Dinosaur Stakeout (11 page)

Daniel became mesmerized as he watched some of them plough rapidly through the water with sharp leg strokes. They dove underwater, using long jaws filled with many tiny teeth to grab at schools of fish. Their feathered bodies were sleek with long legs and webbed feet. While they scanned the depths, they ­floated.

“They’re ­
Hesperornis-­
like,” Dr. Roost said in his ear. “Look at their small wings. At most, they might use them to make turns while swimming under water, but see how they seem to rely on slowing down and using sideward strokes of their legs.”

Daniel nodded. “And look at how their legs stick out –
perpendicular to their bodies!”

“Definitely ­peculiar-­looking!” Mildred Roost ­concurred.

Daniel chuckled quietly. “But then almost everything’s really strange here!”

Dr. Roost gave a snort of agreement and snapped several more photographs. Daniel pulled his attention away and looked around for some way of marking their location on the beach. He wanted to be sure they could come back to their landing spot when they were ready to go back to their own time, so they could return to his ­hideout.

Touching Dr. Roost’s arm, he whispered, “Your turn to keep watch. It’s time to start marking our trail.”

Quickly, he gathered some soggy limbs on the beach, standing them upright, and pounding several into the soft ground near a pine tree, teepee fashion. He tied them into a bundle with a chunk of twine he’d brought. All the while he worked, Dr. Roost seemed mesmerized by the ­environment.

“This is kind of like being in Florida, in the swampy areas,” she said ­quietly.

“Have you been there?” Daniel ­asked.

“Yes, it’s a fascinating place.”

“I’d like to go there some day.”

“I’m sure you shall,” she said not taking her eyes off their surroundings. “Though this does have quite a few differences. Everything here is magnified in size and almost surreal compared to there.”

“I don’t suppose there’s any place on earth that’s like this,” agreed Daniel, ducking a ­palm-­sized ­bumblebee-­like insect that flew at his head. “It’s like everything is out of proportion here. Like we’re little kids in a giant world.”

Carefully, Daniel wound some of his mom’s plant tape around his structure. Then he stood back and surveyed the ­result.

Dr. Roost tapped the structure with her cane. “Seems sturdy enough.”

Daniel looked at her with one raised eyebrow in surprise. She hadn’t offered any help or advice and he wasn’t expecting her to pass judgement on his work. He ignored the comment and retrieved his compass, a pencil, and a scribbler. Drawing a rough map, he noted the direction they would be ­heading.

Mildred Roost came over to stand beside him as he tucked his notebook away. “This is better than I could ever have dreamed,” she ­said.

“There’s plenty more to see,” Daniel answered as he slid the compass into his jeans ­pocket.

Carefully, he moved forward, motioning to Dr. Roost. She slung her camera strap around her neck and followed, making as little disturbance as possible, just as he did. The many small creatures in the underbrush could be dangerous too. He knew there had to be several hundred species in the prehistoric past, although maybe not as many as there were in the present world. For sure, dinosaurs shared their world with a multitude of others in various shapes and sizes: amphibians, tiny mammals, bony fishes and shellfishes, marine, land, and flying reptiles, insects, and ­birds.

And except for those he’d previously encountered, Daniel had no idea how any of them would react to human beings. Would they ignore them, or attack? He kept watch in all directions. If they were stung or bitten, who knew if they’d survive? If any of these creatures had poisonous venom, there probably wasn’t an antidote, even in his own world. He swallowed and pushed forward through the tangled undergrowth. Their biggest challenge lay just ­ahead.

Without speaking, Daniel and Mildred Roost stumbled forward over rough terrain, through tall woody plants and knots of vegetation. When they made it to the outer edge of the treeline, they stopped to rest under a clump of giant cycad ferns. The air was humid and the day already hot although the sun had not yet fully risen. They mopped the sweat off their brows and retrieved their water bottles, taking deep drinks to refresh ­themselves.

“The variety of vegetation is incredible,” said Dr. Roost, peering out of the fronds at magnolia trees, huge redwoods, flowering bushes, and rampant vines that twined throughout their surroundings. The foliage was lush and green beyond ­belief.

“Look at the height of those horsetails.” She referred to a stand of ­thirty-­metre trees that resembled giant asparagus ­plants.

“Do you know these are one of the plants that survived from prehistoric time? They’re ­dwarf-­like now, though,” Mildred Roost ­said.

Daniel nodded. From everything he had read, many of the major groupings of plants that evolved during the Later Cretaceous period were closely related to today’s flora. He mentioned this fact to Dr. ­Roost.

“Yes. And there’s the proof,” she agreed. “You’d almost think we were in some exotic place like southern China, instead of staring at the landscape of ­sixty-­five million years before our time. That is, until you look at the creatures,” she chuckled softly, pointing back the way they’d ­come.

The seashore was still active with strange reptiles sipping at the water’s edge and ­bird-­like creatures prodding for food in the sand with long, thin, pointy beaks. Dr. Roost grabbed her camera again and shot the world around them from every angle she could manage. Together they watched huge moths and bees with bulging eyes dipping into flourishing blossoms. One flew up to them, almost touching Daniel’s face, but they were neither food nor danger, and it soon flew ­off.

Iridescent gold and green dragonflies hovered nearby, some of them with wings spanning as wide as Daniel could spread his one arm to the side of his body. The forest echoed with sharp screeches, low drones and rustlings, snapping trees, and an eerie, cawing ­clamour.

“Maybe we should move on,” Daniel suggested after a few moments. They could take more time once they’d accomplished their mission and had found a safe haven. “I’d like to get to the
Edmontosaurus
before our luck runs out.”

“Agreed,” said ­Mildred.

As Daniel pressed his way through the lush, dark undergrowth, he carefully pushed back branches and huge leaves, taking stock of the situation before he stepped forward. Mildred followed his lead and kept quiet, moving only when he signalled it was safe to do so. Occasionally, she flicked at a crawling or flying insect that threatened to land on one of them. Her cane came in handy for pushing aside vegetation ­too.

Suddenly, Daniel rounded a bush and came to an abrupt stop. They’d almost ­broad-­sided an
Ankylosaurus
. It stood ­tank-­like. Its heavy shield of plated armour covered its entire huge body, except for its underbelly and short legs. It seemed to be searching for soft vegetation on the ancient floodplain floor, digging with its hooves for tuberous roots in the moist ­earth.

Mildred whispered excitedly in Daniel’s ear over the gentle snuffling and snorting of the creature. “This is the first proof that
Ankylosaurs
ever lived in Saskatchewan! I was sure they had.”

Daniel nodded; he’d seen them on his last trip. But as far as research went, the remains of this ­plant-­eater had only been found in Montana, Wyoming, and ­Alberta.

“Will you look at that wide, thick skull,” said Mildred, snapping pictures. “No wonder they had such tiny brains. There wasn’t any room for them.”

They stared at the creature, taking in its flat, triangular skull that was nearly one metre long and very broad and thick. Massive knobs and plates of bone were embedded in the skin along the back and sides of its entire body, which ended in a ­club-­like tail made of bony tissue encased in tough reptilian ­skin.

Daniel was so intent on watching the
Ankylosaurus
grazing on ­low-­lying plants that he hardly noticed the increased whirring and loud booming sounds around them until Mildred nudged him. He listened. Something like a foghorn on a boat sounded and then an answering ­call.

“I bet that’s hadrosaurs,” said Dr. ­Roost.

Daniel knew the only hadrosaur that had ever been found in the province was the
Edmontosaurus saskatch-ewanensis
, like ­Roxanne.

“We shouldn’t be far from the female one with the eggs that I found before.” He kept his voice low so as not to startle anything. “I think it could be Roxanne.”

As they proceeded, small creatures skittered through the underbrush, avoiding them with little squeaks. Once Daniel narrowly missed stepping on a multicoloured snake. Oversized insects buzzed languidly in the freshness of the early morning. He wasn’t sure if they would attack or not, so he found a small branch and waved it about in the air around him. Mildred used her cane, swatting with determination and keen ­interest.

Intermittently, the ground trembled beneath their feet. Some huge creature must be in the area. The tenseness in Daniel’s body increased the farther they probed into the forest. Huge redwood trees obscured their view ahead in the still mounting dawn. On top of that, the foliage was so dense everywhere, they couldn’t see very far in any direction. Daniel began seeing large, shadowy shapes that turned out to be clumps of thick fern or tight stands of trees. What he thought were oddly shaped branches and undergrowth turned out to be creatures. Perils surrounded them in all shapes and ­sizes – ­airborne and land-­roving.

He was prepared to dart away and always kept a tree in sight that he could easily climb, but fretted about Mildred Roost. The best she’d be able to do was hide in some underbrush, but that would be of little use. She followed behind him at a surprisingly agile pace through the thick tangle of growth, although she breathed heavily and stopped often to snap photographs. Daniel took those opportunities to tie bits of tape on the bushes about every fifteen to twenty metres, ensuring they’d be able to follow their trail ­back.

“This is incredible,” she spoke softly to Daniel. “I can’t believe my good fortune in being here!”

“So far, so good,” he answered, turning to look at ­her.

“Yes, I know we’re not out of the woods yet.” She laughed at her own ­joke.

Even without the heat of direct sun, her face was flushed and beads of sweat dotted her forehead, although she didn’t complain. But Daniel could see the exertion of pushing through the thick foliage was taking its toll on ­her.

“Would you like to take a little break for some water?”

She nodded. Daniel found another huge cycad and they pushed under some large fronds, then each drew a bottle of water from their backpack. Mildred’s eyes were alert as she looked around ­her.

“We’ll be in an open meadow soon,” Daniel explained. “We’ll have to cross it to get to the
Edmontosaurus
.”

“That means even more danger.” Her lips tightened in concentration. “If something happens, Daniel…” she started to ­say.

But Daniel ­protested.

“No listen,” she insisted. “I want you to save yourself.”

Daniel looked at her in horror. “Don’t even say it! I wouldn’t leave you behind.”

“You may not have a choice,” she answered grimly. “And I won’t be responsible for your not getting back.”

Daniel shook his head passionately. “We’re both going to get back!”

Deep down, though, he worried that neither one of them would see home again. Why had he ever let Dr. Roost come with him? An old lady was still an old lady. He bet she couldn’t even run. He heard her sigh and tuck her water bottle back into her pack. Daniel returned his too, and they set off ­again.

All of a sudden, loud snorting growls came from just ahead of them. The little hairs at the back of Daniel’s neck stood on end. He halted and Mildred Roost nearly ran into him. He motioned with his finger against his lips for her to keep silent and move back along the trail. As quietly as they could, they pushed the vines and ­low-­lying branches out of their way. Without knowing what it was, they’d have to circle around it. Daniel wasn’t sure which way was the best to go. He’d have to climb a tree to get his bearings. But he didn’t want to leave Dr. Roost on the ­ground.

He voiced his dilemma to ­her.

“You go ahead and climb,” she said, patting her backpack. “I have a few tactics in mind. All we need is right in here.”

“Was that why you took so long to pick up the plaster from town yesterday?” Daniel asked, suddenly realizing that Dr. Roost had known all along about his plans and had intended on coming with him. Her expression was one of innocence, but Daniel could tell by the twinkle in her eyes that he was right. There was no time to ask what she’d brought in preparation for the trip. The snorting was getting ­closer.

Quickly, Daniel found what looked like a secluded enough spot off the beaten trail, and picked out a suitable climbing tree. Then they searched for a good place for Mildred Roost to hide while she ­waited.

“There.” She pointed to a snarl of fallen tree trunks covered with vines and rotting debris that had left enough space for her to crawl ­into.

“Let’s check it out first,” Daniel suggested, remembering some of the strange creatures he’d discovered on his other ­trips.