The tedious work of chiseling the rock away from the fossils was more than just holding the hammer and chisel. It was the odd way they had to stand since the rock wall was at a slant that must be close to forty-five degrees. To get to the top part, they had to climb up the scaffolding and lay on their sides, then reach, chisel, and pray they didn’t slide back down.
It was an easy way to get cramped arms and legs, but it wasn’t a process that could be rushed. Having a greater understanding of what Mr. Lakeman had done all these years was eye-opening. In his mind, they’d just dug things out of the dirt. Not out of massive slabs of rock. Big difference.
Now he understood. There was no such thing aseasyinpaleontology. The work was tedious, meticulous, and time consuming.
Anna had been sketching a tight grouping of several bones so that her father could help them see how they fit together. Rarely were skeletons of animals discovered in the exact placement. She’d told Joshua that her father had to study the bones for days, sometimes even months, to know exactly how they fit together. Which made sense when he thought about how the fossils got there. That the majority of them had to be from the Flood. A catastrophic event to be sure. Thousands of years ago.
He snuck a glance at her. The dry wind had pulled a good deal of her hair out from its pins. Tendrils of it moved around her face as she was bent over her sketch, her pencil moving in swift strokes.
Her head popped up and when she saw him, she smiled. Had she sensed his gaze?
She set her sketch down and walked toward him. “You look like you could use a good dunk in the creek.”
He grunted. “That, Miss Lakeman, is an understatement. I’m looking forward to doing just that.”
“Well, not to deprive you of that, but I was wondering if you would help me tonight? I need to start digging for the garden and it will be shaded on that side of the house by the time we get there.”
What was a few more hours of dirt in the heat? “Of course, I’ll help. I told you I would.”
“Will your family be all right with you being gone? I know it’s hard ever since...” She bit her lip and let the sentence hang.
The cramp of grief that hit every time he thought of Caleb made him close his eyes. “It’ll be fine. We’re all dealing with it the best we can.”
“I’m sorry.” Her gaze softened. “I never know if I should say anything or keep my mouth closed.”
“The work is helping me to keep my mind off it. Which is helpful right now.”
“All right then. Well, since Julian’s been so kind to order plants for me, I better have the ground ready to plant. He said he would have one of his hands bring over a wagonload of manure.”
“Oh good. That should make things smell even better.” He couldn’t help but laugh. “What are you doing with an entire wagonload of it?”
“We’regoing to mix it into the dirt.”
“Exactly what I was hoping to do this evening. You read my mind.”
Her laugh echoed off the rock wall.
The other guys studied them for a moment and then went back to work.
“I need to finish these sketches for my dad, but thanks for helping. I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome. Just tell me when you’re ready to head that way.”
A few hours later, they stood alongside her home outside her father’s window, shovels in hand.
True to Julian’s word, a wagonload of manure sat waiting for them. Plus a wagonload of rich river-bottom soil. Flies buzzed around and Joshua had to tie his bandanna over his nose and mouth to keep the stench partially out of his senses.
“Sorry. I know that’s strong.” Anna held her nose and sounded a bit like a duck. She pulled out her handkerchief and tied it like Joshua’s. “Why do I feel like we’re about to rob a bank now?”
They laughed for a few seconds and then attacked the grass, weeds, and dirt with a hoe and shovel.
She came closer to him for a moment. “We’ve got to getall the grass and weeds out and get down to the soil.” She shrugged and went back to slicing her hoe into the ground.
This was a good bit of work. “How much do you want to clear?”
“How about thirty feet by thirty feet? That’s big enough, don’t you think?”
“Sure. Sounds good to me. I’m here to do what you tell me.”
