “Your glasses?”

  “Yes, I wear glasses, and your mother tucked them away somewhere. I’m supposed to use them all the time, but I can’t be bothered,” he admitted shyly.

  Daniel checked the night table by the bed, and found them in the top drawer. He opened the case careful
ly and handed them to Pederson, who smiled his thanks. He raised the book to start reading, as Daniel left the room.

  ~

  A few days later, Daniel noticed Pederson’s coughing didn’t seem as harsh, and the colour of his face looked a more healthy pink. His speech came out more evenly and normal, and there wasn’t any more rattling in his chest when he breathed. Daniel was happy he was improving, but it also meant he’d be leaving soon.

  When Pederson did go home a week later, Daniel was sorry to see him leave, but knew he’d see him again soon. Pederson had invited him to assist with the Edmonto-saurus dig whenever he had time after his chores and school. Daniel was really getting to know the old guy. It was great to finally have someone to share his interest in dinosaurs. Someone with a real dinosaur in his backyard!

  A couple of weeks passed. A few days before Christmas, Daniel’s dad knocked on his bedroom door. As usual Daniel was pouring over a dinosaur book, but he jumped up when Dad entered quickly, carrying a large plastic bag from the Co-op store.

  “Hi, Son,” Dad said, peering around. He set the bag on the floor by the door, then came hesitantly over to the desk and looked at Daniel’s book. “Dinosaurs of the Prairies,” he read. “Is there anything in there about the Edmontosaurus?” he asked.

  Daniel grinned. “Sure. They were one of the first duckbills discovered in Alberta. There just weren’t any intact skeletons until now.”

  Dad fingered the dinosaur replicas on the shelf, and then caught sight of the receptaculites fossil on Daniel’s dresser. “How did you know what that was?”

  “I’ve been studying the books for a long time. Then last year, when our class went to Eastend, I bought a book put out by the Royal Saskatchewan Museum that had the taculite it in. When I came across the rock, I put two and two together.”