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 t