Dinosaur Hideout (5 page)

“My guess would be in his seventies, but no one seems to know for sure. He left the area for a long time. I suppose he lives on his pension now.” Dad set the pitchfork against the wall.

“Okay, enough questions. Time to get back to work.”

He strode to the back of the barn. “We have to get these chores done so we can have an early supper. Your mother and I have a meeting to go to tonight at the Lindstroms.”

“About the oil company?” Daniel persisted.

“Yes. You finish in here and I’ll water the horses outside. We’ll talk later.” Dad left the barn abruptly, snapping the door behind him before Daniel had a chance to ask anything more.

~

A
t the supper table, Daniel squirmed
in his seat, his butt slipping across the vinyl covering. Cheryl cooed in her high chair between him and Mom, playing with her mashed potatoes and gravy in her special bowl. Dad’s head was bent over his plate, while Mom tried to feed Cheryl.

The kitchen was a large square, with the Formica table placed plunk in the middle and pale yellow cupboards stretching almost all the way around three sides. The only thing that had changed much since Daniel’s grandmother’s days were Mom’s touches of homemade wall hangings, oven mitts, and curtains in a soft orange draping over the windows, giving a warm glow to the room. The oven had been on for a couple of hours, and loaves of fresh bread lay steaming on the countertop next to an apple crumble – his favourite dessert, right after Saskatoon berry pie.

Stabbing a sparerib from his chipped china plate – another kitchen relic left over from his grandmother’s days – he looked over at Dad and asked, “You’re not going to lease to those oil companies are you? It’ll wreck the land, you know. They’ll dig big holes everywhere, and ruin it. It won’t be good for anything.”

Dad winced and pushed his empty plate away. “We don’t know yet what’s going to happen, Danny. Not until we hear what the company people have to say. I’m all for keeping our land, but the southwest quarter wouldn’t be too big of a loss. It isn’t much good for anything, anyway. Doesn’t even make great pasture land, unless we had more.”

Daniel dropped his fork onto his plate with a clatter. “But there’s lots of great things about it.” He felt a sudden pounding in his head.

“Relax, Daniel,” Mom soothed, wiping the baby’s face and hands with a cloth. “We’re just going to find out more about it. We’re not going to make any rash decisions.”

“Besides, Son, a few rocks and hills don’t mean much unless you can turn them into a paying proposition.” Dad pushed back his chair and stood up. “And raising cattle on them hasn’t worked well enough so far either. There’s never enough grazing land.”

Daniel sat there with his mouth open as Dad headed towards the hall.

“We’d better go, Libby.”

“Okay, I’ll be ready in a jiffy,” Mom said, wiping Cheryl’s face and hands. Then she gave her a rattle to play with before she started clearing the food off the table.

Daniel crumpled his napkin and stared at Mom. “Money isn’t all that important, you know.”

“Your dad’s just looking out for us in the best way he knows how.” Mom gave him a sympathetic look.

“But, Mom, he doesn’t understand what’s maybe out there in those hills. It’s way more important than money!” He rose from the table and began stacking the dishes, his usual after-supper chore.

“He’s just trying to do whatever will help us stay on the farm. So keep that in mind.” Mom looked at him sternly, and then softened. “We’re only going to hear what these people have to say.” Then she hugged him.

“Would you mind doing the dishes yourself tonight?” she asked, taking his baby sister from the high chair.

Daniel felt annoyed. “I can’t come with you?”

“No, you have school tomorrow, and I don’t know how late we’ll be.” Mom waited for his reply.

“Oh, all right.” What was the point of arguing?

“Thanks, Sweetie.”

He stood stiffly as she gave him another hug with her free arm. Cheryl gave him a big smile, and he took her while Mom went to the hall closet for their coats. He could already hear Dad starting the truck in the driveway. As Mom bundled up Cheryl and hurried outside, Daniel turned to the dishes with a heavy sigh.

After finishing, he helped himself to a large serving of apple crumble, and a Gatorade from the fridge. Then he wandered through the house with his snack. Everything was so still and quiet, except for the creaking of the maple floorboards as he headed through the dining room. He walked around the huge antique oak dining table, where Mom had arranged a bouquet of silk flowers in the centre, on a crocheted tablecloth. A matching china cabinet and sideboard sat together on one wall. Next to them hung a row of his school photos. He passed them and went through the double doorway into the adjoining living room. The television set sat on an angle in one corner.

For the next hour, he sprawled on the orange and yellow flowered couch, sipping Gatorade, while he watched his favourite
National Geographic
show. When it was over he carried the dishes back to the kitchen, being careful not to leave any evidence that he’d been eating in the forbidden living room. Then he went upstairs to his bedroom and scoured his books for more about receptaculites.

Every once in awhile, he’d get up and look out his bedroom window to see if he could spot headlights from his parents’ truck. At ten o’clock, he gave up on them and crawled into bed. He tossed and turned for what seemed like hours, until he finally fell into a deep sleep with vivid dreams.

~

H
e was crouched beside a large fern
in a forest of cycads, dawn redwoods, sycamore, and cypress. The humid air made it hard to breathe. Odd screeches and sharp calls pierced the quiet. Sticky fronds scratched his face. As he pushed them aside, they felt cool, and smelled of moist grass. Through the dense foliage he saw a pale sun above the treetops.

Suddenly, a great crashing through the underbrush sent him squeezing further under the ferns. He tucked himself into a tight ball. A series of thundering booms shook the earth. His heart thumped hard in his throat – a massive triceratops rumbled through the bushes towards him. Its immense head with three long horns, framed by a huge shoulder plate, turned in his direction.

He held his breath and froze. He lay still and watched as the creature’s giant elephantlike feet crashed down a few inches away. At last it pounded past him, shaking the ground. When it was out of sight, he gasped and sucked in deep gulps of air while his chest heaved. Slowly, the forest became quiet again, except for the weird screeching birdcalls.

He wiped the moisture from his face. Then he crawled out from beneath the fronds of his hiding place and carefully stood up. A loud swooping sound came from somewhere behind him. He didn’t budge or move a muscle as a large presence cast a huge shadow from overhead. Moments later the sky brightened again.

When he dared to move, Daniel saw a flock of massive birdlike creatures soaring high above him. Their wings spanned ten metres at least – pterodactyls! In amazement, he stood there watching them. They were headed towards the mouth of a river he could see in the distance.

Chapter Four

W
ith a start, Daniel awoke early the next morning.
He lay there panting as he stared at the dinosaur replicas standing on his bookshelf. For a moment, he wasn’t sure where he was, and then he realized he’d been dreaming. He’d always wanted to know what it would be like to live during the age of dinosaurs. Now he wasn’t so sure! It had seemed so real! He shook the images away and flung back the thick quilt covers as if to throw off the fear and foreboding churning in the pit of his stomach.

Then he crept quietly down the stairs and poked his head in the kitchen doorway. He saw Dad poring over papers that lay strewn across the table. They were probably from the oil company. As he studied the pages, Dad’s forehead creased and a look of despair washed over his face. Daniel’s mother stood close beside him with her hands folded across her chest. She had a tight, worried look and bit her lower lip while she read. As Dad turned a page, Mom leaned over to look closer and ran her fingers through her shoulder-length hair, twisting it nervously.

Daniel could hear the clock quietly ticking through the tense silence in the room, broken only when the refrigerator motor cut in. Here he was standing at the doorway of the most comforting room of the house, one where all things warm and cozy and nice happened in his family. And now everything he’d known all of his life was about to be torn apart and changed, and there didn’t seem to be anything he could do to stop it from happening. There’d be no going back once a decision was made.

Mom reached out and touched Dad’s shoulder gently with her fingers. “I’m not convinced that it’s the right thing to do,” she said in a voice trembling like it did whenever she was scared, which wasn’t very often.

“Well, you know the situation we’re in.” Dad turned to look up at her.

“I know. But maybe there’s another way to save the farm.”

Dad sighed in exasperation. “Well, I haven’t been able to think of one.”

Daniel could stand it no more. He rushed into the kitchen.

“You aren’t going to do it, are you? You said we’d discuss it.”

His parents jumped and stared at him.

“Oh, good morning, Daniel,” Mom said. “Yes, well, we are discussing it.”

“But what about how
I
feel?” he asked.

Dad answered patiently, “Son, we know how you feel. We’re taking that into consideration, and we’ll talk about it with you later.”

“Later, when? When you’d already made a decision?” Daniel couldn’t contain his disappointment. “You can’t do it!”

“Be reasonable, Son. This could be a great opportunity for us. It could help us get out of debt.”

“No, it isn’t. You’re not looking at the whole picture.” Daniel gazed from one to the other, injured. “You’ve decided, haven’t you?”

“No, but your mother and I are seriously considering it, Daniel. It’s a good proposition.”

“They’ll destroy the land,” he protested. “They’ll wreck all the possible dinosaur finds and, and...and it won’t be any good for pasture for the cattle either.”

“I know how you feel, Danny,” said Dad. “I don’t want to see the land damaged either, but the oil company said the disruption will be minimal.”

“They’re just saying that. It’s not worth it, Dad,” Daniel objected.

“Actually, it is. They’re offering us a good price to lease the land. And we’ll still be able to keep our home quarter and the northeast quarter, and farm alongside them.”

Daniel pleaded, “And what about the important geological discoveries that could be made? They could benefit us all, too!”

“The only important geological discovery around here would be oil!” Dad retorted.

“But what about the T-rex discovery and the museum at Eastend? It could happen here, too.”

“I don’t see how. We need cash and we need it now. Times are tougher all the way around. There just isn’t any other option for us.”

“You don’t understand.” Daniel could feel himself getting hot all over. He clenched his hands at his sides.

Dad raised his voice and glowered at him, “No,
you
don’t understand, Danny. It’s either lease, or we lose our farm altogether. Do you want that to happen?”

Daniel felt like he would explode. He gritted his teeth defiantly and glared at Dad.

“Okay, everyone, let’s just calm down,” Mom interjected. “We’re still in the discussion stage, and we can go over the details with you, too, Daniel.”

She gave Dad a stern look. “Right now we all have chores to do and places to be, so let’s talk about it later. Okay?” Then she turned her glare on Daniel.

“Daniel,” she continued, making an effort to calm herself as she walked over and put her arm around him. “You must realize that ultimately your father and I will make the final decision. You’ll have some input, but we’ll have to do what’s best for all of us.”

“But Mom,” Daniel wrenched himself free, “You can’t do this. It’s all wrong. I know it!” He rushed from the room.

As he grabbed his parka, stomped into his boots, and plopped his toque on his head, he heard Cheryl’s crying announcement that she was awake. Usually he liked to get her up in the mornings, but today he ignored her, knowing Mom would go to her. Instead, he reached for the snowmobile keys and headed out the back door. His parents had allowed him to drive the snow machine on his own for the last couple of years, so he knew they wouldn’t stop him. He needed some distance right now.