Dinosaur Hideout (7 page)

Daniel felt his face burning with embarrassment as Pederson turned away. Guess it’s now or never, he thought and took a step forward. He stumbled inside the entryway and stopped short. The atmosphere was musty and earthy, but also warm. The place appeared to be a large one-room cabin, although it was hard to tell through the gloom.

When his eyes adjusted to the dimness, Daniel realized it was no wonder he’d tripped. The floor was nothing but old boards laid over mounds of packed dirt, that took a sudden dip towards the far wall, then disappeared under the makeshift cot. A woodstove sizzled in the middle of the room, its pipes contorting and rising out of the rafters. A small wooden hutch, which seemed to serve as a kitchen cupboard, leaned precariously against one wall.

As Pederson stoked the fire, Daniel shifted his weight. A clattering made him jump. He’d touched a chipped enamel dipper that hung on a nail on the wall, and sent it banging to the floor. Beside him, a metal pail full of water sat on a stool, and on the other side of the door stood a wood box full of firewood.

He bent quickly to pick up the dipper, realizing that Pederson didn’t seem to have any running water. He peered around to see if there were any signs of electricity. There were some cords strung about, and one lamp by an old stuffed armchair.

Next he quickly checked out the weathered boards that served as shelves all along the length and height of one side wall. Stacks of books and magazines filled the bottom shelves. The top ones were lined with a myriad of jars, bottles, and tins in all shapes and sizes.

Daniel felt a clutch of fear. Maybe these were the ingredients for making poisons? Maybe Craig and Brett were right and Pederson planned to poison him. He gulped and eyed the recluse across the room. He had his back to Daniel and was removing his parka in between coughing fits.

He was probably harmless enough. He was an old man. Besides, he was sick. Daniel could probably outfight him and outrun him. And Bear was still outside so the odds were better. But what was in all those containers?

Daniel crept forward and examined the contents more closely. There were little labelled jars of dried plants, powders, crushed blossoms, dehydrated berries, and seeds in various shades of greens, browns, and yellows, all assembled neatly in alphabetical order. Just as he reached the last of the jars, Pederson poked him from behind.

Daniel jumped.

“Over here,” the old man said and headed across the room.

Daniel took a deep breath and followed. The place was larger than it first appeared, he realized, as Pederson yanked on a chain and one side of the cabin flooded with light.

Daniel stopped short and gasped. Beneath the slanted ceiling of the shorter wall squatted a long rough-hewn table covered with dinosaur bones and various samples of fossil imprints! Even more than he’d glimpsed through the window.

“Wow! You’re a real paleontologist aren’t you?” Daniel stared at the old man.

Pederson nodded.

Daniel could hardly contain his excitement as he walked along the table, investigating the findings. He made sure not to touch anything, even though he really wanted to. Pederson watched him out of the corner of his eye.

“Wow! What are you doing out here? Are you with some museum?” asked Daniel.

“In a fashion.”

Daniel looked over at Pederson, who had picked up a brush to remove dirt from a bone fragment at one end of the table. “What does that mean?” he asked.

“Used to be,” the old man replied, not looking up.

Daniel looked at him curiously, waiting for an explanation. Pederson hesitated, then squinted at Daniel and proceeded.

“They scoffed at my theories. I believed, the same as you, that some dinosaurs, particularly those from the Cretaceous period, the hadrosaurs, or duckbills – as you suggested – actually existed and nested here. The museum administrators didn’t want me wasting any more of their time or money on my searches.”

Daniel became excited. “I know we’re right!”

Pederson seemed to make up his mind about something, and all at once he motioned to follow him. He opened another door that Daniel hadn’t noticed before. They entered a passageway that seemed to run into the side of the hill, and then rounded a curve and headed slightly downwards. Ah, the lean-to!

They came to a flat area where Pederson had obviously been digging. A strange whirring sound came from a few yards away. Several bare light bulbs hung overhead. As Pederson turned them on one by one, they cast patchy circles of light over the area. Daniel saw a small golden glow coming from the cracks around the door of a little tin stove in the far corner. Some old black stovepipe protruded from it and was kinked so that it lay on the dirt floor for several feet along the edge of a shallow pit. A fan attempted to spread the warm air. Finally, Pederson switched on the last light over a large cavity in the ground and stood aside to let Daniel see.

Daniel gazed in amazement at a huge ten metre oblong pit. It was about a metre deep in places and increased to two or three metres deep in others, where it framed massive brownish grey skeletal remains of some huge creature that seemed to have fallen in its tracks. One side of a giant curved rib cage was visible in the middle of the pit, surrounded by mounds of earth. Pieces of the bones were cracked or missing, and a massive skull with hundreds of teeth lay curved away from the main skeleton.

“Oh, geez!” Daniel whispered and turned to look at Pederson.

The old man nodded.

Daniel’s voice was hushed. “You found one!”

He crouched down near one edge of the long pit and stared. “I knew there were dinosaurs around here! What is it?”

Pederson gave Daniel a slight smile.

“Not an Edmontosaurus?” Daniel squealed.

Pederson nodded with pride. “I believe so, yes.”

Daniel knelt down beside the open pit and reached out to touch a long rib, then looked up at Pederson.

“Go ahead.” Pederson nodded. His eyes seemed to be watering again.

Daniel gently touched the cold gritty surface of the fossilized bone, then ran his fingers partway up the length, as reverently as though it was a fragile newly hatched chick. The rib felt rough, with bits of dirt clinging to it, but he could see where Pederson must have cleaned other portions of the remains more thoroughly.

Daniel could hardly contain his excitement. “It’s real! I can’t believe it! I’m actually touching a real dinosaur.”

As he stood up, he kept his eyes on the skeleton as if he were afraid it would disappear before his eyes. “We have to tell everyone!”

“No,” Pederson barked out. “I want to finish first. I don’t want people tromping on things, destroying evidence.”

“I understand, but we have to tell someone. It’s proof!”

“No! The answer is no!” Pederson snapped off the light and headed back up the tunnel. “I should never have let you see my dig.”

Daniel followed, pleading, “No, wait. I won’t say anything. I promise.”

Pederson reached his outside door, flung it open and pointed for Daniel to leave. Daniel caught up and stepped out.

“Look, I’m sorry. And I won’t leak it to anyone, okay?”

Pederson nodded. “See that you don’t.” He looked sternly at Daniel. “I’m counting on you to keep your word.”

“I will.” Daniel dropped his hands by his side and lowered his head. “I know how important it is to wait until you’re ready. Thank you for showing me.”

Pederson looked at Daniel’s bowed head. “All right, then, be off with you, young man.”

Daniel turned to leave.

“By the way,” Pederson added, suddenly softening his tone.

Daniel paused and then looked back as the old man spoke again.

“Next time, knock.”

Daniel grinned and Pederson gave an acknowledging grimace in return, before stomping back inside. As he headed back over the hill to his snowmobile, Daniel heard the old man coughing again. He started the machine and raced for home.

He hadn’t done his chores on time for the second time in two days. Dad was going to be angry again – really angry. He’d been gone so long this time that Dad had no doubt almost finished the work without Daniel’s help.

Then his thoughts whirred instead to his encounter with Pederson. Wouldn’t Jed be surprised! He could hardly wait to tell him. But, of course, he couldn’t tell him anything. He’d promised Pederson he’d keep his find a secret. That was going to be tough to do! Maybe if he just hinted and Jed figured it out, that would be okay? No. That was just as good as breaking his promise.

Maybe the warnings from Dad and stories from the kids on the bus weren’t right after all. Pederson was a little strange, maybe even a little crazy, but he was no murderer. Daniel would keep his eye on him, and do a little more investigating. He’d sure like to talk to someone about it all. But that was just not possible yet. Instead, he’d read up all he could on the Edmontosaurus.

He cranked on the throttle and charged across the last stretch of flat pasture to the yard. As he rounded a bluff, the top of the barn came into view first. The old weathered two-storey timber structure stood as solid as the day his great-grandfather had built it. Of course, it had been repaired many times throughout the years. But it still served.

Just before entering the gate, he passed a long line of granaries and bins. Most of them were dilapidated and unused, including an old shed that he and his father were going to dismantle next summer. Right now, it hid the old automobile graveyard with its rusted out cars and trucks in various states of decay.

Daniel bypassed the barbwire corral fences that held most of their herd of cattle and their two horses. They’d trampled the snow into huge muddy areas adjacent to the barn.

Gypsy ignored him as he flew past a smaller empty pen fifty metres from the dugout. By now the surface of the rectangular watering hole was frozen over with a layer of ice several inches deep. Dad had to chisel out several openings every morning with an axe, so the cattle could have drinking water. Daniel was happy he didn’t have that chore to do. He had enough facing him inside the barn.

Pulling the snowmobile up in front of the shed, he could see his mother’s car warming up so she could leave for the hospital and take Cheryl to the sitters. He felt a twinge of guilt about not being there to play with his baby sister while Mom got ready for work, but this quickly dissolved when they came out of the house all bundled up and waved goodbye to him. Everything was under control. Now he’d better see what was happening in the barn. And face Dad.

Chapter Five

O
n the way home from school the next day,
Daniel and Jed sat huddled together in the back seat of the school bus, speaking in low voices so the other kids wouldn’t hear them.

“It’s worse than I thought,” Daniel complained. “My parents are actually considering the offer from the oil company.”

“Mine, too,” Jed responded. “They said if we don’t do something quick we’ll lose the farm. I can’t even play hockey anymore, and my sisters have to give up figure skating. My parents said they couldn’t afford the lessons or the gas to go into town. It’s pretty tense around the house. My sisters were crying last night, and my parents are fighting all the time.”

“Same here. Mine are arguing a bit, too,” said Daniel. “I just wish there was something we could do to stop this from happening.” Things sounded worse by the minute. Jed quit
hockey?
Though he’d never liked skating well enough himself to play, Daniel knew Jed loved hockey. He could be ferocious in a close game.

“We’d need a miracle.” Jed stared out the window with a grim look on his face. “Sure is going to be a lousy Christmas this year.”

As Jed studied the snow-covered hills they were passing, Daniel nervously bit his lower lip, wishing he could tell him about Pederson’s find.

Almost under his breath, Jed spoke again. “We’re probably going to have to move.”

“No!” Daniel protested. “But where would you go?”

“Maybe to Calgary,” Jed answered.

“That’s terrible.” Daniel’s stomach did a tense flip-flop.

“My aunt and uncle live there. And my cousins. At least we’d know someone,” Jed said quietly.

“But we’d never see each other again!” Daniel protested.

Jed stared more intently out the window; his lips formed a thin tight line like he was making every effort not to cry.