Whatwas happening?
Martha had tried to read the Scriptures to find comfort the past couple days but then little thoughts would niggle at the back of her mind that everything had been fine until she started searching for more about God.
Without anyone to talk to, she’d done her best to pray. Even when she didn’t have the words, she’d lift her face toward the ceiling hoping that God understood her heart.
After those moments, she’d felt peace.
Until her mind started spinning again.
Between worry and uncertainty about the two people that she cared about the most, she had worn thin.
She wanted to have faith. Longed to have God work in a miraculous way so that everything would be all right. But she was tired.
A cheer rose up from the southwest quadrant.
She left the tent, lifted her skirts, and rounded the dirt path.
“Look!” One of the three men lifting the fossil was all smiles. He spotted her. “Miss Jankowski! We have the skull!”
Whoops and hollers echoed around her at the site. She put her hands to her mouth—they’d done it. They had the skull.
She placed one hand on her stomach and forced her jittering nerves to calm. She walked closer, ready to hold the skull for herself.
She did. Well, with the help of the others. The skull of anApatosauruswas small in comparison to its body, but massive in comparison to a human.
As she inspected the fossil, more men gathered close. There was a little bit of the mandible missing, but that was to be expected. Other than that, the cranium was there.
She lifted her gaze to the men, blinking away the tears of joy that threatened to multiply. “Thank you. All of you. You have done a magnificent job.”
“Won’t Jacob be excited to see this?” Josiah came closer. The poor guy probably didn’t even realize Jacob was missing.
Her elation plummeted, but she couldn’t allow them to see that. They had less than three weeks to complete the dig and they still had several cervical ribs, a humerus, an ulna, and the sternal plates to unearth. There were other pieces in progress that would be completed soon, but those others hadn’t even been started.
The crowd began to disperse as the men figured out the best way to haul the skull up and get it wrapped for storage.
Martha made her way back to the tent, tired of all the ups and downs in her emotions.
“Uh ... Miss Jankowski?” Mr. Lewis removed his hat. “There’s a policeman out at the gate asking to see you.”
Her heart drummed in her chest, faster and faster. “Thank you. I’ll go see what he wants.”
Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good. The police didn’t usually arrive with good news.
She took steady, quick steps down the path toward the gate, and sure enough, there was a man standing there. Looking somber.
“I’m Miss Jankowski. You asked for me?” She eyed the man, willing herself to stand still and remain calm.
“You need to come into town with me, miss. One of your employees has been spying on another dig.”
“Pardon me?” Placing her hands on her hips, she narrowed her gaze.
“A Mr. Jacob Duncan. An official report has been filed.” He tugged on her elbow. “Come with me. Now.”
Twenty
“I have got to leave these scenes and this country which have grown so dear to me.”
~Earl Douglass
