Chapter 1

Jeremy cranked the throttle of the little four-wheeler. The rear wheels spun as he came into the ranch yard. Two of the free-range chickens pecking their way across the gravel road squawked and ran, their wings flapping furiously. He kept the throttle wide open and didn't slow down until the last second then he pulled back on the throttle and slammed on the brakes. The rear wheels locked up sending the four-wheeler into a skid. Jeremy turned into the skid and brought the machine to a stop just inches from his dad's pickup. Pulling the kill switch, he jumped off and ran up the front steps of the ranch house. He was in the door before the engine died.

"Dad! Dad! I found some! I found some!" he yelled as the screen door slammed behind him.

His mom called from the large kitchen. "Jeremy David, were you chasing my chickens again? I could hear them squawking all the way in here."

"Sorry Mom, I really didn't mean to this time. They were just crossing the road at the wrong time. Where's dad, I need him!"

"I think he is out at the ponds taking some measurements. I need you--"

Before she could finish Jeremy was out the back door and racing towards the large greenhouse buildings behind the house. "Dad! Dad!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. His dog Blue jumped up from the shady spot under the tree and ran with him. They ran along the side of the south building. Jeremy looked intently through the clear plastic walls trying to spot his dad inside. Reaching the end without finding him, they ran around to the door of the north building. Jeremy grabbed the handle and started to open it. Blue stuck his nose in the crack trying to squeeze in. Jeremy pushed him back with his leg and slammed the door.

"You know you're not allowed in here boy! Go on, get out of here!" He pulled the door open just a crack, slipped through and pulled it shut before Blue could get in. "Dad are you in here?" he yelled as he shut the door.

"Over here Jee!" his dad called from the little lab area that was setup in the corner of the building. Most of Jeremy's family called him Jee thanks to his little sister Madison. When she was just learning to talk she could only say the first and last sounds of his name. The result was Jee and the name had stuck. Even though Madison was now seven and very capable of saying his full name the family still used his nickname, except when he was in trouble, then it was Jeremy David!

"Dad, I found them! I found them!" Jeremy ran over to his Dad who was wearing a white lab coat and standing over a stainless steel table.

"Found what?" his dad looked up at him.

"Dinosaur bones! I found dinosaur bones on our property! I knew there had to be some out there!"

"Good for you son." Jeremy's dad replied absent-mindedly and never looked up from what he was doing.

"Dad! I'm serious! It's not just an old stick this time! It's a whole skull. I'm not sure what kind it is, maybe a Troodon or an--"

"Old cow's head." his Dad finished for him and looked up at him with a smile.

"No dad, not this time. It's right in the cliff. You've got to come see it. Come on." Jeremy was now standing at the end of the table pleading with his Dad. His dad looked up at him again and smiled.

"Okay son, help me finish weighing the rest of these little buggars and I'll go with you. Where did you find it?"

"You know where the road crosses the dry creek bed?" Jeremy didn't wait for an answer; "I went up the creek bed from there, all the way to where the creek comes off the cliff. Then I worked my way along the cliff. We've got to hurry Dad, it's the coolest thing!"

His Dad smiled again. "If it really is a dinosaur, he's been there for a bazillion years. He's not going anywhere in the next half hour. Now get suited up. I need you to pull samples from the other end of the pond."

"Dad the bones!" Jeremy whined.

"The sooner we get done, the sooner we get out to the bones."

"I knew you'd say that." Jeremy walked over to the white lab coats hanging from a hook on the wall and pulled one on. He sat down on the little bench and pulled some light blue "booties" on over his dust covered sneakers then he pulled on rubber gloves.

"Buckets are in the sink," his Dad said. "I've got the samples from this end. I just need the three from the other end. You know where to take them?"

Jeremy nodded, grabbed three buckets from the sink and headed for the opposite end of the building. Each building was nearly as long as a football field and about half as wide. The walls and the ceiling were all made of clear plastic, just like a greenhouse. In fact, they were greenhouses but Jeremy's family didn't grow tomatoes or flowers, they grew shrimp. At least they tried to grow shrimp.

Jeremy's dad used to work for a big company that made computers. The family lived in a normal house in a normal neighborhood in Mesa, Arizona. Then one day his Dad came home and announced that he was taking early retirement. A few months later everything was packed in a moving truck and they were driving north to find the perfect location for the Free For All Ranch. For as long as Jeremy could remember, his Dad’s bed-time stories had been about the Free For All Ranch, a make-believe place where the family always had great adventures. Now the Dad was determined to turn make believe into reality.

They got as far as Cedar City, Utah and then turned west. As they drove the countryside got browner and bleaker and Jeremy's Dad got happier and happier. When they finally arrived at the "ranch" all they found was an old house trailer and a few broken down out buildings. The nearest town was thirty miles away and it boasted one and a half working gas stations.

What the ranch lacked in common comforts, it more than made up for in "natural resources" as Jeremy's Dad called them. The ranch had two natural resources, wind and hot water. Three hundred and sixty days of the year (Jeremy had counted) the wind blew. To most of the family the wind was an annoyance, to Jeremy's Dad it was an opportunity for adventure. One of the first things they built was a windmill to help generate electricity. In addition to the wind, the ranch boasted seventeen natural springs where crystal clear water bubbled up from an underground aquifer. Fifteen of the springs were hot. Three were too hot to even touch.

"Our own little Yellowstone!" Jeremy's Dad had exclaimed to the girls.

"Except it’s ugly, there’s no Old Faithful, and there are no buffalo!" Jeremy's older sister Elena complained. At thirteen she was three years older than Jeremy. She hadn’t been very excited to leave her friends, harp lessons, or clogging team in Mesa.

"Maybe not, but with those springs our home will always be warm and it won't cost a dime!" Dad replied.

"You’re going to heat our home with spring water?" Jeremy's Mom asked incredulously.

"Absolutely, and we're going to build the house out of straw so none of the heat escapes."

“Straw?” mom said doubtfully.

“It’s an excellent insulator,” dad assured her.

"But what about the big bad wolf?” Elena asked with a smile.

That was nearly two years ago. The ranch was now complete. Its walls were made of bales of straw stacked on top of each other and held tightly in place with large stakes. Both sides of the wall were covered with stucco and unless someone mentioned it, you would never know the walls were made of straw. As dad promised, it was cool in the summer and warm in the winter. To help keep it warm in the winter the three hottest springs were capped off and the water was piped throughout the house.

The day they moved into the ranch house, dad suggested they burn the old house trailer and the outbuildings. Not surprisingly, mom had serious reservations about the idea. Jeremy and his dad prevailed and his mom supported them with two dozen hot dogs and roasting sticks. By the time they fed Sheriff Brown, his two deputies and the volunteer fire fighters the hot dogs were gone. Sheriff Brown was very nice. He encouraged Jeremy's dad to keep his fires smaller in the future.

Jeremy was now nearly to the end of the building. He was walking on an elevated walkway that went right down the center of the building. Most of the building, except the lab area, was filled with a large pond about five feet deep. The elevated walkway stretched across the pond from end to end like a long bridge. Every twenty yards or so crosswalks went side to side across the pond. Jeremy reached the end and turned left on the final crosswalk. When he reached the far corner of the pond, he got down on his knees and used a net to scoop up several of the little shrimp into one of the buckets. He turned, walked to the other corner of the pond and repeated the process making sure to put the shrimp in a different bucket. He took his final sample near the center of the pond and then ran as fast as he dared back down the walkway to his dad.

"Here they are!" he gasped as he set the buckets on the floor next to his dad.

"Thanks. Would you mind entering the data for me?" his dad replied.

"Sure." Jeremy said and twisted the laptop his Dad had been using around so that he could get to the keyboard. Dad continued weighing each individual shrimp and calling out the weights for Jeremy who entered them in the computer. In about fifteen minutes they were done.

Dad shifted the laptop back to where he could see the screen and entered a few keystrokes. "Let's see how we measure up, shall we?" A graph came up on the screen and Jeremy's Dad frowned.

"Well? How are they doing?" Jeremy asked.

"Not good enough." Dad grunted. "See this line?" he pointed to a curve on the graph that started low and gradually rose as it moved to the right. Jeremy nodded.

"That’s the growth rate of the average farmed shrimp. See this line?" he pointed to a line that started in the same place but didn't rise as quickly as the first line. "This line is our shrimp. They’re not growing as fast as they should. I can't figure out why. Maybe the water still isn’t right." He started mumbling to himself obviously bent on solving the problem now. He opened one of the cupboards and began to take stuff out.

"Dad." Jeremy interrupted. His Dad turned to look at him. "The bones, remember?" Jeremy asked hopefully.

Jeremy's Dad smiled. "Right, sorry, I get so distracted. The shrimp can wait. Let's go look at your bones."

Chapter 2

"I want to go!" Madison said from the kitchen table where she was doing homework.

"Me too!" Elena said putting down the onion she was chopping for dinner and turning to the sink to wash her hands.

Jeremy and his Dad were in the mudroom, pulling on their helmets. Jeremy's dad stuck his head in the door of the kitchen, "Only if your mom says it’s okay."

In unison the two girls turned to their Mom who was browning hamburger in a skillet on the stove. "Please mom, can we?" they begged.

Mom looked back, thought a minute, then reached up and shut off the stove. "I'm not staying home alone. Let's all go see Jeremy's bones!"

The girls raced for the mudroom and squeezed through the door at the same time.

Mom took off her apron and followed them. "Maddie, you'll have to finish your math tonight. That packet has to go in the mail tomorrow." she said as she grabbed her helmet.

"I will Mom. I promise." Madison replied as she shot out the door. Jeremy and his sisters all "attended" an online school. Each week they got assignments from their teachers online. Throughout the week, with the help of mom and dad, they completed the assignments, or packets, and sent them to their teachers in the mail.

"Come on!" Jeremy yelled above the revving engine of his four-wheeler. He had been spinning "donuts" in the gravel while he waited for the rest of his family to get their gear. The sun was lowering quickly in the western sky and he was worried they wouldn't have enough time to see the bones before it got dark. Mom came out the door and yelled at him to “hold his horses.”

"But mom, it's getting dark!" Jeremy whined. "Hurry!"

"Oh, I forgot something!" his mom said pretending to go back in the house.

"Mom!" Jeremy wailed.

She turned back around with a mischievous grin on her face and laughed. "Just kidding!" she said and ran to the shed where they kept the four-wheelers.

Jeremy shook his head and smiled. His parents were crazy, but he had to admit it was a fun crazy. Elena and dad came out of the shed on their four-wheelers. A few minutes later Mom and Maddie came out in the "Rhino." The Rhino was a four-wheeler that looked more like a little Jeep than a four-wheeler. It had seats, seat belts and a steering wheel. Mom was driving, Maddie was strapped in the passenger seat and Blue was in the back with his tongue hanging out. They sped right past the others and yelled, "Who's holding us up now?" Chickens ran clucking in every direction. Jeremy, Elena and dad quickly followed.

By the time the road crossed the dry creek bed, Jeremy had managed to catch up with and pass his Mom. It wasn't easy. Mom was a maniac when she got behind the wheel, especially in the Rhino. Jeremy turned off the gravel road into the dry creek bed and stopped. The Rhino pulled up next to him while they waited for dad and Ellie.

"Is there a fire somewhere?" dad asked as he pulled up.

"Sorry," mom replied sheepishly. "We were worried the bones might move before we got there." She winked at Jeremy.

"Funny." Jeremy replied, "C'mon, it's only about a mile up the creek." He flipped the visor on his helmet down and started up the sandy bottom of the creek. The others followed. They called it a creek, but it was really more of a wash. The only time water ran in it was after a good rain and sometimes during the spring runoff if it suddenly got warm and the snow in the mountains melted all at once. Like most rivers, the dry creek bed wound its way back and forth between the small hills and bluffs of the desert making it difficult to go very fast.

It seemed to Jeremy to take forever, but it was just ten minutes later when they arrived at the "wall." The wall was a cliff that rose twenty to thirty feet from the floor of the desert and went both directions as far as the eye could see. The wall wasn't made of solid stone like many cliffs, but of compressed dirt and rocks. In fact, to Jeremy it looked like the side of a huge multi-layered cake. There were layers and layers of different kinds and colors of sediment that had been laid down over thousands of years. It looked like some giant had cut into the cake and lifted up a piece so that all the layers could be seen. Now Jeremy and his family were looking up at that great piece of raised cake stretching across the desert.

The piece of cake, or wall, had a massive scar in it where the creek fell over the edge like melted frosting off a hot cake. Jeremy had rushed here last spring when the creek was running to see the water tumble over the edge and crash into the great pool at the bottom before flowing down the creek to the road. All that was left of the great pool now was a puddle in the bottom of a large empty bowl carved out of the desert floor. The bowl was round in shape except for a small flat side where it butted up against the wall. It was against this flat side that the puddle remained. It was surrounded by lush green grass that grew in sharp contrast to the dusty browns and muted greens of the desert.

As Jeremy reached the bowl, he turned right and drove along the edge toward the base of the cliff. When he reached the cliff he turned right again, and followed the wall north. His family followed closely behind. The cliff provided some protection from the wind but also blocked the sun that was now low in the western sky. Jeremy shivered a little and flipped up the tinted visor of his helmet so he could see better in the shadows but he didn't slow down. His mom wasn’t the only maniac! He was anxious to get to the bones before the light was completely gone. A few minutes later he let up on the throttle and started studying the wall carefully. He didn’t want to miss what he had found earlier.

It should be close, he thought to himself. He looked over his shoulder, the rest of his family was right behind him. It's right here somewhere. There it is! He jammed his right foot down on the brake. The four-wheeler skidded to a stop in the desert sand. His family pulled their machines up next to his. Jeremy took his helmet off, hung it on the handle bar and ran toward the wall.

"There it is can you see?" he said excitedly.

His family was busy climbing off their machines and taking off their helmets. Elena was the first one next to Jeremy and looked closely where he was pointing. "Whoa, it looks kind of like a huge beak." she said.

"Exactly!" Jeremy replied. "It's like it got buried alive and the weather has worn away enough of the dirt so just his nose is sticking out!"

"Well, I'll be dipped!" Jeremy's Dad was standing over them. "It's certainly not a cow's head, is it Jee?"

"Nope!" Jeremy beamed. "I told you there had to be dinosaur bones around here somewhere."

"I can't see!" Maddie had pushed her way between the others but wasn't tall enough to see the top of the beak sticking out of the wall. Dad bent over and lifted her up. She ran her fingers over the bone and then tried to scrape away more dirt. A few big clods broke loose and fell to the ground revealing what looked like a rather long snout.

"Cool!" Jeremy said and began to scrape away more dirt himself. Jeremy's dad put Madison down and began to help. The girls pitched in as well. Jeremy was like an over-protective parent reminding them all to be very careful and not damage the bones. A few minutes later they had plenty of good clean dirt under their fingernails and the entire skull of a dinosaur stared at them from the hole they had scraped in the side of the wall.

"I wonder what kind it is." Jeremy said in quiet awe.

"I don't know," his mom replied, "but I'm sure one of those hundreds of dinosaur books you have in your room holds the answer."

"Jee, will you grab the water out of the Rhino for me?" dad asked as he attempted to blow the dust off the skeleton.

Jeremy grabbed the five-gallon water jug they kept in the back of the Rhino for emergencies and shook it. "Empty Dad. I think we forgot to fill it after we helped that family last week on the highway."

"Rats!" dad replied, "I wanted to wash some more of this dirt off."

Jeremy jumped in the driver's seat of the Rhino, fired it up and spun around. "There's still water at the bottom of the bowl. I'll run get some and be right back." Without waiting for a response, he spun the tires and headed back the direction they had come. The sun was setting and light was fading fast. Jeremy turned on the lights of the Rhino and sped toward the bowl. He didn't slow at all as he reached the edge and the front tires of the little machine came off the ground. It landed with a clank and sped down the side of the bowl. Jeremy kept the gas on until he reached the bottom and then pulled it to a stop in the green grass. He made sure the headlights were pointed at the base of the wall where the water was. Then he grabbed the jug from the back of the Rhino and ran to the water. Unscrewing the cap, he knelt down next to the water and pushed the jug down until water could run into the spout. As he waited for the jug to fill, he looked around.

Though he had seen it from above many times, he had never actually come down to the bottom of the bowl before. The puddle was bigger than he expected and had actually worn away part of the wall and seemed to go back in underneath the wall. In the darkness, Jeremy couldn't tell how far it actually went. Even in the darkness, he could see the water was crystal clear. He reached down and touched it cautiously. It felt just like a perfect bath--not too hot not too cold. " Another spring!" he said out loud. "This isn't a puddle at all." He made a mental note to come explore the next time he was bored. The jug was nearly full. He pulled it from the water, put the cap on it and ran back to the Rhino. Firing it up, he sped back up the side of the bowl to his family.

The dust from his wheels hadn't settled by the time Jeremy was out of the Rhino and running the jug of water to dad. "That came from spring number eighteen," he said triumphantly.

"Eighteen?" dad replied as he unscrewed the cap. "You found another?"

"Yeah, that puddle at the bottom of the bowl, isn't a puddle. It's a spring."

"Was it hot?" Ellie asked as dad began pouring the water over the exposed nose of the dinosaur.

"Perfect for taking a bath." Jeremy responded. "Cool! Look how white those bones are!"

The water washed the remaining dirt from the bones leaving them a stark bright white. Though the sunlight was long since gone, the lights of the Rhino illuminated the white bones in sharp contrast to the dark surrounding soil.

"It looks like he's sticking his head out the window to look at us!" Maddie giggled and the others laughed with her.

"We better get back home." Mom finally said looking up at the dark sky. "You can come back tomorrow Jee, as soon as the sun comes up!"

"Mom, I can't leave it out here!" Jeremy protested. "What if something happens to him while we're gone?"

"He's not going anywhere without you bud. I'm sure he'll be fine tonight." dad said as he put his arm around Jeremy's shoulder. "I've got to hand it to you bud. You really found something amazing. We should probably call somebody at the university in the morning to come take a look. Who knows, maybe we'll start ranching dinosaurs!"

"Before we go, let's snap a picture!" mom called as she pulled her always-present digital camera from her pocket. "Everybody line up by the dinosaur." Jeremy, his dad, and two sisters all gathered around the skeleton and the mom snapped a picture. "Wait, don't move!" she called, "Let's try it with a flash." She snapped another and the bright light blinded them.

Jeremy turned and ran his fingers from the top of the dinosaur skull down the long snout and over the tip of the beak. Maybe it was just the breeze and the water dripping from the skull, but he imagined he felt a warm breath on his palm as he pulled his hand away. "I'll be back in the morning." he whispered and then turned and walked to his four-wheeler.

Chapter 3

"I thought you might be up early this morning." Dad was sitting in his easy chair studying as he did every morning.

"I think I know what kind it is dad!" Jeremy was still in his pajamas. His straw-blond hair stood straight out where he had slept on it, but there was no sleep left in his eyes as he sprinted over to his dad. He had a large open book in his hands. "Doesn't that look like the snout?" he asked pointing to a picture in his book.

Dad pulled his reading glasses down from the top of his head and studied the picture. "I think you're right. That looks just like it. It's got the beak and the big eyeholes. What's it called?"

"Or-NI-thuh-MI-mus" Jeremy attempted to sound it out. "It says it was one of the fastest and smartest dinosaurs."

"Now how can they tell that?" dad asked.

"Well it has a large brain cavity," Jeremy replied, "and it's bones are hollow. Plus they say is has hips like a bird--like an ostrich and an ostrich can run fast."

"I could use a larger brain cavity myself right now," dad said with a sigh. "If I don't figure out how to get the water right in those tanks we're going to end up with a lot of shrimpy shrimp that no one wants to buy."

Jeremy wasn't listening. He was already back in his bedroom pulling on his jeans and a sweatshirt. His walls were covered with posters and pictures of lacrosse players, sharks and dinosaurs. The lacrosse players were his older brothers Jake, Nate & McKay. They had taught Jeremy to play the game when he was just five. He had been pretty good, but now the only time he got to play was when the boys came home from school on break.

Jeremy grabbed his backpack and stuffed the dinosaur book in along with his pocketknife and a flashlight, then he headed for the kitchen. He grabbed a couple of frozen water bottles from the freezer where his Mom kept them ready for desert adventures. He thought about sitting down for a bowl of cold cereal but decided to grab a banana and a granola bar instead and headed out the door.

"I'm going back to the dig!" he called to his Dad over his shoulder. If his dad heard him, there was no response. Jeremy headed for the shop. There were a few more things he needed this morning. The sun wasn't up yet but the sky was beginning to brighten in the east. Blue ambushed Jeremy as he came around the corner of the shed. He jumped up and put both front paws on Jeremy's chest demanding his attention.

"Hello there boy! Ready to go dig some bones?" Jeremy rubbed his ears for just an instant and then pushed him off. "C'mon, we got to get out there before the sun comes up."

In the shed Jeremy scrounged through boxes and drawers until he found a couple of old paint brushes. Then he found a hammer and a couple of screwdrivers. He added them to the growing collection in his backpack, tossed the backpack in the back of the Rhino, then found a shovel standing in the corner of the shed and tossed it in as well. As he pulled up the overhead door his sister Elena stood waiting for him.

"Mind if I come?" she asked as she walked in the shed and threw her backpack in the back of the Rhino.

"Fine with me," Jeremy replied, "less dirt I have to dig." He pulled his helmet on and climbed in the Rhino. Blue jumped up in the back and the three of them headed down the gravel road.

There was no wind yet this morning, the air was crisp but not too cold. In a matter of minutes they were circling the bowl and began following the wall north. They watched as the sun hit the top of the wall and slowly made its way down to where they were driving at its base. Jeremy was so excited he could hardly sit still to drive and the Rhino just couldn't go fast enough. He kept his eyes focused on the wall, looking for the white beak sticking out. He wasn't expecting the bump as the front wheels of the Rhino ran into a fresh pile of dirt and rocks. His seat belt held him in place, but he slammed on the brakes and grabbed hold of the steering wheel to steady himself. The Rhino came to a sudden stop perched on the top of a pile of loose dirt and rocks.

"What the--?" Jeremy exclaimed.

"Look!" Ellie was pointing at a cavern carved out of the side of the wall.

"What happened? This is where the bones were!" Jeremy ripped his seat belt off, climbed out of the Rhino and sprinted to the newly carved cavern. There were no bones visible anywhere! He ran into the cavern and scraped on the back wall desperately looking for something white to appear. There was nothing but more dirt. He dropped to his knees and sifted through the loose soil--nothing but rocks.

"Who could have done this?" he asked in anguish.

"Whoever it was, they had a sense of humor." Elena replied.

"What?" Jeremy looked back at his sister who was standing outside the cavern studying the ground.

"Come look at these prints." Elena replied. "It looks like they used the foot bones to make all kinds of prints out here."

Jeremy stood up and walked back out to where his sister was studying the ground. There were several distinct prints that looked exactly like the dinosaur footprints from his books. He ran to the Rhino and grabbed his backpack. It took him a few seconds to fish out his dinosaur book then he quickly flipped to the page he had been looking at earlier. "I knew it!" he exclaimed triumphantly.

"Knew what?" Elena asked still studying the footprints.

"It is an ornithomimus!"

"A what?"

"An ornithomimus!" Jeremy said again excitedly carrying the book over to where Elena was studying the footprints. "See! The ornithomimus had three toes. Look, the footprints match." Jeremy laid the book down on the ground next to one of the prints.

Elena looked over his shoulder and nodded in agreement. "I think you're right, it was an ornithomimus." She emphasized the word was. "The question now is, where is it and who dug it up overnight?" Elena's question brought Jeremy back to the reality of the loss of his greatest find. He picked the book up and walked it back to the Rhino. Elena continued with her questioning. "The only ones that knew about this were members of our family right?"

"I didn't tell anyone else." Jeremy sat down on the bumper of the Rhino and looked at the cavern. "Somebody would have had to use a front end loader or a back hoe or some kind of machine to dig that much overnight."

"It must have been Dad." Elena concluded.

"Huh?"

"Think about it Jeremy. He could have borrowed that backhoe he used to dig the ponds. Nobody else knew about it! This is exactly the kind of trick dad would play. I'll bet he and mom had a great time out here all night making dinosaur footprints and covering the tracks of the back hoe. They're probably hiding somewhere right now watching us and having a good laugh." Elena started waving in all directions and yelling, "Hi mom and dad! You can come out now! We know it was you!"

Jeremy looked around half expecting his mom and dad to come out from behind a large sagebrush yukking it up, but they never appeared. Jeremy tossed his backpack into the back of the Rhino. "Well, we might as well give them a show. Do those footprints go anywhere?"

Elena looked back at the ground. "I was just wondering the same thing." she replied. "Looks like they head back down the wall. Same direction we came."

"C'mon climb in. Let's follow them. Where's Blue?"

"I don't know. I saw him jump out of the Rhino when you did but I haven't seen him since."

"Blue, c'mon boy let's go home!" Jeremy whistled a few times but there was no response. He started the Rhino as Elena climbed in. "Blue knows the way home," he said as he turned the vehicle around and started back. He drove slower this time and stayed to the side of the trail so Elena could keep an eye on the footprints. "You still seeing them?" he’d ask every few seconds. "Yep." Elena would reply.

"Good grief! Mom and Dad must have been out here making foot prints all night!"

As they approached the bowl the sound of Blue barking could be heard. "What is that dog up to now?" Jeremy muttered.

"Oh, I hope he hasn't found another skunk!" Elena replied.

"Still seeing tracks?" Jeremy asked again slowing down even more.

"Yep."

"Do they turn at the bowl?" he asked.

"Can't tell yet." Elena replied. "Pull over for a minute and let's get out and look." Blue's barking continued and sounded like it was coming from the bowl. Jeremy and Elena studied the ground as they approached. The footprints never turned but went straight over the embankment and down into the bowl. Blue was in the bottom barking madly at the water.

"Blue!" Jeremy yelled. "Blue! Come here boy! Leave it alone!"

"What is it?" Elena asked.

"I don't know, but out here it either stinks or stings!" Jeremy yelled over his shoulder as he ran down the hill into the bowl. Then he added, "Get the Rhino and come pick us up!"

Jeremy's momentum was nearly more than he could keep up with. His legs cranked furiously and shortly he was up to his ankles in the grass that surrounded the spring. Breathing heavily he walked cautiously up beside Blue. "What are you barking at boy?" he asked. Jeremy looked around but couldn’t see anything. The dog appeared to be barking at the water.

Jeremy knelt beside Blue, wrapped his left arm around his neck and tried to calm him down. "It's okay boy. There's nothing there." He reached out with his right hand and splashed it in the water. "See? Nothing." The dog continued to bark. "C'mon boy, there's nothing there. Leave it!" Jeremy raised his voice but the dog paid no attention. Elena came up next to Jeremy. "What is it?" she asked.

"Nothing that I can see,” he stood up and walked past Elena shrugging his shoulders. "I think Blue's been stung by one too many scorpions out here. Did you see where the tracks go?"

Elena walked closer and looked down into the water. "Strange" she said and then turned her attention back to the footprints. "Where do they go?" she called to Jeremy who had walked back to the edge of the grass in the direction they had come.

"They come onto the grass right here." Jeremy said. "But I can't follow them on the grass."

"Well they have to leave the grass somewhere, right?" Elena replied walking to the opposite edge of the grass. "You start on that side and look for prints coming off the grass and I'll look over here."

When the two met up again at the halfway mark, neither of them had found any prints leading off the grass. The continued barking increased their irritation.

"I guess this is the end." Elena said, "They must have stopped here and then just covered their tracks from here back to the trail."

Jeremy nodded. "I just hope they didn't break any of the bones digging them out so fast. C'mon, let's go home and let them have their laugh."

"What should we do about Blue?" Elena asked.

"You drive. I'll pick him up and carry him on my lap." Jeremy replied.

Blue whimpered all the way home and tried to jump out a few times but Jeremy held him tight. When they got back to the house Jeremy locked him in his kennel. "Sorry boy, but I'm doing it for your own good. Whatever it was is gone now. Forget about it."

Chapter 4

"I'm telling you we had nothing to do with it!" Jeremy's Dad was saying to Elena as Jeremy came in the door from locking Blue in the kennel.

"C'mon Dad. It was a funny joke but I want to see the bones!" Jeremy joined in the discussion.

"Jeremy and Elena listen to me. Your Mom and I were here all night sleeping, just like the two of you. We didn't do it. I wish I had thought of it, but I didn't. We don't have the dinosaur bones." Dad struggled to convince them.

"Jeremy, how many times have I told you if you don't get your dirty clothes to the laundry they won't get clean? Go get them now, I'm getting the laundry started." Jeremy's mom came through the family room carrying a basket of dirty clothes.

"Mom, where are the bones?" Jeremy replied.

"What bones?" mom asked confused.

"The bones mom. We know you and dad dug them up last night and are playing a little trick on us. Please, tell where the bones are!"

Mom, who was nearly out of the room, stopped and walked back toward the other three. She looked at her husband and then at Elena and Jeremy. "The bones are gone?" she asked.

"Funny mom," Elena replied sarcastically, "real funny. We know you guys did it."

Mom put the laundry basket down and sat down on the couch. "We didn't do it." she responded quietly. "Are they all gone?"

"Yeah! You--or somebody--dug a whole cavern out of the side of the wall to get them out. They're all gone." Elena said.

"And I was right, it is an ornithomimus." Jeremy tossed in, "The footprints match perfectly."

"There were footprints?" Mom asked.

"Somebody must have thought it would be real funny to leave dinosaur footprints." Elena answered, "They go from the cavern to the bottom of the bowl and then disappear."

"So you guys really didn't do it?" Jeremy was beginning to believe his parents and wondered if he would ever see his bones again.

"Sorry," dad said, "we didn't do it."

Jeremy sat down on the end table by the couch, pushing several magazines onto the floor in the process. He suddenly had no energy left. "Then who did it?" he asked lamely.

"There were no tire tracks?" his Dad inquired.

"None but ours." Elena confirmed.

"We better call Sheriff Brown." Mom said. "Somebody has trespassed on our property."

"I can see the headlines now," dad replied with a sigh, "Crazy Shrimp Rancher Claims Someone Stole his Bones!"

Elena giggled. Jeremy and Mom just smiled.

"We do have a picture we could show him," Elena reminded them.

"That will help, but before we get the good Sheriff Brown involved, I'd like to go out and take a look around myself." Dad stood up and headed for the door. Nobody moved to go with him. "I'll be back shortly, then we can decide if we need to call the Sheriff."

By three o'clock that afternoon the Sheriff had come, asked his questions, taken a copy of their picture and left to file his report. The next morning the story was front page news in the Lincoln County Recorder. Jeremy's dad brought a copy of it home when he returned from picking up feed at the local co-op. He put it down in the center of the table where the children were all working on their homework. "We made the news!" he said cheerfully.

The headline read: Dinosaur Bones Found and Lost.

"They left out the part about the crazy shrimp rancher," Jeremy's mom said teasing his dad. She was at the counter kneading bread dough.

"They ran out of headline space. Check the third paragraph, second line."

"Don't worry dad" Elena spoke up defensively, "nobody reads this thing."

"Did you talk to Sheriff Brown?" Jeremy asked, hoping for news about the investigation.

Dad took a cup from the cupboard and walked over to the water dispenser in the refrigerator door. "I talked to him," he replied, "but he's got nothing. He did have one of his deputies come in from the top of the wall and look for tracks up there." Dad paused to take a drink from his cup, "They found nothing. The sheriff is beginning to wonder if someone swooped down in a helicopter and scooped the bones."

"You're kidding!" Mom began rolling the dough to put into the greased bread pans.

"Nope." Dad finished off his water and put the cup in the now empty sink. "Oh, I almost forgot," he turned to Jeremy at the table. "I emailed the picture we took to the geology department over at the university last night. A Doctor Sanchez replied this morning. He said from what he could see of the skeleton it looked like it was an ornythingy--what did you call it Jee?"

"An ornithomimus!" Jeremy replied triumphantly. "I knew it!"

"Right, that's it. Anyway Dr. Sanchez said if we ever find the bones he would love to come out and see them. He said it looked like a great specimen. Also said he would keep his eyes open for the announcement of any new 'finds' that might be our bones."

"That was nice of him." Mom had finished putting the dough in the pans and covered them with a cloth on the counter to rise. Turning to the sink she picked up the empty glass and said, "Where did this come from? I just started the dishwasher!"

"Sorry," dad took the glass out of her hand, opened the dishwasher, put the cup in and shut it again before continuing. "Yeah, he seems like a really nice guy, but the message was a little strange."

"Why do you say that?"

Dad leaned back against the counter and looked at the children and his wife unsure of how much he should say. "Well, he ended it with a warning."

"What kind of warning?" mom asked with obvious concern.

"He said there is big money in dinosaur bones.”

“There’s money inside the bones?” Maddie asked incredulously.

The rest of the family laughed. “Not exactly,” dad replied, “But people pay a lot of money for the bones. I guess some kind of dinosaur skeleton was just sold in Japan for nearly a million dollars."

"No wonder somebody stole our bones." Jeremy said.

Dad nodded. "Anyway Doctor Sanchez said to be careful who we trust. Once word gets out that we've got bones on our property we're likely to have lots of visitors." Then seeing the concern on the faces of his loved ones he added, "I'm sure we've got nothing to worry about."

No one responded. Dad changed the subject, "Jeremy, are you ready to help me unload the feed?"

Jeremy shut his Math book, glad for any excuse to do something different. "Sure Dad," he said and got up from the table. He and his Dad were nearly out the door when his Mom called, "Sweetie?"

"Yes?" dad replied.

"I've got to go into Cedar today to pick up groceries and I wanted to stop by the nursery there and get some new flowers for the front planter. Two questions: do we have money and would you like to go with me?"

Dad grimaced a little at the mention of money. "Yes we have money," he said with a sigh, "and yes I'd like to go with you. Just let me get this feed unloaded and take a shower. Can you wait that long?"

"That's fine," Mom replied then turned to Jeremy. "Do you want to go, Jee?"

Jeremy thought for a moment. Cedar City was more than a two-hour drive. Every few weeks the family drove in to buy groceries and anything else they couldn't find at the local mercantile. Jeremy liked going. It usually included a trip to the fast food joint for hamburgers and fries. Sometimes they went to a movie as well, but he was dying to get back out and look for more bones. "No, I'm going to stay," he replied.

"Okay, Elena wants to stay too. We'll take Maddie with us."

The unloading of the feed didn't take long but it was hard, sweaty work unloading the fifty pound bags of shrimp feed from the back of the pickup and carrying them into the shed. Jeremy could still remember the man's face at the farm co-op the first time his Dad had asked for shrimp feed.

"You want what?" he had asked. It took his Dad a half hour to convince the man that there was such a thing as shrimp feed and another half hour and a lot of cash to get him to special order it.

"Our shrimp better start growing." dad was saying. "We can't afford too many more loads of feed, if we don't start selling the little buggars."

"Did you check the water again?" Jeremy asked as he walked past dad on the way back to get another sack of feed from the truck.

"A thousand times," dad replied when they crossed paths again. "It's perfect, they should be growing like crazy. I can't figure it out."

By eleven o'clock, Jeremy's Mom, Dad and little sister were on their way to Cedar City. Jeremy and Elena were on their four wheelers heading for the wall. Jeremy figured if there was one dinosaur, there was likely to be others. He planned to start searching along the wall to the south today. Elena had caught the dinosaur bug and was nearly as excited as Jeremy to find more bones. When they reached the bowl, Jeremy turned to the left and started driving around the edge. Glancing down into the bowl he slammed on the brakes. Elena nearly ran into him and had to swerve to miss. She turned to gripe at Jeremy for nearly killing her but said nothing as she looked where Jeremy was pointing.

"What is it?" she whispered.

"I don't know," Jeremy replied, "at first I thought it was one of those wild horses, but I don't think so..." His voice trailed off as he watched the creature graze. The wind was howling from the north today. Whatever was feeding on the lush grass in the bottom of the bowl had neither heard nor smelled them yet. It looked like it was about the size of a horse but it didn't have a flat back like a horse or a cow. It looked like a big gray hump. Its head was down grazing and its tail, or whatever was on the other end, sloped down as well.

At that moment Blue, who had been off chasing rabbits in the sagebrush, came back to see what was keeping Jeremy and Elena. The instant he saw the creature, he was after it. Barking like he'd just caught a rabbit stealing his dog food. He was a blur of white and gray fur streaking down the side of the bowl. Jeremy opened his mouth to call Blue back. The creature lifted its head. Jeremy’s eyes opened wide. No sound came out of his mouth.

Chapter 5

"It's a--" Elena gasped.

The creature looked from the dog to the children, then took three quick steps toward the pool and disappeared into the water. Blue, once again, was left to bark ferociously at nothing but water.

"Did... Did you see that?" Jeremy was the first to find his voice. Elena didn't speak. She just nodded her head.

"It was a dinosaur!" Jeremy shouted. "We just saw a real, live dinosaur!" He jumped off his four-wheeler and danced around trying to get his helmet off. "I can't believe it! Did you see that?" He finally got his helmet off and turned to his sister again. She just nodded.

"It was an ornithomimus!" Jeremy said jumping in excitement, "I'm sure of it. Did you see how it kind of walked like an ostrich?" Jeremy waddled a few steps toward Elena to show her how it walked. "That's what ornithomimus means. It means bird mimic. This is sooo cool!” He sat down on his four-wheeler and shook his head in disbelief. He was back up in a minutee. “C'mon, the pool’s not that big. I'll bet we can see the dinosaur in the water." He pulled his helmet on. Elena finally found her voice.

"No! We're not going down there!" she yelled at Jeremy.

He stopped and looked at her. "Why not?"

"C'mon Jeremy, you've watched Jurassic Park a thousand times. Dinosaurs eat kids like us!"

"Ellie, those were velociraptors. Velociraptors are carnivores! Didn't you see what the ornithomimus was eating? Grass! He eats grass Ellie, he's not going to eat us!" Jeremy knew that the ornithomimus was an omnivore but he didn't think it was important to share that particular piece of information with his sister just now. He jumped on his four-wheeler, "Well wait here if you want. If anything happens to me, just take off for the house. I've got to at least go down and get Blue."

Blue was still barking wildly. Elena still wasn’t convinced so Jeremy tried again, "If he was going to eat meat, don't you think he would have eaten Blue by now?"

Elena thought for a minute with a frown on her face, "Okay, go get Blue, but if anything happens to you, I'm going to kill you."

"Thanks," Jeremy said with a smile and started his four-wheeler down the side of the bowl. At the bottom he carefully parked his machine so that it was headed back toward the road. He left it running in case he needed to make a quick get away. He was taking his helmet off when Elena yelled to him.

"Keep your helmet on Jee! Helmets are hard to chew!"

Jeremy wasn’t thrilled with the thought of his head becoming a chew toy and decided to keep his helmet on. He flicked up the tinted visor. Cautiously he walked up beside Blue and looked down into the water. The glare of the sun on the water made it impossible to see anything. He flicked his visor back down and could see clearly to the bottom of the pool. Slowly he made his way around the edge. No matter how hard he looked, he couldn't see anything that looked remotely like a dinosaur. The only place he couldn’t see was the dark area under the overhang of the cliff. He decided that must be where the dinosaur was hiding.

He walked back around the pool to the four-wheeler. He hit the kill switch on the machine and took his helmet off. Then he sat down and began untying his shoes. He heard Elena yelling something but he didn't pay any attention. Forty-five seconds later she skidded her four-wheeler to a stop inches from where he was undressing.

"Jeremy David, I hope you are not doing what I think you are doing," she said in her best motherly tone.

"You don't want me to go for a swim?" he asked innocently.

"Not here and certainly not now." she bellowed.

Jeremy kept undressing. In exasperation, Elena got off her machine and knelt down next to him. As calmly as she could she tried to reason with him. "Look Jeremy, that creature is never going to come out as long as Blue is barking. Let's take Blue back to the house then we can come back with some chairs, binoculars, a camera, mom and dad—I don’t know, maybe a cannon? C’mon Jee, Mom and Dad will kill me if I let you go in that pool with that dinosaur by yourself." She was now pleading.

Jeremy stopped unbuckling his belt and looked at her. What she’d said made sense. He had to admit to himself he was a little worried about jumping in the pool alone. "Okay," he agreed, "but while I take Blue home you’ll have to wait here and make sure our dinosaur doesn't leave get away."

“And how am I supposed to stop it?” Elena asked.

“You’ll think of something,” Jeremy replied. He pulled on his shirt and then began working his sweaty socks back on over his dirty toes.

“You’ll go straight home and come back as fast as you can right?” Elena remained unconvinced.

“As fast as I can,” Jeremy promised, “and I’ll leave a note for mom and dad to get out here as soon as they get home.”

“Okay,” Elena finally agreed, “but I’m waiting up on the edge of the bowl, not down here.”

“Just don’t let it get away.” Jeremy said as he popped open the compartment under the seat of his four-wheeler, dug out a short piece of rope, and walked over to Blue.

“It’s okay boy, it’s okay. That was just a little dinosaur, nothing for you to worry about.” Jeremy worked the rope under Blue’s collar and tied a knot. Pulling on the rope, he began dragging Blue from the pool. The dog barked and struggled to stay near the water.

“C’mon boy, time to go home.” Jeremy kept saying over and over again. He tied the end of the rope to the back of his four-wheeler then pulled his helmet on. Elena climbed back on her four-wheeler and they slowly made their way to the top of the bowl with Blue reluctantly following. When they reached the top, Jeremy waved goodbye to Elena and meant to drive on but Elena motioned him to stop.

“Hey, I can take Blue home if you are just going to pull him,” she said. “I thought you were going to put him on your lap.”

“Tried that once,” Jeremy replied, “he scratched the heck out of me and nearly got run over by the back wheels when he jumped off. This works better. So, you want to take him?”

“Promise you won’t go in the water while I’m gone?” Elena asked.

“I promise.” Jeremy said. He dreaded leaving the dinosaur and liked this arrangement much better. He untied the rope from his four-wheeler and pulled the whining Blue over to Elena’s.

“Don’t go very fast,” he said to Elena as he tied the knot, “and don’t untie him until you are in the kennel or he’ll bolt right back here.”

Elena pulled two red apples from the pockets of the hooded sweatshirt she was wearing. “You want these?” she asked Jeremy as he straightened up.

Jeremy wasn’t hungry yet, but he reached out and took them from his sister. Hadn’t he read somewhere that the ornithomimus ate fruit? “Thanks!” he said then added, “See if you can find mom’s video camera okay?”

Elena nodded and started the four-wheeler slowly down the dry creek bed. Blue looked back at Jeremy with big, sad puppy eyes and whined. Jeremy felt sorry for him but right now the dinosaur was more important. He quickly shoved the apples in his pockets and rode back down into the bowl. Unlike Elena, he had no intention of waiting at the top. He would keep his promise of not going in the water but he didn’t promise he wouldn’t try to get the dinosaur to come out.

He hit the kill switch on the four-wheeler, pulled off his helmet and worked his hand into his pocket and to find his pocketknife. Using the knife he cut up one of the apples. He cut it into eight pieces and, out of habit, cut the seeds out. Taking a bite of one of the pieces he studied at the pool. The water was still and smooth. He gathered up the other seven pieces and walked toward the water. He thought he saw a shadow move as he approached but he couldn’t be sure.

Carefully, he picked out the smallest piece of apple and threw it into the pool near the base of the cliff. Then he took another piece of apple and threw it right in the middle of the pool. He dropped the third piece just a few feet from the edge where he stood. The fourth piece he placed carefully on a rock at the edge of the pool where it could be seen from the water. Walking back toward his four-wheeler, he placed the fifth piece on the ground about half the distance to it. Finally, he took off his sweatshirt and laid it on the ground near the four-wheeler. He put the last two pieces of apple on the sweatshirt.

Looking back toward the pool he admired his work. Then he climbed on the four-wheeler and rode back to the top of the bowl. He parked back from the edge of the bowl so that the four-wheeler couldn’t be seen from the bowl. Then he got done on all fours and crawled back to the edge of the bowl. Finding a spot clear of big rocks, he laid down on his stomach and waited.

It didn’t take long before he noticed a parade of ants busily working just a few feet in front of him. He scanned the surrounding dirt and found a stick to lay in the ants’ path. Within seconds they were going over the obstacle. Jeremy wondered what he would find at the end of the ant parade. He was just about to go find out when he heard a splash. He looked up quickly. There were ripples in the surface of the pond, but he couldn’t see anything. He looked for his apples. The one on the edge of the pool was gone!

Jeremy lay still and stared at the pond again, kicking himself for playing with the ants. This time he didn’t have to wait long. The dinosaur’s head broke the surface of the water and raised up a few feet looking carefully from side to side. Jeremy’s heart was beating so hard he was sure the dinosaur would feel the vibration. He laid still and watched.

The dinosaur was now focused on the pieces of apple that Jeremy had left in the grass and on the sweatshirt. It came up to the edge of the pool closest to the apples and tried to reach them without leaving the water. It’s neck was long but it couldn’t reach. It looked around again and then in a rush of splashing water it leapt out of the pool and landed within a few inches of the first piece of apple. Balancing on its two massive rear legs, it tilted forward until it could reach the apple with the claws on the end of its short arms. Scooping the apple quickly it tossed it into its mouth then took a few quick steps to the last pieces of apple resting on Jeremy’s sweatshirt.

Rather than scooping the apples quickly as it had the last time, the creature lowered its snout all the way to the ground and carefully sniffed the apple pieces and the sweatshirt. After a few sniffs it pulled back, raised its head and looked around the bowl cautiously. Jeremy hoped it couldn’t see or smell him.

Apparently satisfied that there was no real danger, the dinosaur dipped its head and sniffed again. Without using its paws, it opened its beak-like snout and crunched the first piece. It seemed to enjoy it and raised its head to look around as it slowly chewed. Then it bent over and did the same with the final piece.

Jeremy’s heart had finally slowed to a more normal pace. He watched in amazement as the creature ate its apple and then returned to eating the grass. When it was standing with its head up, it looked to Jeremy like it was about as tall as a big horse. Its tail was long, probably ten feet or more. The tail didn’t droop limply like the tail of a horse or a cow. It was more like the tail of a lizard. It was large at its base and then gradually got smaller toward the end. Jeremy noticed that it whipped around a lot as the dinosaur moved. The dinosaur’s legs rippled with large muscles. They reminded Jeremy of the legs of an ostrich only lots bigger. Jeremy wondered if he could ever keep up with if it started running.

As the dinosaur ate, it would look up from time to time in Jeremy’s direction. Jeremy would hold his breath and hope the animal hadn’t sensed he was there. The head of the dinosaur was long and skinny and made up almost entirely of the long snout or beak. Its eyes were large and set well back on the skull. Jeremy couldn’t tell what color its eyes were. As the animal continued to graze the water dripped from its brownish/gray hide but even as it dried its hide maintained a luster or shine. Its coloring reminded Jeremy of a horny toad. The belly and underside of the neck were a cream color while its back was the brownish/gray.

After several minutes of watching quietly, Jeremy began to worry about the return of his sister and the noise of her four-wheeler. If the animal was scared into the pool again, it may never come back out. He thought about crawling backward until he could stand up and then running back to meet Elena, but he didn’t want to risk taking his eyes off the creature. He shifted a little to look back down the creek bed to see if he could see her coming but there was no sign of her. As he moved, the lump in his pocket reminded him he still had an apple.

Slowly he worked his way back from the bowl and dug the apple and the pocketknife out of his pocket. He quickly cut the apple and then he back to where he could just see into the bowl. The dinosaur was eating with its head down. Jeremy tossed a piece of apple as far as he could toward the dinosaur. It landed in the dirt about halfway to the dinosaur. The dinosaur looked up and Jeremy ducked. He counted to five and then looked up slowly. The dinosaur was focused on the piece of apple and sniffing the air cautiously. It took a step toward the apple and then broke into a little jog reaching the apple within a few seconds. It scooped the apple with its claws and then loped back to the safety of the pool.

Jeremy watched and planned his next move. He had befriended several other wild animals with food and patience. He figured the dinosaur would make a great pet. It never occurred to him that it might be dangerous.

Chapter 6

Jeremy calculated he only had fifteen, maybe twenty minutes before Ellie got back then he might have to start all over again. Somehow he had to show the dinosaur that the apples were coming from him without scaring the creature back into the water. He lifted his head enough to see into the bowl again. The Dinosaur was now standing over the pool drinking. Jeremy thought to himself, It’s now or never. He stood up and tossed a piece of apple toward the dinosaur. The apple landed with a small thud about ten feet closer to Jeremy than the last one he’d thrown. Jeremy ducked before the dinosaur could see him. This time he counted to seven before looking up again.

The dinosaur was already within a few yards of the apple. Jeremy waited, waited, and then just as the dinosaur was scooping up the apple he stood and tossed another one. This one fell on the ground half the distance to where the dinosaur was now standing. Jeremy ducked again and this time counted to three before looking again. The dinosaur had taken the bait and was approaching the second apple cautiously. It was close enough now for Jeremy to hear it sniffing.

Just as the dinosaur bent down to pick up the apple, Jeremy stood and tossed another piece toward it. This time he threw it under-hand and then instead of ducking down he remained standing. He held his breath and held out his hand with the fourth piece of apple on it.

The dinosaur looked quickly from the apple on the ground to Jeremy. It snorted, turned and ran for the pool at top speed. Jeremy had been right. This dinosaur could run! Jeremy stood still and kept repeating under his breath, Please stop!, Please stop, Please stop! The creature reached the grass surrounding the pool in a matter of seconds, launched itself into the air with a giant leap and crashed with a loud splash into the pool.

“Darn it!” Jeremy said out loud. He was tempted to run down to the pool to see where the creature went but something told him to stay put. After waiting for a few moments, he made a deal with himself to count to one hundred before he moved. By the time he reached sixty the surface of the pool was again still and calm. At ninety-two the snout of the dinosaur broke the still surface and the long skinny head of the dinosaur came into view studying Jeremy intently.

Jeremy forgot about his counting and froze. The single piece of apple in his outstretched hand suddenly seemed to way a ton but he resisted the temptation to put it down. Slowly the head of the dinosaur rose out of the pool as it came toward the edge. Reaching the edge it snorted loudly and then leaped out of the pool still staring straight at Jeremy.

Though Jeremy’s only thought was to befriend this dinosaur, it began dawn on him that the dinosaur might have other ideas. Without moving his head he looked out the corner of his eye at his four-wheeler. It was twenty yards away. He figured if he started running right now he might make it to the little machine before the dinosaur could get to him, but he would have to go right now! His legs wouldn’t move.

Jeremy looked back at the dinosaur. It was looking at the last piece of apple that he had thrown. His courage returned. That’s it, he said to the dinosaur under his breath, come and get the apple.

The dinosaur turned from the apple and looked back at Jeremy cautiously. It ran a little to its left, snorted and shook its head. Then it started scraping the ground with one of its big, three-toed claws, almost like a bull preparing to charge. It looked from Jeremy to the apple and then ran to its right snorting, shaking its head and clawing the ground.

Jeremy stood perfectly still and watched. The dinosaur was clearly tempted by the apple lying on the ground near Jeremy. Cautiously it began to step forward, it’s head nervously moving from side to side.

That’s it, keep coming, Jeremy thought. His nose started to itch. He wiggled and sniffed just a little to try relieve the itch. It just got worse. The dinosaur kept coming, it was only ten feet from the apple when Jeremy sneezed.

The dinosaur jerked its head up, snorted, spun and headed back for the water.

“No! Don’t go!” Jeremy yelled and took a few steps toward the bowl.

The dinosaur was nearly to the water when it heard Jeremy’s voice. It stopped and spun around eyeing him warily.

Jeremy held out the piece of apple. “Here you go! More apple,” he said softly and began walking slowly toward the dinosaur talking calmly. “It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you. See? I have more apples for you. Doesn’t that look good?” Jeremy kept his eyes focused on the dinosaur and kept walking. When he reached the piece of apple lying on the ground he scooped down and picked it up. The dinosaur snorted and dipped its head forward and then tossed it back. It clawed the ground and walked from side-to-side watching Jeremy nervously.

“It’s okay, boy. I’m not going to hurt you.” Jeremy was now down the steepest part of the bowl and was within twenty yards of the dinosaur. For a minute he thought about how he would escape if the beast came after him. Not finding a good option, he chased the thought from his mind and kept walking.

The dinosaur continued to snort and bob its head, as Jeremy got closer. It backed up a few steps until it was right next to the pool and couldn’t go any further without jumping in. Jeremy continued to talk calmly. He was now close enough to see the bright yellow eyes of the beast.

“Here you go. See, more apples. I’m not going to hurt you.” Jeremy was walking through the grass just ten yards from the dinosaur. At five foot two, Jeremy was a good-sized, ten-year old. Now as he looked up into the penetrating yellow eyes, he wished he were even taller. He also wished he’d been nicer to his mom’s chickens. Not that the dinosaur knew anything about his mom’s chickens, but as it bobbed its head and scratched the grass with its claws it was easy to imagine that this was the great chicken king come to punish chicken chasers like Jeremy.

About ten feet from the dinosaur Jeremy stopped. He had two pieces of apple in his hand and a few more in his pocket. Without making any fast moves, he tossed one of the apple pieces into the grass. The dinosaur looked down at apple and sniffed.

Jeremy cooed gently. “Go ahead boy, you can have it.”

The dinosaur quickly looked back at Jeremy and shifted its head from side to side studying him intently with each of its yellow eyes. It bent down, stretched out its neck, and picked up the apple with the tip of its beak. Pulling back quickly it tossed the piece of apple into the air, opened its beak wide and crunched down on the apple as it fell into its mouth.

Jeremy smiled. He held out the other piece of apple in his hand. “Here you go fella, you can have this one too.”

The dinosaur stretched its neck and sniffed toward Jeremy. It then started bobbing its head and snorting. “I’m not going to throw it to you this time boy. You have to come get it.”

Jeremy took a small step toward the dinosaur. It cocked its head to one side and stared intently at Jeremy with one of its bright yellow eyes.

“It’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt you.” Jeremy took a step forward and then another. He was now nearly to where the dinosaur had snatched the last piece of apple. Jeremy took one more step then held the apple on the flat of his palm up toward the dinosaur. It snorted a few times and clawed the ground, and then slowly stretched its neck toward Jeremy’s hand. It sniffed at Jeremy’s hand and snorted. Jeremy could feel the hot moist breath of the dinosaur on his hand. He stood perfectly still. The dinosaur leaned a little closer, opened its beak and was just about to snatch the apple from Jeremy’s hand when Elena screamed from the rim of the bowl.

“Jeremy!”

The dinosaur jerked back. Jeremy looked towards Elena’s scream and saw her come crashing over the edge of the bowl in the Rhino. He turned back around to try to calm the dinosaur but it was already spinning toward the pool, its massive tail came flying directly at Jeremy. He thought about ducking for an instant but could tell it was too late. Instead he jumped as the tail came toward him, wrapped both arms around it and held on tightly.

The dinosaur leaped into the pond and Jeremy went with it clinging tightly to its tail. As they hit the water, Jeremy took a breath and closed his eyes. Down they went, the warm water rushing around them. Jeremy held tight to the tail as it swished back and forth propelling the dinosaur through the water. He opened his eyes but could see little as the dinosaur’s movement stirred up the loose silt and sand on the bottom of the pool. The light faded as the dinosaur headed for the darkness of the overhang.

Jeremy began wondering how long he could hold his breath. He figured the dinosaur would be stopping any moment as it ran up against the wall but it didn’t stop and it got darker and darker. Jeremy began to panic. It was an under water cave! How far did it go? What if there was no air?

He was just about to let go and attempt to swim back, when the dinosaur pushed off the bottom with its massive legs. Jeremy’s grip slipped. He tried desperately to hold on. The water rushed all around him, his lungs were about to burst and his fingers were slipping. Just when he was about to give up hope, his head broke through the surface of the water. He let go of the tail and took great gasps of air. Wherever he was it was dark. It took his eyes a few minutes to adjust.

There were a few streams of light coming from somewhere above him. He could hear the dinosaur splashing behind him and turned to see it walking out of the water onto what looked like a little beach. Jeremy swam that direction until his feet hit solid ground. He stumbled out of the water and lay on the sand of the beach breathing heavily.

He could see they were in a large cave. The few streams of light were coming from cracks in the ceiling high above. The lake took up most of the cave with the exception of the little beach where Jeremy now lay. The dinosaur snorted at him.

Jeremy rolled over and looked at it. “How did you find this place?” The dinosaur just snorted and eyed him warily. Jeremy sat up on his knees, jammed his hand into his pocket and pulled out a wet piece of apple. He held it out for the dinosaur on the flat of his hand. The dinosaur sniffed at it, stretched out its neck and snatched it from Jeremy’s hand.

“That a boy!” Jeremy said. “See? I’m not going to hurt you.” He stood up, and took another piece of apple out of his pocket then walked toward the dinosaur. It cocked its head to the side. Jeremy could see a yellow eyes glowing in the dim light.

The dinosaur was backed up against the cave wall and had nowhere to go. It jerked its head nervously but always came back to sniff at the apple in Jeremy’s left hand. Jeremy didn’t hold it out this time. Instead he walked right up to the dinosaur before slowly opening his fingers. Then he reached up with his other hand and touched the dinosaur’s neck. The dinosaur snatched the apple and pulled back at Jeremy’s touch but didn’t move out of the way.

Jeremy talked to it quietly. “It’s okay. It’s okay, I’m just going to rub you, see?” Jeremy stroked the coarse skin of the dinosaur’s neck while the dinosaur munched on the apple. “What are we going to call you?” Jeremy said as he continued to move his hand over the dinosaur’s hide. The dinosaur finished its apple and began sniffing at Jeremy.

It sniffed his hair, then down his back. “What are you looking for?” Jeremy asked, “Maybe this?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the last piece of apple. It still had a little white sticker on the skin that said Fuji. Jeremy tried to take the sticker off but the dinosaur was too quick and snatched the apple out of his hand.

“That’s it!” Jeremy said, “I’ll call you Fuji.”

The dinosaur munched happily.

“Glad you’re enjoying it!” Jeremy said, “Because that’s it. There are no more apples.” He pulled his pockets inside out to prove his point. “See? No more apples!” Fuji sniffed at Jeremy’s pockets. “They’re gone. No more.”

The dinosaur snorted and bobbed its head. “Sorry,” Jeremy said, “but you are going to have to get me out of here to get any more.” He turned and walked back toward the water wondering how he would find the opening to the tunnel. “Elena is going to have the sheriff and everyone else here if we don’t get back out there fast.” Jeremy felt hot breath on his ear. He turned and Fuji snorted right in his face.

“Gross!” Jeremy said. He bent down and was splashing water on his face when something broke the surface of the water farther out.

“Jeremy!” It was Elena’s voice.

“Elena! Is that you?” Jeremy called back.

“It’s me. Are you okay?” Elena gasped between breaths.

“I’m fine. Come this way! There’s a beach.”

A few minutes later Jeremy could see Elena and rushed into the water to help her out. She was wearing a mask and snorkel and stumbled out of the water tripping on her fins. Fuji backed up a little and snorted. Elena took off her mask and jumped behind Jeremy. With a trembling voice she asked, “Is it, you know--okay?”

Jeremy walked over to the dinosaur and rubbed its neck. “Yeah, it’s fine. See? He’s just a big baby that loves apples.”

“Apples?” Elena asked incredulously.

“Yeah, he loved those two apples you gave me. That’s how I got close enough to touch him.”

Elena peeled her feet out of the fins and cautiously walked toward Jeremy and the dinosaur. The dinosaur snorted and bobbed its head. Elena froze. Jeremy rubbed the dinosaur’s neck and said, “It’s okay, Fuji is just shy. Aren’t you boy? Come over here by me.”

“Fuji?” Elena asked as she walked cautiously forward.

“They were Fuji apples,” Jeremy explained shrugging his shoulders.

“It fits,” Elena agreed. She was now next to Jeremy. She held out her hand and touched its skin. “Cool,” she said then turned and slugged Jeremy’s arm.

“Ouch! What was that for?” Jeremy protested.

“You promised you wouldn’t get in the water with the dinosaur!” Elena said.

“I promised I wouldn’t do it while you were gone. You were clearly back when I got in the water. In fact, you were the whole reason I ended up in the water!”

Elena shook her head as she continued to stroke the dinosaur. “You’re crazy! What if this thing had been mean?”

The dinosaur had now turned its interest to Elena and was sniffing in her ear. She giggled.

“I knew Fuji wasn’t mean,” Jeremy replied as he ducked under the dinosaur’s neck and stroked the other side. “Thanks for coming in after me,” he added knowing how scared Elena must have been searching the dark water for him.

“Somebody has to look after you,” she smiled as she rubbed the top of Fuji’s snout.

Chapter 7

The first thing Jeremy heard as his head came out of the water were the shouts of his parents.

“Jeremy! Elena!”

He gasped for breath and then called back, “Over here!”

Elena’s head popped out of the water next to him. She tore off the mask and gasped for breath. The sun had set some time ago and it was now dark. A bright light suddenly hit Jeremy in the eyes. It was their dad’s spotlight.

Dad called again, “Jeremy? Elena? Is that you? Are you alright?”

“Yeah, we’re fine dad. We’re great! You’ll never guess what we found!” Jeremy started for the edge. Elena, still short of breath, followed without speaking. The spotlight disappeared and the engines of four-wheelers could be heard as Mom, Dad and Madison drove from the rim of the bowl down to Jeremy and Elena.

“What’s going on?” Dad said as he pulled up and shut off his four-wheeler. “Where did you find the bones?”

“You told them we found the bones?” Jeremy asked Elena surprised.

“Well we did,” Elena responded, “and do you think they would have believed the other?”

“What other?” mom demanded.

Just then there was splash in the pool. The entire family looked up but it was too dark to see. Dad reached for the spotlight. Jeremy jumped up and caught him by the arm.

“Don’t, you’ll scare him!” he whispered in an urgent tone.

“Scare who?” dad replied confused but sensing Jeremy was serious.

There was more movement in the water. The family strained to see what was out there. Jeremy left his dad’s side and took a step down into the pool.

“C’mon Fuji, it’s alright. C’mon boy, they won’t hurt you.”

“Jeremy David who or what are you talking to?” mom said in a concerned tone. Elena lifted her finger to her lips to encourage her mom to be quiet, then she mouthed the words, “It’s okay.”

Jeremy took another step into the darkness. There was more water splashing.

“C’mon on boy, c’mon. That’s it. Good boy.”

The splashing grew louder. Jeremy came back into view.

“Mom, Dad, I’d like you to meet Fuji,” he said. Almost on cue, the dinosaur stretched out its neck and its head came into view right next to Jeremy’s.

Mom screamed and fell backwards off the four-wheeler. Dad grabbed for the spotlight but fumbled it onto the ground. Madison’s eyes opened wide, but she just sat quietly and stared. Jeremy put his arm up around the dinosaur’s neck to try to calm it.

“It’s okay!” he called over the commotion, “It’s okay. Its just Fuji.”

Elena jumped up and helped mom as she scrambled backward. Dad now had a grip on the spotlight and was about to turn it on.

“Dad, don’t please! You’ll scare him!” Jeremy pleaded. “Look, he’s not going to hurt me.” Jeremy reached up and rubbed the end of Fuji’s beak with his free hand. “See, he likes me.”

Elena now had mom back on her feet and was inching slowly forward. She tried to assure her parents. “Jee’s right. It won’t hurt us. It looks meaner than it is and it’s an herbivore!”

“Well, actually it’s an omnivore.” Jeremy added without thinking.

“An omnivore?” Elena turned on him. “Jee, omnivores eat meat!”

“Just small mammals,” Jeremy said innocently.

“Jeremy, we’re small mammals to it!” Elena pointed to Fuji exasperated with Jeremy. The dinosaur snorted and bobbed its head lifting Jeremy right off the ground.

“It’s okay, boy. It’s okay. She didn’t mean it,” he tried to calm Fuji down.

Dad put the spotlight down and cautiously took a step toward Jeremy. “Are you trying to tell me that, that,” he pointed to Fuji, “is a live dinosaur?”

“Yep!” Jeremy said proudly, “isn’t it cool?”

“The bones, they—?”

“Came to life!” Jeremy finished for him. “Look it’s an ornithomimus. Everybody back up and I’ll have him come out of the water so you can see him.” The family didn’t have to be asked twice. They all took several steps back from the water.

“It does what you tell it to?” mom asked incredulously.

“Kind of,” Jeremy replied, “I fed it some apples and it wants some more, so it follows me around and I think it likes me.” Jeremy stepped up out of the pool and took a few steps from the edge then he turned and held his hand out to Fuji. “C’mon boy, c’mon out.” There was a tremendous splash and Fuji leapt out the pool landing on the grass next to Jeremy. The entire family gasped. Jeremy proudly patted Fuji on his massive leg muscle.

“That’s a good boy,” he cooed to the dinosaur.

“Can I pet him?” Madison asked.

“No!“ mom said.

“It’s okay mom,” Jeremy reassured her, “she’ll be fine.” Then he turned to Madison. “Come over here by me.”

Madison walked over and touched the big wet leg. Jeremy bent down and lifted her up so she could pet Fuji’s snout.

“Be careful Jeremy!” mom cautioned.

“It’s okay mom.” Elena took her mom by the hand and began leading her toward the dinosaur.

“I’m just not sure that petting a prehistoric creature is the best idea,” mom protested.

Dad was now at Jeremy’s side and was cautiously patting Fuji on the back. “C’mon sweetie,” he encouraged his wife, “you may never have another opportunity to pet a dinosaur.”

“That is one experience that is not on my list of ‘must do’ items for this life.” Mom continued to protest but followed Elena up to Fuji’s head. Elena reached up and rubbed the top of his snout. Then she took her mom’s hand and lifted it up to touch the snout. Mom touched and then pulled back quickly. “I touched it, that’s enough,” she declared and began to back away. Fuji stretched out his neck and rubbed the bottom of his snout along the top of her shoulder. Mom froze.

“Look mom, he likes you!” Elena said, “He wants you to rub his snout.”

Mom reached up gingerly and rubbed Fuji’s snout. The dinosaur closed his big yellow eyes like he was enjoying a back rub.

“He really likes you mom!” Jeremy said excitedly. Mom smiled just a little and kept rubbing the dinosaur’s snout.

“I’ll be!” dad muttered as he continued to examine Fuji. “Who would have ever thought?” He turned to Jeremy, “And it know how to swim?” he asked.

“Yeah!” Jeremy replied excitedly. “It uses its tail like a fish to push itself through the water and it pushes off the bottom with its feet.”

“How do you know that?”

“He jumped in after it and followed it through the underwater tunnel.” Elena said, still a little exasperated with Jeremy’s adventure.

“There’s an underwater tunnel?” dad asked. Jeremy nodded and proceeded to tell the story. Elena jumped in with details that she felt shouldn’t be overlooked like her strict instructions to Jeremy not to go into the water while she was gone and how terrifying it was for her to go through the dark tunnel on her own.

“We just made it back through when we heard your voices,” Jeremy concluded.

Dad shook his head again, “I wouldn’t believe it if I wasn’t seeing and touching it,” he said. “Now the question is, what are we going to do with it?”

Madison piped up from where she was examining each of Fuji’s six toes, “Can we keep it Mom?” she asked.

“Sweetie this isn’t a stray dog or a cat.” Dad replied to Madison’s question trying to help the mom. “We have no place to keep a dinosaur.”

“But Dad, I’ll feed him everyday even if Jeremy forgets.” Maddie’s little voice began pleading remembering the commitments it took for Jeremy to get Blue.

“Honey, we don’t even know what to feed him,” Dad replied with a chuckle.

“I’ll bet you could get the guy down at the co-op to order some dinosaur feed.” Elena suggested. The others laughed.

“Probably not,” dad said after the laughter died, “but once word gets out that we have a live dinosaur, I don’t think we’d have one anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Jeremy asked. He hadn’t started begging yet but he planned to if it became necessary.

“I’m sure the government would come take him away as a ‘national treasure’ or a ‘threat to public safety’ or something like that.” Dad replied.

“What would they do with him?” Jeremy replied with obvious concern in his voice.

“I don’t know,” dad said, “maybe put him in a museum or a zoo or something.”

“And do a bunch of painful experiments on him?” Jeremy demanded.

“Maybe--,” dad tried to cushion his response, but mom cut him off. “Then we’ll just have to make sure nobody knows we have him,” She said. Fuji’s snout was still on her shoulder and she was rubbing it gently.

“What?” dad asked incredulously.

“You heard me,” mom replied. “Who knows what they’ll do to this poor creature if they get their hands on him.”

“I don’t want him to get hurt anymore than anyone else,” dad protested, “but where will we keep him? What will we feed him?”

“Don’t worry dad,” Jeremy said confidently. “He’ll stay right here. The cave is a great hiding place. No one will ever know.”

Dad looked at his family and then back at Fuji, finally he nodded, “Okay, we’ll keep him but remember if word ever gets out, it will be out of our hands.”

Chapter 8

The next few weeks were a blur for Jeremy and his sisters. They dreaded the time they had to spend doing schoolwork and rushed through every assignment so they could get back to the bowl and Fuji. Their mom warned them that if their grades dropped Fuji time would be limited just like video game time.

The children worried, but not enough to spend more time at their studies. When the term grades arrived the entire family was pleasantly surprised to find that grades were up. The only exception was Jeremy’s science grade. There was a big red “C” on the top of his research paper about dinosaurs. The teacher’s note read:

“Well written Jeremy. One would think you have actually seen an ornithomimus the way you describe it! However, I was disappointed in your research. There is no evidence that an ornithomimus used its tail to swim. Please be more careful in your research next time. If you would like to re-write it, I will be happy to re-grade it.”

“I think we’ll just let that C stand.” Mom said after reading the note. Jeremy agreed, gave his mom a hug, and shot out the door to join his sisters who were loading the Rhino for a trip to the bowl.

Finding food for Fuji was proving to be a challenge. The grass surrounding the pool was nearly gone and they just couldn’t get enough apples to keep him full. Dad had brought some hay home from the co-op. Fuji ate the hay but he made it clear he didn’t really like it. They tried shrimp feed. Fuji took one sniff and ran the other way snorting and bobbing. He wouldn’t come back to them until the lid was put back on the bucket of feed.

Today the plan was to try seeds, grains, and nuts. It was Elena’s idea. She figured if Fuji had a beak like a bird, maybe he would like the same kind of food a bird does. Jeremy suggested nightcrawlers and worms but the girls said that was gross and set about gathering up every kind of seed, grain or nut they could find in the house.

When they arrived at the bowl, Fuji was waiting was for them. He had lost his fear of the Rhino and ran circles around it as they drove down the side and parked. Elena took out her clipboard and took charge.

“Okay, let’s start with the grains,” she ordered. “Wheat first.”

Madison was in the back of the Rhino. Her job was to hand Jeremy whatever Elena called for. Jeremy’s job was to then offer it to Fuji. Elena took notes on her clipboard.

Fuji tried the wheat but snorted most of it into Jeremy’s hair. He then stuck his snout up at the rolled oats and wouldn’t even try them. Sunflower seeds got marked a “maybe” on Elena’s clipboard. Fuji chomped on them for a time but made several trips to the pool for drinks.

“He might like them more if they weren’t salted.” Jeremy said.

Elena noted it down and they moved on. By the time they finished, Fuji had sniffed, snorted or munched on fourteen different seeds, grains or nuts but only showed interest in sunflower seeds.

“Well that’s it,” Elena said.

“No, one more,” Madison corrected and held up a number 10 can with the words pinto beans scrawled on it.

Jeremy took the can, peeled off the plastic lid and offered it to Fuji. Fuji was as tired of tasting as the children were of testing. He bobbed his head and ran off to the other side of the bowl. He ran halfway up the side and then spun around and came running back at top speed toward Jeremy. Jeremy stood his ground and held the can up. Fuji skidded to a stop and sniffed at the open can. He took a step forward and stuck his snout down into the can. Jeremy held the can with both hands while the dinosaur stuck his beak down into the beans and then pulled it out munching happily.

“Look, he likes ‘em!” Madison said excitedly.

Fuji the can in his claws and stuck his snout back in. Within a few minutes the can was empty.

Later that afternoon Jeremy found his dad at the lab table in the north building. “Hey dad,” he called as he entered the building, “mind if I scoop some shrimp?”

His dad was looking at something in a microscope and didn’t look up. “Uh, sure. What do you need shrimp for?”

“Fuji.” Jeremy replied.

Now dad looked up, “You think he’ll eat shrimp?” he asked.

“Maybe,” Jeremy replied. “I think he needs protein.”

“What makes you think that?” dad stood up and peeled the rubber gloves off his hands as he walked to the garbage can.

“He likes pinto beans,” Jeremy replied.

“Pinto beans?” He asked, surprised.

“Yeah, he really likes ‘em,” Jeremy confirmed.

“Well I wouldn’t share that with your science teacher,” dad said as he took his lab coat off. “I don’t think the world of science is ready for a pinto bean eating ornytheeminus.”

“Ornithomimus,” Jeremy corrected, “don’t worry, I won’t mention the beans.”

“So if he likes pinto beans, why do you need shrimp?” dad asked as he sat down to take off his booties.

“Well mom says beans have protein,” Jeremy explained, “So I was thinking that’s why Fuji like them because they have protein. I tried to get mom to give me one of her chickens but she said no—well she said some other things, but that’s what she meant.”

Dad chuckled, “So you think shrimp might be a good source of protein for old Fuji?”

Jeremy nodded, “Yep.”

“Well, he might as well eat them I guess.” Dad replied with a sigh, “nobody else is going to want them. Go ahead and scoop him a bucketful.”

Jeremy ran for the buckets in the sink. “Uh, uh, uh,” dad corrected, “Coat, gloves, booties?”

“Sorry,” Jeremy said. He ran over to the lab coats and began pulling one on.

“Don’t forget to make sure the door shut behinds you when you leave.” dad said as he opened the door and walked out.

“Got it dad!” Jeremy called after him.

Five minutes later Jeremy had the shrimp in a bucket in the back of the Rhino. Then he ran in the house to get a drink and his helmet. As he filled his cup at the kitchen sink he could hear his dad talking in the family room.

“I’ve done everything I can think of,” he was saying. “The little buggars just won’t grow. We’re out of money for feed and the guy from the bank will be here next week. There is no way he is going to extend us any more money when he sees those charts.”

It was quiet for a few moments and then Jeremy’s mom said, “I’m sure something will work out.”

Jeremy didn’t wait to hear the end of the conversation. He called out, “Going to the bowl. Be back before dark!” He grabbed his helmet and went out the door without waiting for an answer. As he ran past Blue’s kennel Blue whined. Jeremy paused for a moment and petted the dog through the chain link.

“Sorry boy, I can’t take you with me this time,” he said and then ran on to the shed and the Rhino.

Fuji was munching on one of the bails of hay by the pool when Jeremy pulled up.

“Hey boy,” Jeremy called, “I’ve got something new for you to try. Fuji bobbed his head and snorted, then trotted over to the Rhino. Jeremy pulled the bucket out. He couldn’t get the lid off with his fingers and had to find a couple of screwdrivers in the toolbox to pry it off. Fuji waited patiently and sniffed at the bucket as Jeremy worked on it.

When the lid finally came off, Jeremy lifted the bucket up by the metal handle. Fuji reached out and grabbed it with his two claws and pulled it out of Jeremy’s hand then he stuck his snout down into the water. Without warning he snorted loudly, whipped his head to the side, and flung the bucket into the pool of water.

“Hey!” Jeremy shouted, “If you didn’t like them all you had to say was ‘No thank you.’ You didn’t have to throw them.”

Fuji continued to snort like he was trying to clean something out of his nostril. He tossed his head about and began running circles up and down the sides of the bowl.

“Wait till dad finds out that even dinosaurs don’t like his shrimp!” Jeremy yelled at the running dinosaur. He grabbed a shovel out of the Rhino and standing on the edge of the pool was able to fish the bucket out. Not a single shrimp left. Jeremy tossed the empty bucket into the back of the Rhino where it landed with a clank. Fuji ran to the Rhino, grabbed the bucket with his paws and threw it back toward the pool. Jeremy jumped and caught it before it went into the pool.

“You want to play, is that it?” Jeremy said. He grabbed the bucket by its metal handle, spun around and flung the bucket over the dinosaur’s head and up the side of the bowl. Even Jeremy was a little surprised how far it went. Fuji watched it fly over his head, then spun and ran for it. When he reached it he picked it up and flung it back towards Jeremy.

It bounced and landed at Jeremy’s feet. He picked it up and flung it off in the opposite direction. Almost before the bucket left Jeremy’s hand, Fuji was running past chasing the bucket. This time instead of picking it up with his claws, Fuji stuck his snout in it and flipped his head up launching the bucket high into the air. When the bucket landed, Fuji did it again and again.

Jeremy shook his head and laughed. He climbed back in the Rhino. “See you later boy!” he yelled, as he drove away.

Jeremy was surprised to see a black SUV pulling out of the ranch drive as he approached. He waved at the SUV when it passed but couldn’t tell if anyone waved back because the windows were so darkly tinted.

Entering the kitchen a few minutes later Jeremy announced, “Fuji now knows how to fetch!”

“Really?” his mom responded.

“Well kind of,” Jeremy replied. “He doesn’t actually bring it back to you. Sometimes he throws it back to you and some times he just throws it to himself.”

“Throws what?” Madison asked. She was putting the plates on the table.

“The bucket I took the shrimp to him in,” Jeremy replied over his shoulder as he stood at the kitchen sink washing his hands.

“Did he like the shrimp?” dad had now entered the kitchen and joined the conversation.

Jeremy wiped his hands on a kitchen towel. “Nope. He threw the whole bucket of them into the pool.”

Dad shook his head, “Can’t even get a dinosaur to eat my shrimp!”

“Let’s eat!” mom called out ending the conversation. “Everybody to the table.”

Chapter 9

“Hoof waa mack bummer?” Jeremy asked, his mouth stuffed full of baked chicken.

“Jeremy David! Don’t talk with your mouth full!” mom reprimanded him.

Jeremy chewed vigorously for a few moments and then exerting great effort, gulped down everything in his mouth with one great swallow.

“Sorry,” he said as he reached for his glass of water. He took a few gulps of water, put his glass down and then asked again, “Who was in the black Hummer with the Nevada license plate ALS 5469?”

“You memorized its license plate number?” Elena asked impressed.

Jeremy looked back at her for a moment, thinking. Finally he answered, “I didn’t mean to, but yeah I guess I did.”

“The black Hummer belongs to Mister Peter Stutts,” dad answered Jeremy’s original question.

“Did he come to look at your shrimp?” Jeremy asked as he attempted to get mashed potatoes, gravy and at least a few kernels of buttered corn all on his fork before lifting it carefully to his mouth.

“No,” dad replied, “he wasn’t here to look at the shrimp. He is actually a private collector of antiquities.”

“He was looking for antiques?” Elena asked curiously.

“Please pass the chicken,” Jeremy interrupted.

“Not till you’ve eaten something green,” mom responded and handed him the salad bowl.

“I don’t like salad,” Jeremy whined.

“Yes, you do. You’ve loved it since you were three years old. No salad, no chicken.”

Jeremy reluctantly took the salad bowl and picked out a few leaves of lettuce being very careful to not even touch the tomatoes.

“Actually, he came looking for dinosaur bones,” dad answered Elena’s question. Jeremy forgot about the salad. Everyone at the table quit eating and looked at dad.

“Apparently he read the little story in the Lincoln County Recorder. He said he ‘makes it his business’ to know about all dinosaur finds.”

“What did you tell him?” mom asked the question that was on everyone’s mind.

“I told him we have yet to find the dead bones and that it was like they just got up and walked away.”

“You didn’t!” mom protested.

“I did,” dad replied.

“What did he say?”

“He asked if he could take a look around.”

“You said no, right?” Jeremy asked.

“I said I would think about it,” dad replied, then quickly proceeded before the other four sitting at the table could protest, “he offered me money—lot’s of money—to look around. Plus he said if he found anything he would pay us for what he finds.”

“How much money? mom asked.

“Enough,” dad replied.

Everyone was quiet for a few moments but no one returned to eating. Dad looked around the table and sighed. “Look, I’m really sorry, but the shrimp just aren’t growing and we’re out of money. I don’t like the idea of Mr. Putts—I mean Stutts, wandering around the ranch with his crew anymore than the rest of you, but we may not have any choice. We’ll just have to figure out a way to keep Fuji hidden.”

“Can I please be excused?” Jeremy asked with more politeness than he was used to using.

“I thought you wanted more chicken?” mom probed.

“I’m not hungry anymore,” Jeremy replied.

“Don’t worry son, I won’t let anything happen to Fuji,” dad said.

“Dad you said yourself that if anyone ever finds out about Fuji we’ll lose him.”

Dad sighed again, “You’re right Jeremy, I did say that and I still believe it. But the sad fact is if we don’t get some money we risk not only losing Fuji but the entire ranch.”

“Can I be excused?” Jeremy asked again quietly.

“Sure son, you’re excused.”

The next day was Sunday. The family was quieter than usual as they drove the thirty minutes into town for church. Jeremy tried to concentrate on what the speakers were saying but his mind kept going back to his plans for hiding Fuji. He decided the first thing he needed to do was explore the cave. Maybe there was another entrance to it somewhere. He was just starting to think about ways he could get food into the cave for Fuji when the congregation began singing the closing hymn.

After Sunday dinner Jeremy went to his room to make a list of all the equipment he would need to explore the cave tomorrow. He cleared a space on his little desk by moving a pile of dinosaur books to the floor. Using a sheet of paper from his school binder he started his list. Under water flashlight, snorkel, fins…

The phone rang and he heard his mom answer, “Oh hi sweetie!” That would be one of his brothers calling Jeremy thought. He returned to his list. Rope, snacks… Elena started playing her harp in the family room. Jeremy listened and thought for a moment. He would be able to explore a lot faster with two people. He was sure Elena would help, but he wasn’t sure if she would do it without telling mom and dad. They hadn’t told him not to go back in the cave, but Jeremy figured they would say no if he asked and he couldn’t risk that at this point. He could still hear his mom on the phone. His dad would be on the bedroom extension talking as well. Jeremy decided to risk it.

He casually walked into the family room and sat on the couch. Elena continued to play. Jeremy waited for her to finish her song, hoping it would end before the phone conversation. Finally Elena plucked the last string.

“Did you hear that?” she demanded of Jeremy.

Jeremy nodded, “Yeah, I was sitting right here.”

“No, I mean did you really hear it? I just started on that piece last week and I just played it without a single mistake! I’ve got to tell mom.” Elena began to stand up.

“No wait,” Jeremy protested, “mom’s on the phone and I’ve got to talk to you.” Jeremy looked around to make sure Madison hadn’t wandered into the room.

“What?” Elena asked a little frustrated she couldn’t go share her excitement.

“Promise you won’t tell mom and dad?” Jeremy started.

Elena rolled her eyes. “You know I’ll never promise that she said.”

“Even if it is a matter of life and death for Fuji?” Jeremy asked.

“Okay,” Elena sighed, “but if it is wrong I’m still going to tell them.”

Jeremy began to wonder if this was such a good idea, but he figured he didn’t have a choice. “I’m going to explore the underwater cave tomorrow.”

“Why didn’t you just say so?” Elena asked. “I’ve been thinking the same thing.”

“So you won’t tell mom and dad?” Jeremy asked.

“They’d never let us go if we did,” Elena replied.

At 4:00 am the next morning Jeremy’s alarm went off. He quickly turned it off and jumped out of bed. He quietly opened his bedroom door and tiptoed down the hall to girl’s room. They slept with their door open. He slipped in the door and shook Elena’s shoulder. She woke with a jerk and then recognized Jeremy standing over her and rolled out of bed.

“Hurry!” Jeremy whispered and then went back to his room to get ready. A few minutes after waking up they were pushing the Rhino down the drive to avoid making any noise. When they reached the road they jumped in. Jeremy started the machine and they headed for the bowl.

There was no sign of sunrise yet and no moon in the sky. They drove in silence, the lights of the Rhino illuminating the road just in front of them. When they reached the bowl it was empty.

“Fuji must be in the cave,” Jeremy commented. Elena just nodded and began unloading the gear.

“Did you get the underwater flashlights?” she asked.

“Yeah, I also brought a lot of rope,” Jeremy replied. “There should be enough so we can tie off one end here and take the rest with us. Then when we’re ready to come back we can just follow the rope.”

“Good idea,” Elena said as pulled off her sweatshirt. The early morning was crisp, and she looked forward to the warm water of the pool.

Jeremy carried several coils of rope to the edge of the pool. Taking the end of one of the coils he tied it to the bumper of the Rhino. Then he returned to the other coils and tied them all end to end to form one long rope. Elena handed him his fins, snorkel, mask and flashlight.

“Here you go,” she said and then sat down on the edge of the pool and began pulling on her fins. Jeremy pulled off his sweatshirt, kicked his shoes off, and began peeling off his socks.

“We stay together no matter what, right?” Elena said as more of a reminder than a question.

“Together,” Jeremy said and nodded. He pulled the mask strap over the top of his head and positioned the mask on his face then he picked up the loose end of the rope tied it around his waist and jumped into the pool. Elena followed him.

Fuji woke with a start as they splashed their way up on to his beach in the cave. He had scraped a nest for himself out of the sand near the back wall and was curled up with his head wrapped around lying on his tail. He jumped up as they approached and snorted and bobbed his head. Elena took an apple out of the net bag she had over her shoulder and threw it him. Fuji caught it in the air with his open beak and crunched on it happily.

“We’re going exploring boy!” Jeremy said happily. He was glad to see that Fuji was still safe and for at least a few minutes forgot about Mr. Stutz. He untied the rope around his waist and began pulling it hand over hand through the water making a wet pile of it on the sand.

They decided to start by exploring the underground lake for any additional tunnels. Two hours later their fingers were wrinkled like prunes but they were convinced that there were no other tunnels. Fuji thought it was a game. He would dive with them and then launch himself from the bottom of the lake toward the surface. With his snout straight up, he looked like a rocket shooting up through the water. His head, neck, and most of his body would clear the surface of the water before the weight of his mighty legs and tail would bring him crashing down with a mighty splash.

Jeremy tried to stay focused on the search, but he had always wanted to swim with the dolphins and Fuji seemed to be having so much fun he finally gave up and swam toward the dinosaur. The next time Fuji came down, Jeremy was ready for him. He swam in close, wrapped his arm around the dinosaur’s neck and straddled his back with his legs. Fuji twisted his head around to look at him. Jeremy nodded his head and said, “C’mon boy, dive!”

The dinosaur pointed his head down into the water and his tail went up. Jeremy held on tight, took a big gulp of air and went down with him. In a matter of seconds Fuji’s feet touched the bottom. He squatted low and then without warning shot upwards. The rushing water tore Jeremy’s mask right off his face but he didn’t let go until they shot out of the water. He flew five feet into the air and then landed with a splash.

“That was so cool!” he yelled as he surfaced. Fuji snorted and bobbed his head.

“I want a turn!” Elena called from the beach. The sun was now up outside and the cave was lit by the streams of light from above.

“Come ahead!” Jeremy called, “But I’m going again.” This time as he came out of the water he had time to spin and dive headfirst back into the water. Two or three turns later he swam to the beach for rest. He dropped down on the sand next to the pile of rope and laid back on it. He was just dozing off when he felt the rope that went into the water tug. He opened his eyes, sat up and watched it closely. Sure enough something was tugging it back into the water. Elena and Fuji had just shot out of the water. He called to them.

“Elena, something or somebody is pulling on the rope!”

“What?” Elena responded.

“Come here quick!” Jeremy called, “Something is pulling the rope back into the water!”

Elena headed for the beach and Fuji followed. “What did you say?” she asked Jeremy as she dropped down next to him breathing heavily from the swim.

Jeremy pointed at the rope. It was slowly being pulled into the water. It would go slow for a moment and then speed up before going slow again.

“Looks like someone is pulling on it,” Elena said.

“Following us,” Jeremy said.

“Who do you think?” Elena asked, then answered her own question, “Dad wouldn’t have let Stutz start exploring without telling us would he?”

Fuji was now eyeing the rope closely, he reached down to take it in his beak but Jeremy stopped him.

“No,” he said, wrapping his arms around the dinosaur’s neck and pulling him back. “If we pull back, whoever it is will know someone is in here.”

“Jeremy, whoever is pulling on that rope saw the Rhino and our clothes and the rope leading into the pool. They already know someone is in here.”

Jeremy nodded, “Do we have anything we can hit him with?” He started looking around.

“Too late,” Elena replied.

Chapter 10

Jeremy looked quickly out to where the rope disappeared. A swimmer cleared his snorkel with a loud blast.

Fuji returned the blast with a snort of his own and began pawing the sand staring intently toward the swimmer. Terrified, Elena grabbed Jeremy’s arm. They could hear the swimmer breathing heavily as he recovered from the swim through the tunnel. Jeremy’s mind raced. It would only be a few seconds before the swimmer could catch his breath and be able to see in the dimness of the cave. If they were going to act, it had to be now. Without warning, he slapped Fuji on the back and yelled, “Let’s get him!” Then he ran toward the water screaming at the top of his lungs.

The slap and yell caught Fuji by surprise. He jumped to the side and then chased after Jeremy. With three great strides he passed him and was the first to crash into the water. Jeremy wasn’t far behind. He dove and was just able to grab Fuji’s tail as he hit the water. Fuji powered forward through the water toward the swimmer.

Jeremy didn’t know what Elena was doing and he couldn’t see the swimmer as he was dragged through the water, but he was confident that the swimmer would be terrified to see a beast bearing down on him. Surely he would want nothing more than to go back the way he came. Suddenly, Fuji stopped. Jeremy looked up. The swimmer was still there and he was petting Fuji!

“Hello Fuji! How are you boy?” It wasn’t a he! It was a she, and it was mom!

“Mom what are you doing here?” Jeremy demanded.

“I’ll be the one asking questions young man,” mom replied sternly.

“Okay, you just scared us to death!” Jeremy said.

“Where is Elena?” mom asked.

“She’s on the beach,” Jeremy replied and then turned and yelled toward the beach, “Elena, it’s okay! Its just mom!”

“Elena are you okay?” mom called.

“I am now,” Elena replied, and then added, “Jeremy, I’m going to kill you when you get back here!”

Jeremy looked at mom and smiled. “We thought you might be Mr. Putts,” he explained.

“I think it is ‘Stutts,’” mom said, “and you know your dad wouldn’t let him on the property without telling you first.”

“I guess,” Jeremy said.

“Did you say there is a beach in here?” mom asked.

“Yeah, back this way.” Jeremy pushed off of Fuji and started swimming toward the beach. “C’mon boy, let’s go!” he called. Fuji and mom followed and soon they were all back on the beach with Elena.

“So do you want to tell me what was so important that you left this morning before chores and without leaving a note?” mom asked as she pulled off her mask and sat down on the sand.

“Mom, if dad lets Futts look for bones, we’re going to have to hide Fuji.” Jeremy started.

“Yeah, and this cave is the best place,” Elena continued, “We needed to explore it to see if there was any other way to get in or out.”

“And you didn’t tell us because…?” mom waited for an answer.

“We figured you’d say no.” Jeremy mumbled.

Mom nodded. “Well first off, his name is Putts—I mean Stutts—not Futts.” Mom shook her head, tongue-tied. Jeremy and Elena burst out laughing and Fuji snorted.

“More important than that man’s name,” mom’s tone got serious, “is that you could have been seriously hurt, or lost, or something worse and we would have had no way to find you. You both know better than that! Don’t ever do it again! Got it?”

Jeremy and Elena both nodded.

“Also, your father and I are just as worried about Fuji as you are.”

“But dad is going to let that man on the ranch to find Fuji!” Jeremy protested.

“First off, he’s not letting him on the ranch to find Fuji. Putts will be looking for other bones—period. Believe me, if your dad had any choice, he wouldn’t even do that. He doesn’t like Putts at all. He said he doesn’t trust the man and would like nothing better than to never see him again.”

“Than why is he letting him?”

“There are no other options!” mom said with emotion. “It’s tearing your dad up, but there’s no other way. We need the money or we’ll lose our home! Do you understand that?”

Jeremy and Elena both nodded.

“Good. So lets support him and make sure Fuji can’t be found.” Mom looked around the cave and asked, “Any luck with another entrance?”

Jeremy and Elena both shook their heads. “We swam all around this lake. That tunnel you came through is the only way in or out.” Jeremy said.

“This is the only beach,” Elena explained, “The rest of the lake is surrounded by the walls of the cave. There are ledges higher up on the walls in a few places, but we haven’t tried to climb up to them to see if they lead anywhere.”

“The only other option is the ceiling.” Jeremy pointed up where the light streaked in. “But we don’t have the equipment to get up there and the gaps don’t look very big.”

Mom looked up and nodded in agreement. “So how are we going to get food in here for him?” Fuji had once again rested his snout on her shoulder and she was rubbing it.

Jeremy shrugged. “Tunnel is the only way,” he said. “Will it hurt pinto beans if they get wet?”

A half hour later they were climbing out of the pool into the bright sun. The rope Jeremy had tied off at both ends made the trip much quicker and easier. Jeremy and Elena were the first ones through and were sitting on the edge of the pond breathing when mom surfaced.

“Hey, come look at this!” she called and dove back under the surface.

Jeremy and Elena exchanged confused looks then pulled their masks back on and jumped in.

When they reached mom’s side she waved at them and pointed excitedly to a handful of shrimp swimming near the edge of the pond. Jeremy’s eyes opened wide. There, right in front of him, were jumbo size shrimp!

Mom surfaced and Jeremy and Elena followed.

“Where did those come from?” Elena asked as she broke the surface.

“I had no idea there were shrimp already growing in any of these springs,” mom replied.

“There weren’t,” Jeremy responded. Both girls looked at him. “Saturday when I brought those shrimp for Fuji to try—he threw them in here. There weren’t any shrimp in here before Saturday. I would have seen them for sure.”

“But they’re so big,” mom protested. “How did they get so big so fast?”

Something clicked in Jeremy’s memory. “The water!” he exclaimed. “Mom it’s got to be the water!”

“That’s what your dad has been saying for months,” mom replied, “but they’ve doubled in size! Water couldn’t do that!”

“This water could,” Jeremy persisted. The pieces were now all coming together in his mind. “Remember the night we found the bones? There was no water in the jug so I ran off to get some. I filled it with this water!” Jeremy slapped his hand down on the water’s surface with a splash to emphasize his point.

“And?” Elena asked, waiting for the rest of the story.

“And dad used the water to wash off Fuji’s skeleton and the next day Fuji was alive!” The dinosaur snorted and shook his head when he heard his name. He was now munching on the hay. Jeremy, Elena and mom slowly made their way to the side, climbed out, and sat on the edge.

“So you think the water is magical?” Elena was still struggling to get her mind around it.

“I don’t know if it’s magical,” Jeremy replied, “but Fuji is alive and those shrimp went from popcorn to jumbo in three days!”

Nobody spoke for a while, each of them thinking about the implications of what they had discovered. Mom was the first to speak again.

“I wonder what effect it has on humans,” she said.

“I’ve been noticing funny things,” Jeremy replied.

“What do you mean funny?” mom asked.

“Remember that license plate number I remembered?” Both Elena and mom nodded.

“The Hummer was going at least forty miles an hour as it passed me. I don’t even remember looking for the plate number, but I can see it in my memory as clear as a bell!”

Mom and Elena didn’t say anything. Jeremy continued, “And what about Elena on her harp yesterday? She’d hardly practiced that song and she played it straight through perfectly!”

“I barely looked at the music, I just remembered it.” Elena nodded slowly as it all began to sink in. “Rats!” she added, “I thought I was finally getting good!”

“You are sweetie!” mom put her arm around Elena and gave her a squeeze. “Ponce de Leon never found the fountain of youth and I seriously doubt that we have one here.” She paused for a moment then added with a twinkle in her eye, “But if we did, I’d sure like to get rid of a few of these wrinkles.”

“But how do you explain Fuji and the shrimp?” Jeremy protested.

“The shrimp!” mom said and jumped up. “Jeremy can you catch a few of those shrimp? I need to show your dad. Mr. Stutts is coming again this morning. I don’t care how or why it happens, but if we can grow shrimp like that, we don’t need Mr. Stutts’s money.”

Five minutes later mom and Elena raced off in the Rhino with four jumbo shrimp happily swimming in Fuji’s play bucket. Jeremy volunteered to stay back, gather up the rest of the gear, and follow them on mom’s four-wheeler. He worked quickly, anxious to see what his dad thought of the jumbo shrimp. He stuffed all the snorkeling gear in a duffle bag and slung it over his shoulder. He’d grabbed a tshirt out of the Rhino but was still in his swimsuit and water sandals. He hated riding without sneakers or boots, but he had no choice.

“See you later boy!” he said to Fuji and sped off to the ranch.

The black Hummer was still in the ranch drive when Jeremy pulled into the shed. He closed the overhead door behind him and started for the house. Blue whined from his kennel. Jeremy stopped to pet him. As he talked to the dog he heard shouts coming from the house. Surprised, he headed for the door. The screen door was closed, but the inner door was open. Jeremy reached for the handle of the screen door and heard his dad shouting with a tone he had rarely heard.

“If you and your men don’t leave this property now, Mr. Stutts, I’ll be forced to call the sheriff and have you removed!”

Jeremy decided not to attract attention by opening the door and stood still and listened.

“I don’t think you understand,” a voice replied to dad’s demand. Jeremy had never heard the voice before but assumed it belonged to Stutts. The voice was smooth, too smooth, and very condescending. “We’re not going anywhere until we find what we came for.”

Jeremy heard his mom gasp and then his dad said, “Put that thing away Stutts! There is no need for guns! Think of the children!”

“Your children will be perfectly safe,” the oily voice purred. “All you have to do is cooperate. That’s really all we want is your safety and cooperation. We’ll find what we’re looking for and be on our way.” The voice now turned ugly and demanding, “Now sit down and shut up. We have no more time for this.”

Jeremy was frozen with terror.

The voice inside continued, “Petey tie ‘em up, cut all the phone lines, make sure they don’t have cell phones or anything else they can use to call for help. Bull, come with me.” Jeremy heard footsteps. They were coming towards him!

He ran for the shed and ducked in the side door. A moment later two men dressed entirely in black came out the screen door of the ranch house.

“Shrimp!” the man who had been speaking inside the house said to the other. “These idiots don’t have any idea the value of what they are sitting on!”

Jeremy listened closely through the open door of the shed. He had an old rake handle in his hand but didn’t know what he would do if they came into the shed.

Stutts kept talking, “You go find the boy while Petey takes care of the others. I’m going to get the crew and start checking each of these springs. All the pieces on the map fit. It’s got to be here somewhere.”

Blue barked madly at the men.

The other man, Bull, pointed to the dog, “You want me to shoot it?”

“No,” Stutts replied, “he’ll get used to us and if anyone gets neighborly I want it to look like everything is just fine.”

“Got it!” Bull replied.

There were footsteps on the gravel. The Hummer door opened and then slammed. A few moments later Jeremy heard it drive away. Jeremy didn’t move a muscle. He tried to not even breath. He waited for more footsteps. There were none. Where was Bull?

Chapter 11

Slowly Jeremy peeked around the edge of the doorframe. Bull was still there watching Stutts drive away in the Hummer. When it pulled onto the main road he turned and walked back to the house.

Jeremy thought quickly. There were two of them and they had guns and probably radios they could use to call for help. He desperately wanted to help his family, but getting caught right now wouldn’t help any of them. He couldn’t stay in the shed. It would be the first place they’d look. For a minute he thought about starting up his four-wheeler and making a run for town and the sheriff but he was sure the thugs would hear him and it would be easy for them to radio Stutts to cut him off.

He looked around. There were no guns or obvious weapons in the shed. Dad kept them locked in a safe in his closet. There were rakes, shovels, a compressor, and various tools. Jeremy looked back to the house door. No movement yet. He had to do something quick or he would be trapped.

He scanned the shelves on the opposite wall of the shed. There was an old lacrosse bag stuffed with his brothers’ used gear. It was on the top shelf. He ran over, turned a bucket upside down, stepped up on it and pulled the bag down. It landed with a crash. Unzipping it, he pulled out most of the gear. Then he ran to the Rhino and grabbed a half full water bottle and a few granola bars left over from this morning. He threw them in the lacrosse bag. He unzipped the bag of snorkeling gear and grabbed his mask, snorkel, fins and a flashlight and put them in the lacrosse bag. Zipping the bag, he pulled the strap over his shoulder and was about to go out the door when he noticed a lacrosse defense stick standing in the corner. Jeremy preferred the shorter attack sticks when he played but he figured the longer stick might come in handy. He grabbed it, peaked around the corner to make sure it was still clear and then ran out the door toward the desert.

Blue barked madly when he saw Jeremy running, but Jeremy didn’t look back. He bent low and tried to keep the shed between himself and the ranch house as he ran. Dirt and sand filled his sandals. Small rocks worked their way under his feet causing pain with every step. His bare shins and legs scraped on the sagebrush and cactus as he ran but he didn’t stop. He couldn’t. He had to get to the bowl before Stutts and his crew, or Fuji would be a goner and any chance of rescuing his family would go with him. The lacrosse bag grew heavier and heavier as he ran. It bounced against his side and the strap cut into his neck and shoulder but he kept on. He’d never been to the bowl on foot but he figured if he ran in the general direction sooner or later he would run into the wall, which he could then follow to the bowl.

He ran and ran. Despite the pain of his feet and the weight of the bag, he didn’t seem to tire. He didn’t know if that was because he was so scared or if it was another effect of the water. At this point he didn’t really care, as long as he got to the bowl first. The wall finally came into view. He ran up to it and rested for a moment in the shade. Which way to go now? He looked both directions. There was no sign of the bowl. He decided he needed to go north and set off again at a jog.

The thoughts continued to jumble and crash through his mind as he ran. Should he have stayed with his family? What exactly was Stutts after? How was he going to rescue his family? Could he get to the bowl before Stutts and his goons? He looked out to the horizon and thought he saw dust rising. He picked up his pace. It couldn’t be far.

The dust grew and was definitely getting closer. Jeremy looked up at the wall again and could finally see the scar left by the waterfall. He looked back at the column of dust. It was going to be close. Jeremy sprinted the last hundred yards to the lip of the bowl and didn’t slow down as he jumped over the edge and raced down the side toward the pool. Fuji was curled up near the hay resting. Jeremy yelled at him to wake up.

The dinosaur woke with a start and jumped to its feet. Jeremy tore the lacrosse bag strap off his shoulder and dropped the bag. He ran to the boulder where he had tied off the end of the rope and quickly worked the knot loose.

Fuji sniffed at the lacrosse bag then picked it up and tossed it at Jeremy. It hit Jeremy just as he stood up and knocked him flat on his back. Fuji snorted and bobbed. Jeremy jumped up angrily.

“Not now!” he yelled. “We don’t have time to play!”

The dinosaur spun and ran up the side of the bowl ready to play. “No!” Jeremy shouted but Fuji didn’t pay any attention and continued to run up and down the walls of the bowl. Jeremy picked up the loose end of the rope and tied it through the handles of the lacrosse bag, and then he tossed the whole thing as far as he could out into the middle of the pool.

He looked around. It would be obvious if anyone came down into the bowl that something was going on here. There were still three bails of uneaten hay. The grass was all matted down. If they looked close they could probably even find dinosaur prints in the dirt surrounding the grass. But there was no time to do anything about that. He could now hear and feel the rumble of heavy equipment approaching. Fuji sensed it too and trotted over to where Jeremy was standing.

“C’mon boy, we’ve got to hide for a while,” Jeremy said. He patted Fuji’s neck, picked up the lacrosse stick and then ran and jumped into the pool hoping that Fuji would follow. He wasn’t disappointed, a few seconds later he felt Fuji splash after him. Jeremy swam to the now half submerged lacrosse bag. He grabbed it with both hands and pushed it all the way under. Fuji swam up next to him.

“Want to help boy?” Jeremy asked. He wrapped the rope around Fuji’s neck a couple of times and then said, “Okay, let’s go!” and dove for the tunnel still holding the lacrosse stick.

Fuji followed, towing the bag behind him. Jeremy felt Fuji brush by him as he passed. He reached out and grabbed hold of the lacrosse bag and let Fuji pull him through the tunnel.

Fuji dragged the bag and Jeremy all the way to the beach and then stood still waiting for Jeremy to unwrap the rope.

“Thanks boy!” Jeremy said, suddenly dead tired from getting up so early and from all the excitement of the day’s events. He unwrapped the rope, unzipped the lacrosse bag and tipped it upside down so the water could run out. He dug through the contents and found the granola bars still dry in their wrappers. He tore one open, ate half of it and tossed the other half of it to Fuji who swallowed it with a gulp.

Jeremy lay back on the half–empty bag. He didn’t have time to sleep but he would rest for just a minute. He closed his eyes and was soon fast asleep.

He woke with a start, not sure where he was he was. He heard Fuji snort and looked up to see the dinosaur standing over him. The nightmare slowly came back. How long had he slept? There was light streaming in from above so it wasn’t dark yet. He sat up with a groan. What was he supposed to do now?

Fuji lowered his head and rested his snout on Jeremy’s shoulder. Jeremy rubbed it.

“Thanks boy,” he said. “You have no idea what kind of trouble we’re in, do you?” Fuji just snorted.

“I didn’t think so,” Jeremy replied as he stood up. “How would you feel about letting me ride you?”

Fuji snorted again. Jeremy walked to the lacrosse bag and started digging through all the little pockets.

“Hah! Got it!” he held up a multi-tooled pocketknife. “Jake used to keep these in his bag in case he had to swap a head or something.”

Jeremy walked to the pile of rope and cut off two pieces. Both were about four feet in length. He tossed the pocketknife back in the bag and walked over to Fuji.

“Okay boy, this isn’t going to hurt at all. I just need something that I can hang on to.” He placed the first piece of rope over Fuji’s beak and pulled it until the same amount of rope was hanging down both sides. He positioned the rope as far back on the beak as he could then he took the two ends, crossed them under the beak and brought them around behind Fuji’s neck. He made sure it wasn’t too tight and then tied them off. Retrieving the pocketknife he cut off the excess.

“That’s not too bad is it boy?” Jeremy asked as he rubbed Fuji’s snout hoping that the rope wouldn’t bother him too much. Fuji reached up with his claws and pulled at the rope but it held.

“Don’t worry about it boy. We’ll take it off in a minute,” Jeremy tried to console him.

Fuji snorted and shook his head from side to side.

“Easy boy, easy. Let me tie the reins on and then lets see how it works.” Jeremy reached up and put his hand on Fuji’s snout. The dinosaur calmed down. Jeremy tied one end of the remaining rope to the left side of the loop over Fuji’s snout. He tied the other end to the right side so that it formed reins.

“There, see that’s not so bad is it?” Jeremy asked as he examined his work. He looked up at Fuji’s back and tried to figure out the best way to get on.

“Let’s go for a swim boy,” he said and began leading Fuji out to the water using the reins. Fuji jerked a little on the rope but followed. “Good boy!” Jeremy encouraged him and led him out to deep water. When it was deep enough, Jeremy swam back around to Fuji’s side and lifted the reins over the dinosaur’s head then he wrapped his arms around Fuji’s neck and pulled himself up onto Fuji’s back.

Fuji thought that meant it was time to dive. He put his head down, nearly pulling the reins out of Jeremy’s hands and headed for the middle of the lake where it was deepest. Jeremy just had time to take a big breath before Fuji dove. Jeremy held tight to the reins and tried to use his legs to grip the dinosaur’s sides. Initially he was worried about pulling too hard on the reins but after two or three jumps, it was obvious that the reins didn’t bother Fuji and they were very helpful in keeping Jeremy on the dinosaur’s back.

After the third jump, Fuji was ready to dive again but Jeremy pulled the reins toward the beach and said, “No more, we’ve got work to do.” He pulled again toward the beach and Fuji seemed to get the idea and started that direction.

Rather than crawling off as they reached shallow water Jeremy stayed on Fuji’s back and let him carry him right out of the water. Fuji didn’t seem to notice or mind. Jeremy couldn’t help but smile. He was riding a dinosaur! Once they got out of the water, Jeremy pulled the reins to the right. Fuji stopped, turned his head, and looked back at Jeremy with one of his great yellow eyes as if to say, “What does that mean?”

Jeremy smiled, “C’mon boy, if we’re going to help the girls we have to work together.” He leaned to the right and pulled on the reins again. Fuji didn’t move. Jeremy tapped him on the sides with his bare feet and jiggled the reins. “C’mon Fuji, go!”

The dinosaur snorted and then turned to the right and started walking. “Good boy!” Jeremy enthused and patted Fuji’s neck.

For the next hour they practiced in the sand. Jeremy learned where to sit and how to grip better with the inside of his legs. Fuji learned what Jeremy wanted when he moved the reins in different directions. Remembering how powerful Fuji’s whipping tail could be, Jeremy got down and stood the lacrosse stick up in the middle of beach by stabbing the end down into the sand. Then he put a lacrosse helmet on the top of the stick.

“Okay Fuji, this is the bad guy. We need to take him out with your tail.” He walked back over to Fuji and took the reins. Jumping, he tried to get his belly up onto Fuji’s back and then spin his leg over but he wasn’t tall enough. Fuji turned his head and looked back at him.

“A little help here?” Jeremy asked, slightly frustrated. Fuji bent his knees and squatted so Jeremy could climb on.

He smiled. “You are one smart bird!” he said, “Now lets take that guy’s head off!” He walked Fuji around the beach a few times and then directed him right at the stick. Just as they got to the stick, he pulled Fuji to the left and the dinosaur’s tail came around and hit the stick making it wobble.

“That’s it!” Jeremy said, “Only next time hit it hard!” He coaxed Fuji into a trot around the beach and then directed him to the stick man again. This time Fuji knew what was coming. As soon as Jeremy pulled to the left, Fuji spun so hard and so fast Jeremy flew off and watched from the sand as the lacrosse helmet smashed into the cave wall.

“Yes!” Jeremy jumped to his feet and wrapped his arms around Fuji’s neck. “That was perfect. Next time I’ll stay on.” He ran and retrieved the helmet, stood the stick back up and put the helmet on it.

A half hour later, Fuji could spin and smash the helmet into the cave wall with the tip of his tail spinning to the left or the right. The little light they had in the cave was fading as the sun set outside. Jeremy climbed down off of Fuji, reached up and loosened the knot in the rope at the back of his neck and pulled off the halter and reins.

“It’s almost time boy. Let’s rest for a few hours. Then when they’re all asleep we’ll go get my family.” Fuji snorted and shook his head.

“Good boy!” Jeremy rubbed his snout then turned to the lacrosse bag to find the last granola bar.

Chapter 12

After Jeremy and Fuji shared the final granola bar, Fuji walked over to his nest and settled down for a nap. Jeremy found the flashlight and took inventory. In addition to the lacrosse stick and helmet, he had two sets of shoulder pads, two right hand gloves, one left hand glove, one black jersey and one white jersey, a half used roll of white athletic tape, and some socks that reminded Jeremy of cheese--stinky and full of holes. He also had his snorkeling gear, the flashlight, the pocketknife, and the half empty water bottle.

Jeremy spread everything out and looked at it. Not much to take on Putts and his crew, but he did have Fuji and he knew the ranch better than anyone. Putts also didn’t know where he was, so if he could surprise them, he might just be able to rescue his family. Jeremy looked over at Fuji who was snoring peacefully. Jeremy was very tired but he didn’t trust himself to go to sleep. What if he didn’t wake up till morning? He needed the darkness for his plan to succeed.

His biggest concern was getting out of the pool on the other side undetected. Where were Putts and his men right now? He thought for a moment then picked up the lacrosse stick and the pocketknife. Using the little pliers on the pocketknife, he unscrewed the bolt holding the net on the end of the stick. The lacrosse stick was a hollow metal tube. The net had been on one end and on the other end was a rubber cap. Jeremy pulled off the rubber cap and blew air through the tube to make sure nothing was in it. Then he retrieved his snorkel and pulled the curved mouthpiece off the end of the extension tube. Picking up the lacrosse stick he fitted the snorkel mouthpiece over the end of the stick. It fit nicely.

He dug out his mask and fins and quietly made his way down to the water. He didn’t want Fuji with him on this mission. The extended snorkel worked fairly well. He had to use both hands to keep the free end up out of the water, but it allowed him to stay deeper and still breath. After trying it a few times, he dove for the tunnel. Not wanting anyone on the outside to see a light in the water, he only used the flashlight to find the tunnel and then shut it off as he swam through.

The moon was full that night. After being in the darkness of the cave, the moon gave plenty of light for Jeremy to see as he approached the open end of the tunnel. Cautiously he extended the end of the lacrosse stick up out the water and took a few silent breaths. He strained to see any movement around the edge of the pool. He waited for several minutes breathing though the lacrosse stick but didn’t see anything move. Finally convinced, he surfaced slowly and quietly. He stayed in the shadow of the wall and made his way to the edge of the pool. Carefully he lifted his head above the edge of the pool and looked around. Nothing. He breathed a sigh of relief and pulled himself up onto the edge. He tossed his mask, fins and the long snorkel on the grass next to the pool. Then he set out in his bare feet to climb to the top of the bowl. There were sharp rocks and thorns everywhere and his feet were already sore from his run through the desert earlier, but he had no choice. He had to take a look from the top.

As he neared the top, he got down on his stomach and crawled the last few feet. Slowly he lifted his head and looked around. The desert was bathed in moonlight. There wasn’t enough light to reveal colors but there was plenty to make out shapes. Jeremy scanned the horizon, nothing seemed out of place or unusual. He stood up, took a deep breath of the fresh air, and was just heading back down the slope when the THWACK, THWACK, THWACK of a helicopter suddenly shattered the silence of the desert.

The chopper appeared directly over him as it came over the edge of the wall. Jeremy ducked towards the wall then tripped and rolled two or three times before smashing into the wall. His arm stung from the fall but he didn’t dare move to look at it. He pressed himself up against the wall and hoped the roving spotlight of the helicopter couldn’t find him. The chopper was flying low and going slow, it’s bright light moving back and forth across the desert floor. The light stopped and focused on the pool at the bottom of the bowl for a time then began working its way towards Jeremy. They must have seen his snorkel and were now following his wet footprints!

Jeremy was trapped. If he ran they would see him for sure. If he stayed where he was the light would surely find him. He looked down at his body. His wet swimsuit was caked with mud. That’s it! he thought and began scooping handfuls of loose dirt and gravel onto himself. He rubbed dirt on his hair and face. He wiggled into the dirt as far as he could and willed himself to become a part of the earth. The circle of light was getting closer. He grabbed dirt in both hands, closed his eyes and rubbed the dirt on his eyelids. Then he lay perfectly still.

The THWACK, THWACK, THWACK of the helicopter continued. Jeremy didn’t dare open his eyes. Were they stopping? Was that the light he could feel on him? He could feel the dirt and debris kicked up by the choppers rotors but he didn’t move. THWACK, THWACK, THWACK! The noise seemed to be moving. Jeremy opened his eye just a crack. The helicopter had passed him and was now following the road along the edge of the wall.

Jeremy jumped and ran for the pool. He jumped in feet first, ducked his head under to wash off the mud, and then grabbed his gear and began pulling it on. The sound of the helicopter was growing louder again! He grabbed the long snorkel, took a deep breath and dove for the tunnel.

Jeremy couldn’t remember every swimming so fast. His lungs felt like they would burst before he could surface. Even so, he used his first breath of air to scream for Fuji when he surfaced inside the cave. Not waiting for a response, he swam for the beach again at top speed. He was so anxious to get to Fuji and get out that it wasn’t till his feet hit the sand and he pulled off his mask that he noticed an eerie green glow lighting the cave.

He looked up at the cracks in the cave’s ceiling trying to find the source of the green glow. Only bright, white moonlight streamed in. Where was the green coming from? Jeremy was torn. He had to get them out of the cave now, but was the green glow? Where was it coming from? Was there another way out? Fuji snorted in Jeremy’s ear and he made up his mind.

“We’ve got to get out of here!” he said to Fuji. The dinosaur sensed Jeremy’s fear and pawed the sand.

Jeremy ran to the lacrosse bag. He pulled the snorkel end off the long stick and put the lacrosse head back in place. Then he pulled on the shoulder pads, arm pads, and the black practice jersey. He strapped his sandals back on and retrieved the helmet from the back of the cave where Fuji had last whacked it. He pulled it on. It was a little big, but it would do. He grabbed the rope halter and started toward Fuji.

Fuji backed away. “C’mon boy, it’s me!” Jeremy said. Fuji still shied away. Frustrated, Jeremy took the helmet off, got Fuji’s halter on and then put the helmet back on. He pulled on the gloves, picked up the long stick, and taking Fuji’s reins in his hand walked into the water. When Fuji was deep enough, Jeremy swung up on his back. Once they were out in the lake Jeremy looked to the far end of the cave. A bright green glow was emanating from high on the cave wall. What was it? Jeremy could resist no longer. Fuji was heading for the tunnel but Jeremy pulled him the direction, toward the glow.

Within a few minutes they were at the far end of the lake. The green glow was much brighter. Jeremy looked up and could still see the white of the full moon through a crack in the ceiling directly above them, but the green glow coming from high up on the cave wall was brighter than the moonlight.

Jeremy looked to the source of the glow. It seemed to be coming from a small cave or hole in the wall about twenty feet above water level. From below, the hole looked to be about six feet in diameter.

Jeremy eyed the rock wall below the hole looking for a way up. There was a small ledge about eighteen inches wide a few feet above the water level. Above that he could see a few handholds and some cracks that he might be able to follow to the cave above. What about the helicopter and Stutts? a small voice in his head said, but something drew him to the green light. He sensed it might some how be helpful.

Bringing Fuji up to the wall, he laid the lacrosse stick on the ledge then carefully took off his gloves, helmet and arm pads and put them on the narrow ledge as well. Climbing off Fuji’s back, he stepped onto the ledge.

“Wait right here boy,” he said to Fuji. “This will just take a minute. I have to see what it is.”

Jeremy turned to the wall and began ascending. He had climbed with his brothers but never without ropes. He looked down at the water. If he fell, he hoped he could push out enough to miss the ledge and make it into the water.

There was a trickle of water running down the wall, just enough to make it slippery. After climbing several feet he wished he had taken off the shoulder pads. They restricted his arm movement, but he was too high now to go back down. He shoved one of his sore feet sideways into a crack and grimaced as he shifted his weight onto it before reaching up to feel for another grip. The arm he had fallen was scraped raw by the dirt and sand. It now stung as sweat and water mixed with the blood. He had almost convinced himself this was taking too long and he should give up when his left hand finally reached the opening of the hole. He pulled himself up with a groan and immediately forgot about his aches and pains.

The little cave he sat in appeared to be carved out of the solid rock of the wall. Its floor was nearly flat and was in the shape of a large half-circle. At it’s deepest point the little cave extended six or seven feet into the rock. In the center of the floor was a small pool, about two feet across. The moonlight from the crack in the main cave ceiling entered the small cave at just the right angle to fall directly onto the pool. The pool was filled with a substance that glowed fluorescent green. Jeremy held his hand over the pool to block the moonlight. In the shadow of his hand the liquid looked like ordinary water. He removed his hand and it began to glow again. The glow of the substance was brighter than the moonlight that caused it to glow. Jeremy was so mesmerized by the liquid that it took him a few moments to notice the reflection the pool threw on walls of the little cave.

There were figures, like hieroglyphics, but they weren’t painted on the walls. They were formed by the reflections from the little pool. Jeremy held out his hand and blocked a portion of the moonlight again. Part of the drawing disappeared.

“Amazing!” he whispered. He studied the drawings. On the far left there was a pile of bones. Jeremy could make out a skull in the pile that looked just like Fuji’s. Next to the bones there was a picture of a pool of water. In the middle of the pool, there was a small tree or plant that looked like it was growing right out of the water. Next to the pool, on the opposite side of the bones, there was a picture of a mountain that rose several feet up the wall of the small cave. Jeremy tried to move further into the cave to take a better look and inadvertently kicked a pebble into the pool.

The pictures on the wall began to shimmer as the ripples of the pebble spread through the little pool. The bones began to move!

As the ripples of the pebble subsided, the bones stopped moving. Had they really moved? Jeremy wondered. They looked closer to the pool now. Jeremy looked around for another pebble and tossed it into the pool on the floor. The ripples were bigger this time and the drawings came to life.

The bones lifted off the ground, floated toward the drawing of the pool with the tree growing out of it, and then settled into it. A moment later a dinosaur that looked just like Fuji emerged from the same pool. A tingle went down Jeremy’s spine. Then a man emerged from the pool, climbed on the dinosaur’s back and the two of them began climbing the mountain. Jeremy rubbed his eyes, not trusting what he was seeing. When the little dinosaur and man reached the top of the mountain, they approached a lone tree. The tree had no limbs or leaves. In fact, it was just a stump. Reaching the stump, the dinosaur stopped and the picture again became lifeless. Jeremy tossed several more pebbles into the pool in an attempt to make the drawing move again. Nothing happened.

He sat back and stared at the drawing trying to figure out what it meant. Fuji snorted below. Jeremy shook his head like he was waking from a dream. “We’ve got to get out of here,” he reminded himself. He took one last look at the drawing attempting to memorize every detail. Then he turned and looked down at the water. It was a long way down but there was no choice. He stood up, pinched his nose closed, then leapt out of the little cave. He was glad he still had his sandals on when his feet slapped the surface of the water. Swimming quickly he made his way back to the ledge, donned his equipment, and climbed on Fuji.

“We’re going to have to come back here boy,” he said. “But right now, we’ve got a family to save.” He pulled the reins around and Fuji headed for the tunnel. Fuji sensed the urgency and took off so fast Jeremy had to drop down on his back and wrap one arm around his neck. Just before they dove for the tunnel Jeremy took one last look over his shoulder at the green glow.

As they approached the outside world, Jeremy pulled back on Fuji’s reins and slowed him to a stop. Though he didn’t have a mask on, he wanted time to look up through the water before they surfaced. Fuji resisted but Jeremy continued to pull back on the reins and tried to hold him down till the last possible moment. A shadow passed over them. Jeremy looked up and caught the beam of a flashlight flitting about. There was someone there! Now was the time! Jeremy pulled up on the reins and tapped Fuji on the sides. The dinosaur’s muscles bulged under him. He had to hold on with both hands to avoid being torn off as they shot up through the water and out into the air. There was no falling back into the water this time.

Fuji landed on the ground three feet from the pool’s edge and within striking distance of a very surprised and terrified thug. With water still gushing from his helmet and pads, Jeremy slashed down with his lacrosse stick and knocked a gun out of the man’s hands. Then he pulled Fuji quickly to the left. The man bent down to pick up his gun and Fuji’s tail caught him in the head knocking him back four or five feet. The man landed on his back and didn’t get up. Jeremy slid off Fuji’s back and walked cautiously toward him, his stick ready. He poked the man hard in the side. There was no response.

Quickly, Jeremy retrieved the gun then ran over to the hay. He pulled the bailing wire off one of the bails before running back to the man. He rolled the man over and tied his hands behind him then tied his feet. He pulled off the man’s shoes. One of his socks had a huge hole in it and the man’s big toe stuck out.

“Your mom would be so disappointed!” Jeremy muttered as he pulled the sock off and tied it around the man’s mouth to keep him quiet. He attempted to drag the man to the hay to hide him, but could hardly budge him. Fuji came to the rescue. He grabbed the man with his claws and tossed him into the hay like an old lacrosse bag.

“Wow!” Jeremy exclaimed in admiration, “we might pull this off yet.” He moved the bales to hide the man and sprinkled loose hay over the top of him.

“That dude is going to wake up with a big headache and nasty breath!” Jeremy said, and then added, “Hopefully it will be in the Lincoln County Jail. C’mon boy, let’s go get the rest of ‘em!”

Chapter 13

Fuji hesitated as they reached the top edge of the bowl. He had never been out of the bowl since Jeremy had discovered him. He had started to explore a few times but Jeremy had scolded him soundly. Now he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to go over the edge or not.

Jeremy tapped him on the sides and encouraged him on, “It’s okay boy. It’s an emergency!”

Fuji still resisted and turned and ran back toward the bottom of the bowl despite Jeremy pulling his reins the opposite direction. When Fuji reached the grass he stopped and refused to go anywhere. Jeremy pulled, he kicked, he yelled, he did everything he could think of but Fuji just looked at him and wouldn’t budge.

Near tears, Jeremy slid off Fuji’s back and walked around to his head.

“Come on Fuji!” he plead, “my family is in trouble! They need our help! I can’t do it without you! Please!” Jeremy started walking with the reins but they were yanked out of his hands by Fuji who stood still.

“Fine!” Jeremy sobbed, “I’ll go by myself.” He turned and started walking up the slope, hoping that Fuji would follow. Jeremy reached the top of the rim and looked back. Fuji continued to stand his ground. He looked up at Jeremy but he didn’t budge.

Jeremy turned around with tears running down his cheeks. He ran over the top of the embankment, and nearly crashed into the tail rotor of a helicopter. He froze. His thoughts were spinning. How could I have been so careless? The thug had to get to the bowl somehow! Did he come alone or was there someone else?

Jeremy crouched down cautiously. There didn’t seem to be any movement. Slowly he crept forward to see if anyone was in the cockpit. It was empty. Just at that moment, the radio crackled. Jeremy jumped. The voice on the radio said, “Eagle1, this is the Jackal. No sign of him out here. We’re coming back. Over.”

Jeremy looked out to the desert on the other side of the helicopter. There was a small light! Maybe a flashlight, some distance out. The radio crackled again, “Eagle1 are you there?”

Jeremy jumped in the seat of the helicopter and grabbed the mic off its hook. He wrapped his shirttail over it, pushed the button and said in his deepest voice, “Uh, roger that.”

The radio went silent. Jeremy stared out of the cockpit toward the light hoping his trick had worked. The radio crackled again,

“Eagle we’re out about a mile. Why don’t you fire up the bird and come pick us up here?”

Jeremy hesitated. He needed to buy as much time as possible to go save his family. Slowly he brought the mic to his mouth again. “Uh, negative on the pickup Jackal. I found some of the boy’s foot prints, I’m going to check them out, over.”

Jeremy didn’t wait for a response. He jumped out of the cockpit and ran down the side of the helicopter until he found the engine panel. Opening the panel, he used his pocketknife to cut every hose and wire that he could reach. He looked out to the desert again. The light was coming closer but it didn’t appear that whoever held it was in a great rush.

Jeremy ran back to the lip of the bowl. Fuji was still standing in the bottom. He shook his head and snorted when Jeremy appeared. Jeremy hesitated. He didn’t have long, but he desperately needed Fuji’s help. He wondered if he could get him to leave the bowl in the opposite direction of the helicopter. He had to try.

He jumped over the lip and ran to the bottom. Fuji stood his ground but snorted and bobbed his head as Jeremy ran up to him.

“Okay boy, I know what was scaring you now,” he said. “It’s okay, I’ve taken care of it. C’mon, we’ll go the other way. Can I get on?” Jeremy was at the side of Fuji and had his left hand on the reins with his right hand he reached up and touched Fuji’s back. Fuji slowly crouched.

“Thatta’ boy,” Jeremy smiled and climbed on. “Okay c’mon boy, let’s go the other way.” He pulled Fuji around and started him up the bowl in the opposite direction of the helicopter. Fuji gingerly trotted to the top, hesitated a little at the lip to sniff the air, then stepped out of the bowl and started toward the desert.

Jeremy was just breathing a sigh of relief when Fuji stopped suddenly and shied backwards nearly toppling Jeremy off his back.

Jeremy regained his balance and looked out to the desert. The light was getting closer. Too close to be stuck here.

“C’mon boy!” he pleaded. “They’re coming! We’ve got to go!” He tapped Fuji on the side, but the dinosaur sidestepped and Jeremy heard the distinct sound of a rattler! Quickly, he backed Fuji up and then slid off his back.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked Fuji as he patted him on the neck and walked past him toward the sound of the rattle. Usually Jeremy left rattlers alone, but tonight he had a special need. Using his stick, he scooped up the rattler from a distance. Then he carefully ran around the lip of the bowl to the helicopter with the snake dangling from the end of his stick. He could hear the voices of the approaching men from the opposite side of the helicopter. Quietly and carefully, he eased open the door of the cockpit and gently placed the rattlesnake on the floor.

“Sorry,” he said to the snake, “but its for my family.” Then he quietly shut the door and ran back to Fuji. He mounted quickly and started Fuji out through the desert in the opposite direction of the approaching men. Initially Fuji was apprehensive of the desert plants and creatures, but after a few minutes he seemed to enjoy having the space to run and began to run faster.

Jeremy clung to his back with his bare legs and held onto the reins as if his life depended on it. When Jeremy was eight he dreamed of being a jockey. He read every book he could find about jockeys and how they become one with the horse. His dream ended when he realized at eight he was already bigger than most jockeys, but now as he flew across the desert on the back of Fuji he felt like he was one with his steed. Fuji could fly. Jeremy estimated that they were going at least forty miles an hour. And, unlike his four-wheeler that had to go around sagebrush, logs, washes, and rocks, Fuji when right over them with his great strides.

As soon as they were out of sight of the helicopter, Jeremy guided Fuji in a big half-circle that took them back in the direction of the ranch house. Within a few minutes they could see the lights of the ranch. Rather than going directly to the lights, Jeremy again directed Fuji in a big circle around the ranch. He wanted to see if there were any vehicles in the drive and he wanted to approach from the side opposite of Blue so that the dog wouldn’t announce their arrival.

There were no cars in the drive. That was a good thing. Jeremy had worried that Stutts and others might have returned to the ranch, but it didn’t look like they were here. He rode Fuji into a wash about three hundred yards from the house and pulled him to a stop.

“Wait right here,” he said to Fuji. “I just want to look things over. I’ll be back.”

He jumped out of the wash and, crouching, ran toward his house. Reaching the house on the opposite side from Blue’s kennel, he went from window to window hoping to learn something of where his family members were being held and how many of Stutts men were there. All the shades were closed. Jeremy worked his way around the corner to the back. On the darkened bathroom window he noticed there was writing! He stepped back so that the full moon could shine on it. It read, “In the family room. 1 guard.”

It looked like it was written in red lipstick and it was in Elena’s handwriting. Jeremy smiled. Last winter he and Elena had practiced writing backward on the fogged up windows of the truck whenever they went to Cedar. She was better at it than him. Now she’d done it on the bathroom window and pulled down the shades so the guard would never see it.

Jeremy knew what he needed to know. He turned and ran back to Fuji in the wash. Fuji was happy to see him and was pawing at the ground.

“It’s time boy! Let’s go save them!” He jumped off the side of the wash onto Fuji’s back and urged the dinosaur forward. When they reached the house, Jeremy guided Fuji across the front yard and then around the corner of the house so that Blue could see them. As expected, Blue began barking madly. Jeremy smiled and said “Good boy Blue!” under his breath. Then he backed Fuji up around the corner of the house so that they couldn’t be seen by anyone coming out the side door. Blue continued to bark madly. The kitchen lights went on and then the mudroom and porch lights. Somebody opened the door and yelled through the screen at Blue.

“Shut-up you dumb mutt!” It was Stutt’s man, Petey.

“C’mon out,” Jake whispered under his breath, “C’mon out.” He urged Fuji forward just enough so that Blue could see his head. Blue’s barking intensified.

“Shut-up or I’ll come out there and shoot you!” Petey roared. Jeremy heard the screen door open. Blue kept barking. The screen door slammed. Fuji’s muscles tightened under Jeremy. Petey yelled “shut-up!” again and then Jeremy kicked Fuji in the side and they crashed around the corner of the house, Fuji great feet spraying gravel everywhere.

Petey already had his gun out as he was walking toward the kennel, when he heard the commotion behind him he spun around and pulled the trigger but he was too late. Fuji crashed into him knocking him backwards. The bullet sailed off into the desert sky and the gun fell on the gravel of the driveway.

Petey was shaken but scrambled up quickly and went for his gun. Jeremy brought his lacrosse stick down with a slash that would have put him in the penalty box for the rest of the season. He had intended to hit Petey’s outstretched arms but Petey’s momentum carried him right into the stick. It caught him on the bridge of his nose. Blood splattered everywhere. Petey staggered backwards. Jeremy spun Fuji to the left and the dinosaur’s tail caught Petey in the mid section with a terrific blow that left him lying on the ground gasping for breath.

Jeremy slid off Fuji’s back and walked over to Petey with his stick raised in the air ready to deliver another blow. Petey wiped blood from his eyes and stared up at him terrified.

“Don’t hurt me!” Petey begged, “I give up.”

“Roll over,” Jeremy ordered then he turned to Fuji and said, “If he moves, eat him!”

“I’m not going anywhere!” Petey moaned, “Just keep that thing away from me.”

Jeremy picked up Petey’s gun and ran to the shed. He put the gun on the workbench and grabbed a handful of zip ties out of one of the drawers. He ran back to Petey who hadn’t moved an inch and tied his arms and legs with the zip ties then he ran for the door of the house.

“Fuji,” he called as he ran by the dinosaur, “if he makes a peep you can have him for breakfast.” Fuji snorted. Blue continued barking and Jeremy ran in the door shouting for his parents.

“Mom? Dad? Are you guys here?”

“Jee! Is that you? We’re in here!” his mom returned his call.

Jeremy ran into the family room and found his family lying on the carpet with their hands tied behind them. Their legs were also tied. Madison was the only one that was asleep. Jeremy pulled off his lacrosse helmet and gloves and went to work.

“Jeremy are you okay? What happened to Petey? Why do you have your lacrosse gear on?” The questions flew at him as he used his pocketknife to cut their bands. As soon as the bands were cut everyone started hugging everyone. Madison woke up and joined in the hugging. There were tears on everyone’s cheeks by the time they were done.

“Oh Jeremy, I was so worried about you!” mom said through her tears.

“I’m proud of you son,” dad added.

“Well I couldn’t have done it without Elena’s message on the window,” Jeremy replied anxious to share the spotlight.

Elena smiled, “I knew you’d see it!” she said.

Dad just shook his head. “You wrote a message to Jeremy?”

Elena nodded. “Yep, backwards on the bathroom window.”

Dad gave Elena another hug. “Good thinking!”

“Why are you so dirty and where is Fuji?” Madison asked Jeremy.

“Fuji is out—“ Jeremy started and then realized Blue was no longer barking and ran for the door. His family followed him. Fuji was still there. He had his beak up to Blue’s kennel and Blue was sniffing him and licking him from the other side.

“It’s about time!” Jeremy said. He ran over to the kennel and opened it so Blue could come out. Blue came out wagging his tail so hard his back legs moved from side to side. Rather than jumping up on Jeremy as he usually did he went straight to Fuji. The dinosaur lowered his head and Blue proceeded to give him a tongue bath. The entire family laughed.

Petey moaned from the gravel near the shed, lifted his bloody face and looked at the family. Mom gasped and ran to his side. “Jeremy David, what have you done? Run and get the first aid kit,” she scolded.

“Mom, he had a gun! He tried to shoot me!” Jeremy protested. “And we don’t have time! His friends could show up anytime!”

“I know that!” mom replied, “He also had the rest of us tied up like stuck pigs, but I will not treat him like he treated us. Now get the first aid kit.”

Jeremy looked at dad. He nodded and Jeremy ran for the first aid kit. Ten minutes later Petey was propped comfortably in dad’s reading chair in the corner of the family room. His nose had been cleaned and bandaged and he had been offered food and a drink but he refused both.

Chapter 14

While Jeremy helped his parents with Petey, Elena and Madison gathered up all the pinto beans they could find and took them out to Fuji. He was munching on them happily while Blue ran back and forth trying to get him to play.

Jeremy and his parents joined the girls outside watching Fuji and Blue. The sky was still dark but it was 3:30 am and soon the eastern sky would begin to grow light.

“Any idea where Stutts is?” dad asked Jeremy as soon as they were outside.

Jeremy shook his head, “Their helicopter is at the bowl but it’s not going anywhere.”

“How do you know that?” dad asked.

“Well, their pilot is tied up and hidden under a pile of hay, they have leaks in several important hoses, and there is a very mad rattlesnake now living in the cockpit.”

Dad laughed. “You did all that?” mom asked incredulously.

“Me and Fuji,” Jeremy replied then asked his dad, “Any way we can get a hold of Sheriff Brown?”

Mom interrupted with a question of her own. “Does anyone want something to eat?” she asked.

“Mom,” Jeremy protested, “we don’t have time.”

“We’re three steps from the kitchen,” mom replied, “and most of us haven’t eaten for hours. Who knows when we’ll get a chance to eat again? We’re talking anyway we might as well be eating.”

“Okay, okay,” Jeremy reluctantly agreed. They all filed into the kitchen. Jeremy put the radio they had taken off Petey on the table. They each grabbed a bowl of their favorite cold cereal, said a prayer of gratitude, and started munching.

Jeremy was about to speak when he remembered Petey sitting in the family room listening. “Maybe Petey would like to watch some TV,” he said. He walked into the family room, flipped on the TV and turned up the volume. There was as an infomercial on the television advertising a system guaranteed to make anyone rich.

“Perfect timing Petey!” Jeremy said, “You’re going to need a new career.”

Petey just grunted.

Jeremy returned to his family and asked his prior question again in a hushed tone, “How are we going to get a hold of Sheriff Brown before Petey’s buddies show up?”

Dad swallowed a mouthful of raisin bran before answering, “Been thinking about that. They cut the phone line somewhere and Petey’s friend Bull took all the cell phones with him.”

“Why don’t we just light something on fire?” Madison asked.

“Uh?” Jeremy asked.

“The sheriff came last time we had a fire,” Maddie reminded everyone.

“Unfortunately we have no buildings that burn,” dad replied, “The other problem is that Stutts is likely to see a fire and come running.”

“Why don’t we just run for it?” Elena asked. She was pouring her second bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. “Without a helicopter we can probably beat them to town.”

“Maybe,” dad replied, “but I’m not sure the Sheriff could get enough men back out here fast enough.”

“Fast enough for what?” Jeremy asked, “Do you know what they are looking for?”

Dad nodded and pointed over his shoulder at Petey. “That’s as quiet as I’ve seen him in the last twelve hours. Petey can’t shut up.”

“So what is it they want?” Jeremy asked.

“They’re looking for the fountain of youth,” dad replied.

“How did they know about that?” Jeremy asked.

“Everybody has heard about the fountain of youth,” dad said.

“No,” Jeremy interrupted, “I mean how did he learn about our fountain of youth?”

“What?” now it was dad’s turn to look confused.

Jeremy looked at mom and Elena, “Didn’t you tell him?” he asked.

“We didn’t have time,” Elena responded. “He was already arguing with Putts when we arrived.”

“Where’s the bucket of shrimp?” Jeremy asked.

“We left it outside the door.” Elena stood up and returned a few seconds later with the bucket. She put it on the floor next to her dad and took the lid off. His eyes opened wide.

“What the--?”

“Remember the shrimp you gave me for Fuji?” Jeremy explained, “They grew up.”

“How?” dad asked incredulously.

“It’s the water in the bowl,” Jeremy replied.

“Well, I’ll be!” was all dad could say.

“We came home to show you so that you could say no to Stutts,” mom explained, “but you were already telling him ‘no’ and then everything happened so fast and we just never had time to tell you.”

“So this whole time that Petey was telling us this wild story about the fountain of youth, you knew it was true but you never let on?” dad asked mom and Elena. They both nodded.

“Remind me never to play poker with the two of you.” He looked back into the bucket. “We can grow shrimp!” he nearly shouted.

“We can,” Jeremy agreed, “but I still don’t understand how Stutts knows about our fountain of youth.”

Dad looked up from the shrimp. “Sorry,” he said. “According to our boy Petey, Stutts has some kind of ancient Indian hieroglyphics that describe the ‘life giving’ waters. Apparently a key part of the story is the skull of an orinothimometer—or whatever Fuji is. The hieroglyphics say that the skull of a dinosaur will go into the water and then come out alive. So Stutts has spent the last several years tracking down every orinoth—

“Ornithomimus,” Jeremy finished for him, “and I’ve seen the hieroglyphics.”

“How?” dad asked.

“In the cave. They’re drawn on the walls.”

“Really?” dad said with some thought, “Well, Stutts believes it and has tracked down every Ornithomimus skeleton ever found looking for the ‘living waters.’ When he read that we had found one and that we had several springs on our property he figured he had finally found what he was looking for. He forced us to give him the map of all our springs,” dad concluded, “thankfully the spring in the bottom of the bowl wasn’t on the map yet.”

“They know where it is now,” Jeremy said weakly. “At least some of his men do. Any idea how many men he has?”

“Petey only said he could get as many as he needed,” dad replied.

“How will he know when he has found it?” Jeremy wondered out loud.

“He has a dinosaur skull with him,” Elena replied.

“What?”

“That’s what Petey said,” Elena responded. “They dip the dinosaur skull in each spring and then wait and see if anything happens.”

Jeremy stood up. “We’ve got to get to the bowl!” he exclaimed.

“Hold on,” dad said pulling him back into his chair. “First we’ve got to worry about staying safe.”

“Dad, if he gets that skull into the pool at the bowl you know what will happen?”

“I know Jeremy, we’ll have Fuji II. But I want to make sure we have a plan so that we’re successful and nobody sitting around this table gets hurt.”

Jeremy calmed down. “Yeah, yeah, you’re right,” he agreed.

The family sat in silence for a few moments. “Maybe Madison’s idea about a signal fire wasn’t so bad,” Jeremy spoke first. The rest of the family looked at him but didn’t speak. Jeremy continued, “What if instead of a signal fire, we use a signal mirror?”

Dad nodded. “I like it,” he said. “I helped McKay build a big signal mirror a few years ago for Varsity Scouts. I think it’s out in the shed.”

“If we can get somebody up on the wall at sunrise with that mirror, they ought to be able to send a good signal into town.” Jeremy said excitedly.

“Hopefully somebody will be watching and notify the sheriff,” dad concluded.

“I know where the trail to the top is,” Elena volunteered. “I’ll do it.”

“You’re not going alone,” mom replied. “Madison and I will go with you.”

Jeremy disagreed, “I think it would be better if I took her to the base of the wall on Fuji,” he said. He didn’t wait for a reply. “It will take too long if she walks from here. If she takes a four-wheeler Stutts and his men may hear her. Fuji is fast and quiet. I can get her to the wall safely and I’m sure she’ll be fine once she goes up the trail.”

Dad looked at mom and she nodded. “Okay,” he said, “but Elena you stay put until one of us or the sheriff’s men come to get you. Got it?”

Elena nodded.

“Now, how can we keep Stutts away from the--” dad was asking when Petey’s radio crackled, “Petey, it’s the Jackal. The boy is on the loose and may be on his way there! Over.”

The family sat in silence staring at the radio. It crackled again, “Petey, did you copy that? Over.”

Slowly dad reached out and picked up the radio. He pushed the “speak” button and said in a very stern tone, “Petey is otherwise occupied at this time. We will be sure to give him your message.”

The voice on the radio became angry, “Who is this?” it demanded.

Dad spoke again, “This is the owner of the property on which you are trespassing and in the process of committing at least three felonies. Your friend Petey is waiting patiently for the imminent arrival of the federal authorities. I would encourage you to come and join him.”

There was a flurry of swear words from the radio. Dad shut it off with a smile.

“That should get them thinking,” he said. He turned to Jeremy and Elena. “The two of you need to leave now. Mom, Madison and I will stay here and try to buy some time with a few surprises for our friends. Do either of you remember the Morse code for SOS?”

“Got it dad,” Jeremy said as he and Elena stood up.

“Good. Be careful.”

“We will. I’m going to go to the bowl after I drop Elena off. If they show up, I’ll try to keep them distracted.”

Dad nodded.

Mom was at the counter going through one of the drawers looking for batteries. She finally found what she was looking for and handed Elena and Jeremy each a two-way radio. “Remember channel 3-4,” she said, “take your 72 hour kits from the mud room. No telling how long you will be out there!” Jeremy was about to protest but mom grabbed them both and pulled them into a hug. “Be careful!” she whispered and then turned them loose to go out the door.

Jeremy returned a minute later with Petey’s gun in one hand while dragging Blue by the collar with the other. “I think you guys better keep Blue in here with you,” he explained, “and dad, I almost forgot about this. It’s Petey’s gun. You might need it.” He handed the gun gingerly to his dad who took it with a sigh and said, “Let’s hope not. These guys are killers but I don’t want to be. Be careful Jee.”

“Don’t worry dad,” Jeremy reassured him. “We’ll be careful.” He gave his dad a quick hug and turned and walked out the door.

Chapter 15

The eastern sky was growing light as Fuji raced across the desert to the west with both Jeremy and Elena on his back. Both children were wearing the small backpacks that their mother called 72 hour kits. The backpacks contained enough basic food for 72 hours, a change of clothes, and other emergency essentials like matches and toilet paper. They’d had a great family discussion as they put them together arguing over which they would rather live without, matches or toilet paper. That discussion was far from Jeremy’s mind as he guided Fuji through the sagebrush and in and out of washes on their way to the wall.

Jeremy’s backpack was right in Elena’s face as she sat behind him with her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. With every step Fuji took she felt like she was going to fall off but she never did. Her backpack was heavier than Jeremy’s because it contained the signal mirror.

The “mirror” was really four mirrors. Each mirror was one-foot square. There was also a one-foot square piece of plywood. The plywood had several holes drilled in it and there was a sack of bolts with wing nuts and rubber washers. When they arrived at the trail that lead to the top of the wall, Jeremy took a few moments to show Elena how to place the corner of each mirror on the plywood and then hold it tightly in place with the wing nuts and rubber washers to form a two-foot by two-foot square mirror.

“They’ll have no problem seeing this in town from the top of the wall,” Jeremy assured Elena. One of the mirrors had a small mirror glued to the back. A pinhole had been rubbed through the reflective paint on the back of both of the mirrors so that you could look through the pinhole all the way through both mirrors. Jeremy showed Elena how to use the hole to aim the mirror.

“If you can’t figure it out, just point the mirror at town,” Jeremy concluded. Somebody is sure to see it. Elena nodded. They quickly took the mirror apart and stashed it back in her backpack.

Elena turned to Fuji and patted him on the neck. “Good bye boy!” she said. “Take care of my little brother.” Fuji snorted.

“Better get going sis!” Jeremy reminded her. She turned and flung her arms around him.

“Be careful Jeremy!” she said.

“Don’t worry Ellie,” he replied, “We’ll be fine. You get up that trail and remember what dad said. Don’t come down unless one of us comes up to get you.”

Elena fought back tears. She nodded her head, pulled on her backpack and started up the trail.

Jeremy had to fight back tears of his own as she walked away.

“Ellie!” he yelled and ran up to her.

She turned and there were tears running down her cheeks.

“I almost forgot,” he said. “SOS is three shorts, three longs, and then three shorts. Just keep doing it over and over, someone will recognize it.”

“Okay,” she said through her tears.

Jeremy gave her a big hug. He hadn’t planned to, but he did and she smiled.

“Thanks Jee,” she said. “I’ll be alright. Now you better go.”

Jeremy nodded. “Call me on the radio when you get to the top,” he said then turned and ran back to Fuji. The dinosaur crouched, Jeremy picked up his lacrosse stick, climbed on and they set off for the bowl.

Jeremy knew where every spring on the ranch was located. He had intentionally stayed away from them as they made their way to the wall. He had no desire to take on any of Stutts men right now. His only goals were to get Elena to the trail and then get to the bowl as fast as possible. Now that he was at the wall, he pointed Fuji to the north right along the wall and urged him to go as fast as he could.

Jeremy wasn’t disappointed. There was a trail of sorts along the base of the wall. Fuji didn’t have to worry about sagebrush or any other obstacles he just ran. Jeremy’s eyes began to water from the wind rushing by. Despite his fear and concern about what was about to happen, he couldn’t help but smile as they raced along. As soon as he saw the waterfall scar on the wall he pulled Fuji back and turned him to the right leaving the wall and going out into the desert.

The sun was now rising. Jeremy looked back in the direction that he had left Elena wondering if he would be able to see the bright light from the mirror. He saw nothing. He directed Fuji into the bottom of a wash and slid down off his back. A lizard was warming itself in the early sun on a rock in the wash. When it saw Fuji and Jeremy it tried to dart away. With lighting quickness, Fuji reached out and snatched the lizard in his beak. The lizard wiggled for a moment and then went limp. With a great gulp, Fuji swallowed it whole.

Jeremy watched the whole thing in amazement. When he was done eating Fuji turned a great yellow eye on Jeremy. “Amazing!” was all Jeremy said. The sound of an engine running jolted Jeremy from his scientific observations. He ducked down and pulling on the reins to get Fuji to do the same. Fuji resisted a little but finally lowered himself to the ground. Jeremy told him to stay and was just about to climb the side of the wash to see what was happening when Elena’s voice came over the radio.

“Jee! You there Jee?” she asked. Jeremy quickly turned down the volume of the radio. Then responded.

“Yeah I’m here. Did you make it to the top?”

“Yes!” Elena replied, “I’m putting the mirror together now.”

“Elena? Jeremy?” It was mom’s voice, “Are you both okay?”

“We’re fine mom,” Jeremy replied. “Have you had any visitors yet?”

“Not yet,” mom’s voice came back, “but we’ll be ready for them when they come.”

“Roger that,” Jeremy said. “I’m near the bowl. Somebody is here. I’ve got to go silent for a while and to see what is happening. I’m out.” He turned his radio off and looked back at Fuji. The dinosaur was sleeping soundly. Jeremy grabbed his stick and headed up the side of the wash.

As he made his way toward the bowl he tried to stay low and always keep a sagebrush between himself and the bowl. The helicopter soon came into view. Stutts’ black Hummer was also there along with a big black Chevy pickup. It was a one-ton with duel wheels on the back. It’s bed was loaded with crates and it was parked between the Hummer and the helicopter.

Stutts must be here! Jeremy thought to himself. He couldn’t see anyone yet but as he got closer he could hear shouting coming from the bowl.

“You are going to wish that rattlesnake bit you if that family gets away! Go get them now!” The voice roared and Jeremy recognized it as Stutts.

“We’re on it boss!” another voice replied. Jeremy was pretty sure it was the “Jackal.”

“There’s just one thing boss,” the Jackal said hesitatingly.

“What is it?” Stutts roared, “Can’t you see we’ve got things to do here?”

“We have no way to get there boss.”

Jeremy smiled. Stutts spewed a long list of expletives. Finally, he calmed down and said very coldly, “Here are the keys to the Hummer. Its worth more to me than you are. Remember that!”

The Jackal mumbled something that Jeremy couldn’t hear and a few minutes later two thugs came over the edge of the bowl and climbed into the Hummer. Jeremy dropped down so they couldn’t see him.

He turned on his radio, as they roared off down the creek bed and hissed into it , “Mom! Dad! Two of them are coming your way. They’re in the Hummer and just left the bowl. Do you copy?”

A few seconds later his dad’s voice came on, “That’s a big 10-4 good buddy. We’re going to bring the hammer down. Over.” Jeremy shook his head and smiled. How could his dad make jokes at a time like this?

“Good luck!” Jeremy whispered into the radio and then turned it off again. As he looked up two more thugs came up out of the bowl and dropped the tailgate on the truck. They each grabbed the end of a crate and lifted it out of the bed.

“How many times have we hauled this thing out this truck tonight?” one of the thugs complained to the other.

“Just shut-up!” the other one replied, “You want to get us in trouble?”

With the crate in their arms they walked over the edge of the bowl and Jeremy could no longer hear them. He worked his way around the bowl toward the wall and then moved in closer to the bowl. As he approached, he took off his helmet and got down on his stomach. Then he stomach crawled up to the edge so he could look into the bowl without being seen.

The two men carrying the crate had reached the bottom. They set the crate down next to the pool and turned and headed back toward the truck. In addition to the two carriers, Stutts was there with three other men. One of them was bent over the pool with some kind of testing equipment. The other two looked like bodyguards. They were both following Stutts around and were heavily armed. They had machine guns slung over their shoulders. Jeremy looked at the hay wondering if the pilot had been discovered yet. There was no movement but Stutts was starting to walk that direction. As the crate carriers walked by, Jeremy could hear Stutts snarl at them.

“Hurry up with the bones you imbeciles, we’re out of time!”

Jeremy thought quickly. They were only minutes away from creating a dinosaur of their own! How could he stop them? The early morning wind began blowing in Jeremy’s direction. He smelled jet fuel. He looked at the helicopter. There was a puddle under it. Maybe…

He crawled back from the edge. The two goons were unloading another crate. He waited for them to head back into the bowl, then he bent low and ran for the helicopter. As soon as he got to it he ducked under it and pulled off his 72-hour backpack. He pulled out a shirt and started soaking it in the puddle of fuel under the helicopter. There was still a good stream of fuel dripping down from the cut hose. He flipped the shirt over to let it soak up more fuel. He could hear the voices of Stutts’ men getting closer. He grabbed the fuel-soaked shirt and ran for the sagebrush beyond the chopper. Diving, he ducked down just before the men came into view again.

He was breathing heavily but tried to do it quietly. He waited a few seconds and then looked up. He had left his lacrosse stick under the helicopter! He prayed the men wouldn’t notice. They went to the truck and hauled off another box without looking.

Jeremy ran to the helicopter again, grabbed his stick and then looked paused to look into the back of the truck. There was only one box left. He was out of time. He ran back to the bushes, unzipped the pouch on the front of the backpack and dug out the waterproof matches. He placed the fuel-soaked shirt in the basket of his lacrosse stick and held the stick between his knees so that the shirt was a couple of feet out in front of him.

The wind had picked up. Jeremy turned his back to it and struck one of the matches. The red tip of the match flamed up quickly and then went out before he could touch it to the shirt. He heard voices again. The men were back for the last box! He dropped to his knees and waited. One of them climbed up in the bed and tossed the last box to the other one. It was smaller than the rest and apparently fairly light.

“You take this,” the man said, “I’ll get the cool chest out of the cab.” The man with the box turned and walked back down into the bowl. The other man jumped down from the bed of the truck and opened a cab door. He pulled out a blue cool chest, used it to slam the door, and then followed the other one into the bowl.

Jeremy stood up again and struck another match. Still too much wind! The match went out immediately. Jeremy looked around he needed a better windbreak. His eyes fell on the truck. Quickly he grabbed the stick and the matches and ran for the passenger side door. He eased it open without a sound, stuck the head of the stick in the cab, and then leaned in himself. He was about to strike the match when another idea came to him. He grabbed the soaked shirt and tore it in half. He put one half back on the end of his lacrosse stick and the other half on the floor of the truck cab. He struck the match. It burned brightly. Cautiously he dropped it onto the shirt on the floor. It instantly caught fire and put off dark black smoke.

He grabbed his lacrosse stick with two hands and dangled the other half of the shirt over the flame. Soon it was burning too. He backed out of the truck and closed the door quietly all the while trying to keep the flaming shirt on the end of his stick out of the wind. He needn’t have worried. The fuel burned intensely and the wind only made it burn hotter. Turning he planned his steps carefully. Just like shooting a goal, he told himself. He took a few quick steps toward the desert, pulled the stick back over his left shoulder, then flicked the flaming shirt off the stick and directly into the puddle under the helicopter.

He didn’t wait to see what happened but ran as fast as he could to get as much distance between him and the helicopter as possible. As he dove over the edge of the wash where he had left Fuji he heard a tremendous explosion. He turned quickly and saw the corpse of the burned out helicopter crashing back onto the ground. Great billows of black smoke rose into the air. Fuji raised his head and looked at Jeremy. Jeremy clinched his fist and said, “Yes!”

A few minutes later Jeremy could see Stutts and his two bodyguards walking around the burning wreckage of the helicopter. One of them noticed the smoke in the cab of the pickup and pulled the door open, a great ball of flames burst out and the man fell back rolling on the ground holding his face. Stutts cursed and yelled at the other bodyguard.

“What am I paying you for? You find whoever is doing this now!”

The bodyguard had been studying the ground. He pointed at the ground and then in the direction of Jeremy. Jeremy ducked down. Had they seen his footprints? When he looked up again, the bodyguard was running directly towards him with his gun out and ready!

Chapter 16

Jeremy jumped down off the side of the wash and called to Fuji. As the dinosaur stood Jeremy jumped on his back. He thought about giving Fuji his head and running away, but he hadn’t succeeded in destroying Stutts’ dinosaur bones. They may be putting them in the pool right now. Jeremy spun Fuji around and backed him just a little ways down the wash. His hope was that the man would come into the wash without looking and they could ambush him from the side before he could get his gun around on them.

Fuji snorted and pawed the ground sensing someone approaching. Jeremy held tight to the reins and his stick. He patted Fuji on the neck, “Not yet boy, not yet.”

The man tracking them did just what Jeremy hoped he would and jumped into the wash without looking. Jeremy kicked Fuji in the sides and the dinosaur leapt forward. Jeremy slashed down hard with his stick but missed his target as the side of the wash gave way under the man and he slipped down on his back under them. Jeremy pulled Fuji to the side hoping to get a clear shot, but Fuji had another idea. He balanced on one leg and delivered a knockout kick to the man’s head with his right foot. The man lay still, his automatic rifle still in his hands.

Jeremy slid off Fuji’s back and checked the man’s pulse. He was still alive. Jeremy looked up at Fuji with a smile. “You didn’t tell me you could kick,” he said.

Fuji just snorted and sniffed at the man. Jeremy scrambled up the side of the wash and looked toward the bowl and the burning remains of the truck and helicopter. Dark smoke continued to rise into the sky. There was no one in sight.

Jeremy slid back down the side of the wash. He was about to jump on Fuji but turned to the thug instead. He pulled he pulled the weapon from the man’s hands and then searched his pockets for additional clips of ammunition. He found two of them. Quickly he stuffed them in his backpack and then pulled the backpack on. He picked up the rifle and slung it over his shoulder then picked up his lacrosse stick and mounted Fuji.

“C’mon boy, we haven’t stopped them yet,” he said.

He urged Fuji up out of the wash and they circled the bowl to the north. Jeremy kept Fuji well back from the edge. He looked to the south where he had dropped Elena off. Was that a flash of light he saw? He found some shade next to a large sagebrush and pulled Fuji to a stop. He climbed down and looked up. The sun was now at about the nine o’clock position. Despite the wind and the early hour, he was already sweating in his lacrosse gear. He pulled one of the water bottles out of the backpack and took a couple of quick gulps. Then he held the bottle up to Fuji. Fuji took the opening in his beak and tipped his head back. Water dripped everywhere, very little of it getting in the dinosaur’s mouth.

“I need you to wait here boy,” Jeremy said, “lay down here and wait for me.” He pulled the reins down and Fuji slowly lowered himself on to the ground. “Good boy. I won’t be long.”

He took off his helmet and tossed in on the backpack that was already on the ground. Then he picked up his stick and automatic weapon and ran toward the bowl. When he reached the embankment he hit the dirt and belly crawled up to the edge so that he could see what was going on.

Stutts and his three remaining men were unloading the crates. They already had a stack of white bones lying on the trampled green grass and they continued to unload more. Jeremy studied the bones closely. He couldn’t see the skull yet but they were obviously dinosaur bones. It looked like there were only a few boxes left to open. Jeremy looked hopefully across the bowl to the dry creek bed. There were no signs of Sheriff Brown or anyone else coming to the rescue.

He pulled the automatic weapon up to position. He’d done a lot of target shooting and was even pretty good at shooting skeet out of the sky but he’d never shot a machine gun before. He only knew what it was because he had seen them in movies, but he had no idea how to use it or what to expect. He aimed well above the men and squeezed on the trigger. Nothing happened.

He rolled over on his back and held the gun above him trying to figure out if there was a safety. He found a lever on the right side of the gun and pulled back on it. Wasn’t that what they did in the movies? He rolled back over and squeezed the trigger again. The gun leapt to life and nearly out of the hands of Jeremy. He tried to hold it steady and move it back and forth above the heads of the men.

His shooting had the desired effect. The men forgot what they were doing and dove on the ground. Jeremy let go of the trigger. There was silence except for the ringing in Jeremy’s ears. He rolled two or three times to his right and looked into the bowl again. One of the men darted for a gun where it had been left leaning against a crate. Jeremy aimed for the gun and pulled the trigger. The first few bullets kicked up dirt just in front of the gun. Jeremy kept his finger on the trigger and lifted the muzzle just a little. The next six slugs crashed into the gun causing sparks and a flurry of swearing from the men pinned down behind boxes.

One of the men pulled a handgun and started shooting in Jeremy’s direction. Jeremy rolled back to his left, raised up and sent another flurry of slugs over their heads. The hand gun popped a few more times and Jeremy heard the slugs whiz over his head. He ducked down and rolled over on his back waiting. What now?

He wasn’t left to think for long. There was a “Thunk!” Something landed on the ground about ten feet to his right. He looked and then looked again, unwilling to believe what he saw. It was a hand grenade! It felt to Jeremy like he took forever to decide what to do, but in a split second his body was already in action. He dropped the rifle, picked up his lacrosse stick, ducked low and took three quick steps toward the grenade. He had scooped lacrosse balls from the ground so many times. He didn’t even have to think how to do it. The net went under the grenade. Jeremy pulled the stick back, spun it slightly to cradle the grenade and then flung it with all his might back into the bowl.

The force of Jeremy’s throw knocked him off his feet. Bullets from the handgun hissed passed but missed their target. Jeremy rolled onto his stomach and put his hands over his head. There was a massive explosion. The ground under Jeremy shook.

He scrambled up the embankment and looked into the bowl. The grenade had exploded at the base of the wall near the pool. The explosion blew away a great section of the lower part of the wall leaving a precarious overhang. It didn’t hang for long. As Jeremy watched, the face of the wall crumbled and crashed into the pool. The underwater tunnel collapsed and the entire face of the wall crumbled down into the pool completely covering it.

Stutts’ men stared in awe when they should have been running. By the time they could see the danger it was too late. The avalanche caught all of them. A few of them were only partially buried and screamed for help. Sirens could also be heard in the distance. Jeremy looked toward the main road and could see a column of dust approaching.

Jeremy jumped up, “Help is on the way!” he yelled to the men. He couldn’t see Stutts but was sure he hadn’t escaped. He grabbed his stick and ran for Fuji, yelling as he ran, “Fuji! C’mon boy!”

Fuji came crashing out of the bushes. Jeremy grabbed his reins, Fuji knelt and Jeremy leapt on his back. “Let’s go help mom and dad!” he said and pointed Fuji for the ranch house. As they approached it, he didn’t waste any time circling the house but ran Fuji straight up to the shed and jumped off.

There were no sounds. Jeremy crept around the corner of the shed. The black Hummer was parked in the driveway. Blue’s kennel was empty. Jeremy ran from the shed to the kitchen door of the house. He stood next to the door listening. It was all quiet. Carefully he pulled open the screen door. The inside door was slightly ajar. He used the end of his stick and pushed it open and great burst of steaming water shot out the door and whipped the screen door out of Jeremy’s hand slamming it back against the wall of the house. Jeremy pulled back.

“Mom! Dad! Are you in there?” The water continued to shoot out the door.

“Jee? Is that you?” It was dad’s voice.

“Yeah dad, it’s me.”

The water shut off and dad came rushing out the door followed by mom. “Jee! Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine! Everything is good. Sheriff Brown is at the bowl. He should have Stutts.”

“Oh thank heavens!” mom exclaimed and then asked, “What about Elena?”

“I’ve got to go get her,” Jeremy replied. “I just wanted to make sure you guys were okay.”

“We’re great,” dad replied. “We’ve got three guests resting comfortably in the family room. A couple of them are kind of wet, but they’ll dry!”

“I can’t wait to hear,” Jeremy said. They could now hear sirens approaching the ranch house.

Jeremy ran for the shed. “I’ve got to get Fuji out of here and go get Elena.”

“Be careful son!” mom and dad said in unison.

Jeremy found Blue playing with Fuji when he came around the corner of the shed.

“C’mon boy, you can go with us!” he said as he climbed up.

When they reached the trail at the base of the wall there was no sign of Elena. Jeremy called at the top of his lungs but there was no response. He had left his radio with his backpack at the bowl. Jeremy slid off Fuji’s back and said, “I’m going up there, you two stay here.” The dog and the dinosaur were too busy playing to even look up at him.

It took Jeremy about twenty minutes to get to the top. The sun was now high in the sky and he was sweating profusely when he reached the top and found Elena trying to stay cool in the shade of a pinion pine.

She jumped up and ran to him. “Jee are you okay?”

“I’m fine!” he said, “and mom and dad and Maddie are all safe too.”

“Stutts?” Elena asked.

“Thanks to you, Sheriff Brown is here I’m sure has him in custody.”

“Oh, I’ve been so worried!” Elena said, “Nobody answered their radio. I saw black smoke and heard an explosion. It was all I could do to just sit here and wait.”

“Well we’re all fine,” Jeremy said. He walked to the tree and picked up her backpack. “C’mon, Fuji and Blue are waiting for us at the bottom.

They rode Fuji to within seeing distance of the ranch then found a nice shady wash to leave him in. Blue stayed with him and Jeremy and Elena walked into the ranch yard alone.

There were three Sheriff SUVs in the driveway. A few deputies were leading Petey, Jackal and Bull from the front door of the house. Their hands were cuffed behind them.

“That’s him officer!” Petey exclaimed nodding toward Jeremy. “That’s the one that broke my nose and rides a dinosaur!”

The deputy looked up at Jeremy and Elena and smiled, “Either of you kids got a dinosaur for a pet?” he asked.

“Right!” Jeremy said sarcastically, “we keep it around back with our dragons!”

The deputy laughed, gave Petey a shove and said, “Let’s go! Maybe you can convince the judge you are insane.”

Jeremy and Elena slipped in the front door and found mom, dad and Maddie in the kitchen with Sheriff Brown. Mom jumped up and ran and hugged both of them as they came in.

“Oh thank heavens!” she said gratefully. “Are you both okay? Is anything broken?”

“We’re fine mom,” they both replied. “Just tired and thirsty,” Jeremy added as they both collapsed on to chairs at the table.

“Sounds like you’ve had quite a night and morning,” Sheriff Brown said.

Jeremy nodded. “Did you get Stutts?” he asked the sheriff.

“Stutts is dead,” the sheriff replied. “We won’t know till after the autopsy, but it looks like he might have taken a stone to the head in the blast.” He paused for a moment before adding, “You are all lucky to be alive. We ran Stutts’ name through the system. The FBI and four other countries wanted him for murder and smuggling national treasures. Seemed to have a knack for killing people, stealing important things, and shipping them around the world. There’s a half million dollar reward on his head that you folks should see coming your way.”

Jeremy was suddenly very tired. He put his head down on the table. The sheriff stood. “I can get my questions answered later. Looks like you all could use some sleep.”

Dad stood, shook the Sheriff’s hand, and thanked him. The Sheriff headed for the door. “If you folks will come by my office tomorrow morning I’ll take your statements and we can get this thing wrapped up.”

Dad nodded. “We’ll be there,” he said.

Jeremy suddenly sat up, “Sheriff?”

The Sheriff turned and looked at him.

“Sheriff, there were other men trapped in the avalanche at the bowl?”

“They’re fine,” the Sheriff replied. “We dug one out that was tied up and had a sock in his mouth,” the sheriff continued. “The hay he was covered with saved his life. Held the dirt away from his face so he could breath till we got to him.”

Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief.

The Sheriff went to leave once more, then turned around again. “Oh, we left your dinosaur bones at the bowl. I guess we can close that case.” Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked out the door.

Jeremy staggered to his feet and stumbled toward his bedroom. He had just enough energy to pull off his lacrosse jersey and pads and fall into bed.

Chapter 17

Bright sunlight was shining in the window when Jeremy opened his eyes. He raised his arms above his head to stretch and the smell reminded him that it had been several days since he had been in the shower. Slowly he rolled his legs off the bed and sat up on the edge. He heard noise in the kitchen. What time was it? What day was it?

He stood up and stumbled toward the kitchen. Mom was the only one there.

“Hey sleepy head!” she said when she saw him.

“Hi,” Jeremy replied, “what time is it?”

Mom looked at the clock on the stove. “Nearly noon,” she replied.

“On what day?” Jeremy asked.

“Wednesday,” mom replied, “you slept for twenty four hours straight.”

Jeremy jumped up. “Did anyone go get Fuji?” he asked.

“Sit down!” mom commanded. “Elena and dad brought him in yesterday after the sheriff left. He has a nice nest in the barn and has eaten every bean in the house. He went with your dad and the girls to see the damage at the bowl.”

Jeremy sat down, upset that he had forgotten about Fuji but glad that the others had stepped in. “I thought we were supposed to go see the Sheriff this morning,” he said as his mom put a plate with two fried eggs and a piece of toast in front of him.

“We were,” mom replied, returning to the counter. “But you were sleeping so soundly your dad called him and postponed it until this afternoon.”

Jeremy inhaled the eggs and toast, thanked his mom and excused himself to take a shower. By the time he was dressed and returned to the kitchen dad and the girls had returned. Dad looked at him in amazement and shook his head.

“How did you ever do it?” he asked. “A helicopter, a truck, the entire cliff, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Any sign of water?” Jeremy asked hopefully.

“Nothing yet,” Elena replied. “We walked around on the pile of rubble and tried to find an entrance to the cave. There’s nothing.”

Jeremy sighed. “Sorry dad,” he said.

Dad looked up at him, confused. “Why?”

“There’s no water to grow the shrimp,” Jeremy said quietly.

“That has been the least of my worries,” dad replied. “I’m just glad we’re all safe and Putts’ men are behind bars.”

“Speaking of those bars, we better get started for town. The Sheriff will be waiting for us.”

Fuji greeted Jeremy as he came out the door with a snort. Jeremy wrapped his arms around the dinosaur’s neck. “Hello boy! I missed you too!” Blue barked and jumped up on Jeremy looking for attention. “You too Blue! I missed you too.” Jeremy rubbed Blue behind the ears then led them both to the shed.

The four-wheelers were now parked behind the shed and there was hay spread on the concrete floor. “You guys will have to stay in here while we go to town,” Jeremy said as he pulled the overhead door down behind them. Fuji snorted and shook his head.

“We won’t be too long and we’ll bring you back some beans,” Jeremy said. He patted Fuji on the neck, patted Blue’s head and went out the side door closing it behind him.

The “report taking” at the Sheriff’s office took more than two hours. First the Sheriff had to find Amelia Avery. She was the town gossip on her own time and got paid to be the court recorder whenever one was needed. With such important criminals in his jail, the Sheriff decided having a recorder was an absolute necessity. Amelia was at Sally’s beauty salon in the middle of her weekly hair appointment. She wasn’t too excited about leaving with her hair only half teased. When she finally arrived Jeremy concluded that the second half of the hair appointment must be the most important because the first half didn’t look so good. He decided not to mention that in his statement.

When Amelia was finally in place and ready, the Sheriff turned to Jeremy and said, “Alrightee young man tell us what happened.”

Jeremy began his story and told every detail he could remember. He avoided any mention of Fuji or the cave and just said he “ran fast” when he was really riding Fuji. The sheriff just nodded and listened. He seemed particularly interested in Jeremy’s use of the automatic weapon and the grenade.

Elena gave her statement next. She described sitting up on the wall trying to signal the sheriff for two hours. The sheriff picked up the story from there and told how “old Hank Clark” saw the signal while he was in his garden picking tomatoes. Hank had served on the USS Enterprise during WW II and recognized the SOS signal immediately. The sheriff failed to mention how he had ignored Hank’s report until black smoke became visible in the same general direction.

Mom and dad gave their statement next. Dad started out talking but within a few minutes mom had taken over and wasn’t leaving out a single unnecessary detail. She described how they had made a water cannon by diverting the pump used to pump hot water from the springs to the house. She mentioned how much money they saved each year by using the hot water from the springs, even though it was hard water, and was just beginning to describe what a difference the water softener made in keeping their whites brighter when the Sheriff reminded her that he was mostly interested in how they had subdued Stutts men. Dad took over from there and in a few minutes told how he had blasted both Bull and the Jackal with two hundred and fifty gallons per minute of steaming hot water. The thugs had been blasted backward dropping their guns and then scrambling to escape the blast. Dad had kept them under fire until they were both laying face down with their hands behind their back.

“The really great thing,” dad concluded, “was we didn’t have to clean them up afterwards like we did with Petey. They were already scrubbed clean.”

The sheriff chuckled and signaled to Amelia to quit recording. “Well folks, I think that’ll give me what I need,” he said then added, “If we’re ever invaded, I’m coming to live with you.”

Jeremy and the others chuckled and got up to leave.

“Sheriff,” Jeremy asked, “there is one thing I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

The sheriff looked at him expectantly.

“Petey said Stutts had a map with hieroglyphics on it. Did you find it?”

The Sheriff shook his head. “Probably went up in flames with everything else in that pickup.” He said. “We’ve torn the Hummer apart and there is nothing in it.”

Jeremy nodded.

“Thanks again for all your help Sheriff,” dad said and offered his hand to the Sheriff.

The Sheriff shook it and said, “Just doing my job.”

When they were finished at the sheriff’s they strolled down the street to the mercantile. Several of the town people that used to avoid them because they were new and different now came right up to them and shook their hands. Apparently news had spread quickly that there really were dinosaur bones and that the “shrimp ranchers” had brought down an international smuggling ring.

The clerk at the mercantile was all smiles and fell all over herself to rush to the back to see if there were any more pinto beans that weren’t out on the shelf. They ended up with twenty, sixteen-ounce bags of beans--enough for about a meal for Fuji. Dad asked if anyone wanted an ice cream. Madison wanted a multi-colored, Bullet frozen treat. Elena chose an ice cream sandwich and Jeremy went for a sundae on a stick.

Everything was great, but Jeremy wasn’t happy. The next few days were a blur. The Las Vegas Sun ran a small article on the capture of one of the FBI’s most wanted by a family in southeast Nevada. Then a reporter from NBC called the sheriff to check on the details. When they heard the story they wanted to send a crew right out to the scene. The sheriff was due to run for office that fall and figured the publicity wouldn’t hurt. Before the end of the week two of the major networks had been out to the bowl to tape the burned-out helicopter and truck. They also came to the ranch house and interviewed the family.

Keeping Fuji hidden during all the commotion was not easy. Jeremy would rise early and take him out for a run. Then he’d find a shady wash or hollow far from the house and leave Fuji there while he returned to the house on foot. Later in the day, he would go back and bring Fuji home to the shed. Fuji loved hunting lizards and supplemented his bean and hay diet with as many lizards and horny toads as he could catch.

A week after the capture of Stutts, Jeremy was walking home from running Fuji hoping that once things returned to normal he wouldn’t have to make this walk each day. There was a Jeep parked in front of the house. More reporters! Jeremy thought to himself. He slipped in the side door hoping to avoid another interview. His dad called to him from the family room.

“Jee is that you? Can you come in here a minute?”

Jeremy grimaced but put the down the glass he was about to fill at the refrigerator and walked into the family room. The man talking with dad didn’t look like any of the other reporters. He was wearing khaki cargo shorts with big pockets on the sides. His legs were tan and his hiking boots were actually dusty and looked well used. His tshirt said “Geology Rocks.”

“Jeremy, this is Dr. Sanchez, he’s the professor at the university that I exchanged emails with when we first discovered the dinosaur bones.”

Dr. Sanchez stood as Jeremy entered and held out his hand. “Hey Jeremy!” he said with a smile.

“Hey!” Jeremy replied shaking his hand. He already liked Sanchez more than any of the stuffy reporters that had come to visit.

“Turns out Dr. Sanchez knew Stutts,” dad said as Sanchez and Jeremy sat down.

“Really?” Jeremy said, unsure now if he should like Sanchez after all.

“It’s true,” Sanchez said. “In fact we were good friends. His real name is, or was, Peter Stuttgart the third. We went to school together and spent a summer in China on a dig. We stayed in touch over the years. Every time one of us would find something significant we’d email each other. You know, kind of brag it up. But about three years ago everything changed.”

“What happened?” Jeremy asked.

“I don’t know exactly,” Sanchez replied. “One of the last emails I got from him came from a little pueblo somewhere in the Sonoran desert of Mexico. It included a vague reference to something he had found that would change life as we know it. I laughed it off thinking Peter was just exaggerating. Then a few months later I got a visit from a couple of FBI agents. They told me Peter—or Stutts, as they called him, was the prime suspect in the theft of and smuggling of dinosaur bones. I couldn’t believe it. Peter never answered my emails after that.”

“Any idea what Stutts was referring to?” dad asked.

Sanchez nodded his head. “Some,” he said. “Peter was terrible at keeping secrets and word travels pretty fast in the world of paleontology. He claimed to have found some hieroglyphics in a ruin that included the skeleton of a dinosaur. That may not mean much to you, but no one has ever found evidence that pre-colombian civilizations knew anything about dinosaurs and it gets even better!”

Jeremy could tell Sanchez was talking about something that excited him. He was sitting up on the front of his chair and used his hands while he talked.

Sanchez continued, “Apparently the hieroglyphics not only included the skull of a dinosaur but an accurate picture of a living dinosaur! Now think about that. How would they know what a dinosaur looked like?” Sanchez didn’t wait for an answer. “According to Peter’s hieroglyphics, they discovered the fountain of youth!”

Dad nodded calmly and said, “We heard that from Petey, one of Stutts men.”

“Really?” Sanchez exclaimed, “So that is really what he was trying to find?”

“According to Petey, Stutts tracked down every ornithohumus—“

“Ornithomimus dad,” Jeremy corrected.

“Right every ornithomimus find in the western hemisphere convinced that he would find the fountain of youth near one of them.”

Sanchez whistled. Jeremy asked, “Have you seen the hieroglyphics Stutts found?”

Sanchez shook his head. “I’ve only heard about them. It intrigued me so much I took a trip to Guatamala and Mexico last year to do some exploring. I learned a lot about ancient cultures but I’m no archaeologist and I certainly didn’t find pictures of dinosaurs. That’s partly why I’m here, I’m still looking for clues. When I read that a family in southern Nevada had,” he paused looking for the right word, “had stopped Stutts, I dug out your email, put two and two together. I figured it had to be you. So I got somebody to cover my classes for a few days.” Turning to Jeremy he added, “I hope you don’t mind, I’d love to look at the bones Stutts had.”

“Sure!” Jeremy said jumping up. Dad and Sanchez followed him out to the shed. The bones were neatly stacked in the corner of the shed to leave plenty of room for Fuji’s nest. Straw, hay and pinto beans were scattered all over the floor.

“Haven’t had much time to clean up in here since Stutts and his men ransacked the place,” dad said lamely.

Sanchez paid no attention. He only had eyes for the bones. “Beautiful!” he said as he picked up the intact skull.

“Some of the bones got damaged in the avalanche,” Jeremy noted as Sanchez continued to pick through them.

“You know the ornithomimus was probably the fastest dinosaur that ever lived?” Sanchez said as he examined one of the long hollow thighbones.

“Really?” Jeremy said trying to act sincerely surprised.

“Up to fifty miles an hour,” Sanchez confirmed unable to keep himself from teaching.

Dad looked at Jeremy for confirmation and Jeremy nodded.

Sanchez put the thighbone down and picked up the drumstick. “Some think they could kick like an ostrich,” he said.

“They can!” Jeremy exclaimed and then caught himself, “I mean, I bet they did. I was reading a book about it,” he mumbled trying to cover for himself.

“Jeremy reads lots of books about dinosaurs,” dad tried to help.

Sanchez straightened up shaking his head, “Peter was one of the best paleontologist I ever knew. I still can’t figure out why he would give it all up for a few hieroglyphics.” He shook his head. “It may not have changed the world but it sure changed him.”

Jeremy looked at Sanchez. Should he trust him? Could he help interpret the hieroglyphics? He looked at dad who shrugged as if to say, “It’s your choice.”

Jeremy took a deep breath. “Dr. Sanchez, I think we might be able to help you find the answer.”