Dinosaur Stakeout

1. Title Page
   
2. Book & Copyright Information
   
3. Dedication
   
4. Chapter One
   
5. Chapter Two
   
6. Chapter Three
   
7. Chapter Four
   
8. Chapter Five
   
9. Chapter Six
   
10. Chapter Seven
    
11. Chapter Eight
    
12. Chapter Nine
    
13. Chapter Ten
    
14. Chapter Eleven
    
15. Chapter Twelve
    
16. Chapter Thirteen
    
17. Vocabulary/Descriptions
    
18. Creatures Mentioned in this Book
    
19. Other References & Notes
    
20. Bibliography
    
21. Acknowledgements
    
22. About the Author
    

© Judith Silverthorne, 2006.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Edited by Barbara Sapergia

Cover illustrations by Aries Cheung

Cover and book design by Duncan Campbell

National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data

Silverthorne, Judith, date-

Dinosaur stakeout / Judith Silverthorne.

(Dinosaur adventure series ; 3)

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN-550
50-344-8

I. Dinosaurs—Juvenile fiction. I. Title. II. Series:

Silverthorne, Judith, date— Dinosaur adventure series ; 3.

ps8587.i2763d57 2006 jc813'.54 c2006-901289-x

Available from:

Coteau Books

2517 Victoria Avenue, Regina Saskatchwan Canada S4P 0T2

www.coteaubooks.com

The publisher gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance of the Saskatchewan Arts Board, the Canada Council for the Arts, including the Millennium Arts Fund, the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development
Program (
BPIDP
),
Association for the Export of Canadian Books,
and the City of Regina Arts Commission, for its publishing program.

As always to my son, Aaron,
who inspired me with this series
from the ­beginning.

To ­Danion and Modeste

for their enthusiasm and support

In memory of Blackie and Wild Bill.

Chapter One

D
aniel bolted upright before the six a.m.
alarm rang. Daylight streamed across his bed through the slits in the blinds. Without hesitation, he threw the covers off and limped into the bathroom as fast as he could to beat the rest of his family. Today, the first of the tourists would be arriving at their dinosaur dig operation, and he didn’t want to miss a thing!

The idea for a tourist business had begun a year and a half earlier when the Bringhams’ reclusive neighbour, Ole Pederson, had located an almost complete
Edmontosaurus
skeleton right on the border of their adjoining property. Daniel had helped with this important find and other fossils they’d unearthed too. Their discoveries had been housed in the Climax museum soon afterwards so the public could view ­them.

A short time later, he and Mr. Pederson had campaigned for a paleontology tourist operation with Daniel’s parents. They agreed the plan would be a great way to bring ­much-­needed income to help them keep their farm. Then the Lindstroms, his best friend Jed’s family, had become partners in it too. Tourists could visit a real dig, stay for lunch, or even camp overnight in the new campground the two families had ­built.

Stepping into the shower stall, Daniel groaned. He clung to the towel rod as the water cascaded over him, trying to avoid getting the scrapes on his head wet. He examined the abrasions on his arms and legs and the long scratch across his chest. He thought again of the past few days and how the bullying Nelwin ­brothers – ­Craig and ­Todd – ­had caused many of his injuries. Of course, tussling with dinosaurs hadn’t helped any, but he hadn’t told his parents that part of the story. Who would believe that he’d been flung into prehistoric ­time?

It was bad enough that the Nelwins had attacked him and tried to destroy his secret hideout. Their jealousy over his and Ole Pederson’s previous paleontology ­finds – ­and the special recognition that ­resulted – ­had boiled over the day before. They’d caused some serious damage to his hideout and to his parents’ property too. The worst thing was that they’d been hurled into the time of the dinosaurs with him, and now they were in on his ­secret.

Daniel had acquired a piece of redwood bark a few days earlier when he’d been unexpectedly transported back in time to the Cretaceous Period, and he’d learned that even a small object from that time had the power to send him back to the era of the dinosaurs. He’d hidden the bark in his hideout, but the Nelwins had uncovered it as they tried to wreck Daniel’s belongings. When Daniel had grabbed Craig to keep him from touching it, Todd had seized his arm. They’d all connected when Craig touched the bark, and found themselves instantly thrown back to a dangerous prehistoric ­world.

The Nelwins couldn’t believe it. They’d thought Daniel had tricked them somehow, and Craig wouldn’t give him the piece of ­bark – ­their only way to get back to their own time. Only after a
Troodon
ripped a chunk out of Daniel’s pant leg and a
Tyrannosaurus rex
tried to eat them for dinner had Daniel been able to convince Craig to give up the piece of bark. Even so, at the last moment a
Dromaeosaurus
narrowly missed slashing Daniel’s chest open. So much for his trying to save the Nelwins! He shuddered again as he remembered the harrowing ­experience.

Once they’d returned safely, Daniel demanded that the Nelwins restore his hideout and swore them to secrecy about its location. He also secured Pederson and Jed’s silence about their time travel ­adventures.

Back at home, Daniel’s family decided to drop the charges of vandalism against the Nelwin brothers in exchange for restitution. This meant they would have to work off the damage they’d done around the farm and at the campground after they’d cleaned up Daniel’s hideout. They also had to help Daniel with his barn chores, because he’d been hurt when they pushed him down a hillside in a barrel during their ­rampage.

They had seemed contrite enough the evening before, but would Craig and Todd keep up their end of the bargain and show up for work ­today?

By the time Daniel dressed, he could hear his mom rattling breakfast dishes in the kitchen. She had worked some of her nursing wonders on him the night before, and his scrapes and cuts were already beginning to heal over. Even his leg seemed to have limbered with the hot water from the shower and his moving about. As he stepped into the hallway, he met his dad with a fresh towel slung over his shoulder, heading for the ­bathroom.

“I can see you don’t need any prodding to do your chores this morning, son!” Dad’s dark eyes rested on him with affection. He tousled Daniel’s hair, avoiding the painful areas on his ­head.

Daniel grinned and headed towards the stairs. When Dad had safely closed the bathroom door, Daniel slid down the banister, and with a
thunk
landed on the floor at the ­bottom.

“Daniel!” Mom said, with a warning raise of her ­eyebrows.

“It’s easier, Mom!” He pointed to his sore ­leg.

She shook her head and popped the ­batter-­filled muffin pans into the oven. “We don’t need you falling on your noggin too!”

Daniel headed out the door to do his barn chores. As he made his way across the yard, the twittering of the sparrows in the caragana hedge signalled a perfect July day. A gentle breeze ruffled his still damp dark hair and there wasn’t a cloud in the bright blue morning sky. Dactyl, his golden retriever named after the prehistoric pterodactyl, dashed across the yard towards him. Daniel sank slowly down on one knee to pet him, then continued on his ­way.

With each step, he studied the ground and thought of the many layers of rock underneath him, which designated the various geological ages of the earth towards its
molten centre. The one he was most keenly ­interested in – ­
the Cretaceous ­Period – ­lay only a few metres below his feet. A flush of excitement coursed through him as he recalled the fantastic things he’d discovered in that prehistoric world. He got goosebumps just thinking of what fossils might lie beneath where he walked. If only he could explore more of ­it.

Once at the barnyard, he herded the two milk cows into the barn, luring them with a ready pail of ­chop – ­today, just crushed ­oats – ­from the feed room right inside the barn. He fed and watered the two animals, then eased himself carefully onto the milking stool by their prize Holstein, Lily. As he leaned his head against her soft belly and began milking her, the Nelwin brothers entered the barn. They already knew what they were supposed to do. Daniel watched to see how they’d do ­it.

Todd, a strapping ­sixteen-­year-­old with dark, bristly hair, grunted hello to Daniel. Snatching up a pitchfork, he moved into a newly vacated stall where he hoisted manure onto the stoneboat parked in the middle of the barn. He attacked the muck in short rapid movements as if he was afraid of being reprimanded for not doing the work fast ­enough.