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the shade of her sun hat, her cheeks looked pink. Damp tendrils of hair curled around her ears. “It was fun.”
    George bounded over to us, full of energy as usual. “Learn anything?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.
    I shook my head. “Lots of questions, but no answers.”
    Bess leaned closer and lowered her voice. “I think you’re right about Tom, Kyle, and Steffi. I don’t think it’s a love triangle. More like professional jealousy. That guy sure knows how to complain.”
    “I’ll tackle him again this afternoon,” I said. “But first let’s get some lunch!”
    Felix had sandwiches ready to go, piled high with meat, cheese, and vegetables. “Are you sure you don’t want one?” he asked Abby. “I have a vegetarian.” It looked delicious, with roasted red peppers and sprouts spilling out the sides.
    She wrinkled her nose. “Thank you, but I’ll stick with my herbed soybeans and millet.”
    Grayson picked up a sandwich stuffed with roast beef. “Ah, here’s one just the way I like it—plenty of cow!
    Abby stuck her tongue out at him, and he laughed.
    We got our sandwiches and looked around for shade. Tom and Russell sat under a blue tarp stretched between two trucks, talking seriously. I caught a few words, and it sounded like a foreign language. Dinosaur names, I guessed. Abby perched nearby, eating delicately like a cat. Grayson slumped against a tree, looking wilted. Steffi headed toward her tent. Felix sat by his sandwiches, ready to offer more.
    Kyle looked tired, with his shoulders drooping, but he smiled and came over to us. “We usually take a couple of hours’ break now. We try to head back to the dig around three o’clock. That way we avoid the worst of the heat, but still get in several more hours of work.”
    “Why do you do the dig when it’s so hot, anyway?” George asked. “Why not wait until cooler weather?”
    “A lot of our volunteers are students or teachers, so we wait for summer break.”
    We lapsed into silence as we finished our sandwiches. The air shimmered with heat. I felt like I was melting, and my eyes wanted to close. Soon people headed to their tents. I hesitated, feeling like I should be doing some detective work. But for the moment everyone was safely tucked away. I decided to lie down for a few minutes and then come out to keep an eye on things.
    Bess and George followed me back to the tent. I crouched and unzipped the flap. Under the noise of the zipper I heard a strange sound. I paused a moment, trying to identify it. A dry rattle, like seeds in a gourd. Where was it coming from?
    I shrugged and finished unzipping the tent. As the flap fell open, the sound got louder.
    Zhhh-zhh-zhhh!
    It was coming from inside the tent!
    I looked in. I saw a raised head, coiled body, and shaking tail.
    I was staring at a rattlesnake.

6
Rattled
    M y breath stopped while my heart raced. I
     couldn’t move, even though I felt the adrenaline surging through my bent legs.
    Behind me Bess stepped closer. “What’s that noise?”
    “Get back!” I croaked. I sensed rather than saw George grab
     Bess and the two of them carefully retreat.
    The rattler had to be at least three feet long, and two inches thick. It
     lay smack on the middle sleeping bag, coiled up, with its head and tail raised. I stared
     into its unblinking eyes. Its tongue flicked in and out. Every few seconds it paused in
     its rattling, then started up again, the tail tip a blur.
    Chills ran up and down my spine and sweat poureddown
     my face. I took a shallow breath and reached one hand behind me. Slowly I shifted back
     until I was sitting on the ground. I inched my way back, making no sudden movements,
     though my pounding heart was telling me to leap up and run.
    The rattler shifted and slithered a little closer. It was all I could do
     not to scream.
    George stepped around the tent with a stick in her hands. She poked the
     back of the tent, rustling the fabric.
    The snake turned and lashed out at the