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understand why Todd left,” Craig admitted. “I’d better get home and see what’s going on.”
    “Let us know if you need anything,” Daniel said, as Craig hung the pitchfork on its usual nail on the wall stud and left.
    Daniel leaned against a post and sighed. He was glad the day was almost over.
    Lying in bed that night, he found himself haunted by the day’s happenings and Mr. Pederson’s look of despair. If only he could do something to bring back the old man’s spirit.
    Would taking Pederson on a journey into prehistoric time help him recover from this loss?
    If he and Ole Pederson went, then Dr. Roost probably would insist on going too. She was brave, he had to give her that, but she wasn’t spry enough to climb trees, nor was Mr. Pederson. What could they do instead to keep safe?
    He thought of a series of pulleys and ropes, maybe with some kind of harness system to hold them on their way upwards. But that sounded too cumbersome if they needed to escape quickly. Or could they take some kind of stun gun or tranquilizer darts like the ones used on elephants and other large wild animals? But even if they could get their hands on such things, he was sure the dinosaurs had thicker hides, and even if the darts could penetrate them, there might not be much effect.
    He’d do some research on the Internet when he had a chance. Maybe there was something that originally had a different purpose that they could use. He remembered reading a science fiction novel called The Dechronization of Sam Magruder in which a man had gone to the Cretaceous Period and existed there for years, having discovered that large dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus Rex had poor eyesight, and that if he stood close to them, they couldn’t see him. But the book was a story and he seemed to recall that recent research indicated the T. rex actually had great eyesight. Daniel would wait and see what happened tomorrow. No point in rushing things.
    But the next day was no different. Although the police were making inquiries and searching abandoned buildings, nothing had turned up. Every time a phone rang or someone drove into the yard, Daniel’s stomach did a little flip-flop, but it was always quarry tour business.
    There seemed to be an extra flurry of visitors trying to see the excavation before the season closed. The only thing that distracted Daniel from his worries was taking the odd group to the paleontological site. But this depressed him even more each time he arrived and saw the path that led to the devastation. Although he avoided taking any of the visitors to the Stygimoloch area, his thoughts were there and he could feel his enthusiasm drain away.
    “This is really tough going,” said Jed, as they took a break in the yard before the next groups arrived.
    “Good thing today is the last day,” Daniel agreed.
    “Yes,” said Lucy, joining them. “This should be a really happy day to celebrate the end of the summer and our success. Instead, everyone is moping around.”
    “I haven’t even seen Dr. Roost yet today,” said Lucy. “Your mom said she drove off without breakfast this morning.”
    Daniel nodded. “And Craig and Todd haven’t put in an appearance all day either. And they didn’t let us know they weren’t coming.”
    “That is unusual. What do you think is up with them?” asked Jed.
    Daniel shook his head. “Everything seems so strange now. Even Mr. Pederson didn’t show up.”
    “But this is the last day,” said Jed.
    “I know,” Daniel said. “But Dad stopped by to see him and he said he wasn’t feeling well today, so he wasn’t coming over.”
    “I don’t like the sound of that,” said Jed.
    “Me either,” Lucy agreed.
    “Good thing we could manage taking his place as the guide at the quarry,” said Jed.
    “Maybe we should pay him a visit,” Lucy suggested. By the time they had shown the last of the visitors off the property, though, it was late and Jed’s parents wanted to head for home right