Close relationships of any kind had puzzled Martha over the years. She’d never seen anything from her parents that showed they cared for each other more than anyone else. Goodness, they didn’t even showherany great affection. Not since her father’s accident.
But occasionally, after reading a good book, she found herself pondering... If love was so rare, why did the great authors and poets write about it? How did they know of it?
The clatter of a wheelbarrow coming down the path shook her out of the retrospective. If she wasn’t careful, those thoughts could make her melancholy. And they didn’t matter.She had work to do, and the dinosaur wasn’t about to dig itself up.
Standing back up, she took one more look down at the quarry. She’d paid a photographer a hefty sum to take a picture of the site when she was certain of what she’d uncovered. Then made him sign an agreement that he would speak of it to no one. One of the men on her crew was brilliant with sketches. Every day, she had him sketch their progress. Every step of the dig would be documented.
When she’d first written the proposal to the museum, she’d hoped to have the entire skeleton out of the ground by the end ofnextsummer. That wasn’t reasonable anymore—not with the deadline.
Bother. She’d wasted too much time on the ridge. “I better get back to it.” She patted Lily Rose’s shoulder and headed down the steep trail, thankful and determined to stay positive. They had several more hours of daylight today. That would help.
Footsteps behind her signaled that her companion was following. She always did.
As Martha rounded the curve back to the quarry site, she heard the men’s voices. A bit more worked up than usual. She quickened her pace and ran right into her assistant. “What’s going on, Mr. Parker?”
“One of the men came back a few minutes ago with word about the other dig.”
She raised her eyebrows. “My instructions were specific. I didn’t want anyone spying on the other group.” Crossing her arms over her middle, she narrowed her gaze. All eyes in the quarry were now on her. “I don’t want to know where it is. I don’t want anything in our actions to give cause for anyone to cry foul.”
“No one did any spying, miss.” Wiry, young Josiah stepped forward. “The information came to me.”
“How exactly did itcometo you?” As much as she wanted to know whatever he’d found out, she had to make sure her crew understood the rules she’d laid out.
“I had to run home and change out my boots since I wore ’em clean through. My cousin raced over to tell me he was excited about his new job. Working at a dinosaur bone quarry. They hired fifty new men. He said they’re under a deadline. Same as ours.” Josiah wiped his sweaty face with his forearm. “But then he clamped his hand over his mouth and said something about how it was a secret and he wasn’t supposed to say anything. I didn’t respond, miss. I promise. That was when my stomach dropped down to my toes and I knew I had to tell ya.”
She’d never known him to be anything but sincere. “Fifty men.” Scanning the quarry and her small crew of ten men, she wanted to scream.
As much as she’d created the strict guidelines for her men and wanted to abide by them, she now had the intense need to know more. How far along were they at this rival dig ... how big was their dinosaur ... what genus was it—the director had said it was aBrontosaurus, but was it really? How many men did they have working total...?
All the questions and thoughts swirled and she fought to keep them at bay. Fiftymoremen.
The lump in her throat grew. Fifty.
Against her ten.
She’d never make it.
SATURDAY, APRIL13, 1889
“Hey, Duncan. Time for lunch.”
Jacob pushed himself into a sitting position with a groan. For the last two hours, he’d been helping Abe dislodge three large bones related to the foot of theirBrontosaurus. The outline of the foot bones was clear from the pointed claw-like toeto the larger joints that should lead up to the massive femurs. The toe bone alone was thicker than Jacob and almost as tall. It would take days, if not weeks, to excavate.
Fortunately, there were fifteen other men working on this portion of the dig. Usually, the men laughed and talked during their work. But today, there was an intensity sizzling in the air. The pressure to get these bones out of the rocks without breaking them was immense.
Jacob stood and brushed the rubble from his pants. He picked up his canteen and followed Abe to the meal tent. Thankfully the wind wasn’t terrible today. He had enough dirt in his mouth from the dust and rubble in his quadrant. He was looking forward to eating food free of grit. Probably wishful thinking.
He filled his tin plate with baked beans, a couple slices of beef, and a biscuit. Abe found a section of table not crowded with the other workers. They sat and Abe dug into his lunch right away.
Jacob paused then bowed his head briefly, thanking the Lord for the food provided and asking for strength to keep digging. It was only noon, and he was already tired. Hopefully lunch would replenish his energy for what was sure to be a long afternoon of careful excavation. The blessing finished, he grabbed his fork and began to tuck away the hearty meal.
“Why do you do that?” Abe asked with a mouthful of food.
“Do what?”
“Bow your head over your food every time we eat.” His friend stabbed a piece of meat and popped it in his mouth. His tone wasn’t accusatory, merely curious.
“Oh.” Jacob took a drink of water to clear his throat. “It’s important to thank God for what’s provided.”
