“We just found this spot a couple of weeks ago.” Mr. Johnson led her to the large wagon bed in the center of the work area. “Several small animal skeletons have been pulled out in the northwest outcropping there. It’s an excellent place to start digging and learning about the science of bones.”
While it wasn’t her first dig, it was the first one in a long time. She longed to soak in every second, every shovelful of dirt, every teeny-tiny fossil she could find no matter its significance. “I appreciate you allowing me on your dig, Mr. Johnson. My mother is most thankful for your kindness and prepared a luncheon for you and your men to be taken at your convenience.” Martha laced her fingers together and swallowed hard against her dry throat. Mother wouldn’t have found fault with that speech.
“That is very generous. Thank you. Now, I will show you where you can dig today and if you have any questions, please seek me out.”
He led her to a flat space where small boulders protruded from the ground. A mound of red and brown dirt was piled on one side of a hole about three feet wide and six inches deep. Mr. Johnson crouched down and gestured for Martha to follow suit. She knelt, rocks pressing into her knees through the fabric of her dress.
“You see this long, curved line here?” He gestured to a small lip at the top of the hole. Martha’s breath caught. The faint imprint of bones was still in the rock! “We found a snake skeleton here. And the vertebrae and hind leg of some sort of rabbit here. We think there might be more in this area. Would you be up to seeing what else can be found?”
She nodded and gestured for Lily Rose, her companion, to hand over her bag. Martha untied the thick string cinching it together and pulled out the roll of tools she’d purchased the minute her mother agreed to let her go back out on a dig site. “I will do my best to find something for you today.”
Her words tumbled out in a rush, and Mr. Johnson laughed and sat back on his heels. “The chances of finding something are always slim, Miss Jankowski. But I can see you’ve got the fever for the job. Your father had that same look in his eyes when he started working. Always determined to find the next big skeleton. I know he always wanted to dig up a dinosaur.” A sad smile tugged at the older man’s lips. “Too bad that dream was never fulfilled.”
Martha peered into the small hole then back at the foreman. Though she was young, and being on a dig with her companion and a long-lost family friend was not society’s way, her fingers itched to get started. The heat of the sun, the tangy smell of dirt and pine dancing on the breeze, and the thrill of the search had her blood pounding in her ears. The chance to make a discovery here put those boring society dinner parties to shame.
Being here in the mountains, where the rocks had secretswaiting to be unearthed, was the fulfillment of her dreams. She wouldn’t take that for granted. She would make her parents proud.
And it made her feel close to Father in a way she hadn’t felt in a long, long time. Especially since he’d become more and more of a recluse the past few years. For Mr. Johnson to compare her to him—at least who he’d once been—was an honor.
She plucked her small chisel, brush, and hammer out of her tool roll and sent him a smile. “Someday, Mr. Johnson, I will find a dinosaur. I know there’s one in these foothills.” She gazed at the mountain peaks in the distance. “And when I find it, it will go in a beautiful museum. My name will be on the plaque right next to it. ‘Martha Jankowski, Paleontologist.’”
Lily Rose stepped closer and touched Martha’s arm—a sure sign she was displeased with Martha’s boldness. But Martha lifted her chin and ignored her companion.
“Those are some mighty big dreams, young lady.” The foreman scratched his head, but he didn’t laugh or give her a condescending expression, bless him.
“They are.” Martha shifted so she could start tapping into some loose rock. “But what good is it having dreams if they aren’t big?”
Mr. Johnson chuckled and stood. “That’s a truth, Miss Martha. I’ll leave you to it for now. And we will eat that luncheon in an hour.”
Martha nodded and turned to her work, but not before she caught Lily Rose’s raised eyebrows. What did it matter? Yes, her mother hired her companion to guide her in the ways of society as an adult, but that didn’t mean Lily Rose could tell Martha what to do.
Without a word, she knelt in the hole. The fine, pointed chisel slotted into a small crack between two flat rocks. She tapped the top with four sharp raps. The rocks split and she dug them out. With rapid strokes, she brushed dirt and pebblesout of the way then sighed. Nothing. It wasn’t surprising. Paleontology wasn’t for the faint of heart. She’d have to be patient and able to press on despite coming up empty on a dig.
Luncheon came and went and still she dug. The holes in her small plot multiplied. So far the only interesting thing she’d uncovered was a small mound of marcasite and a caterpillar. Martha used her fingers to dig out a few stuck pebbles then grabbed her brush. Once the debris was out of the new hole she’d made, she began tapping again. A large chunk of rock broke away from the outermost edge of the red dirt. She tapped again....
Wait a minute.
That didn’t sound like chisel hitting rock. Her heart thumped against her ribs.
She dug and swept away more rock and dirt. “My canteen,” she muttered, her gaze darting around her worksite. “Where is my canteen?” She spotted it by her tool roll and stretched to grab it. Unscrewing the cap, she dribbled a little water in the hole and wiped the mud away carefully with a rag. There, poking out of the Colorado clay, was some sort of bone!
“Mr. Johnson!” Martha jumped to her feet. “I think I found something!”
The foreman approached and crouched down next to her, peering at the protrusion. He ran a bare finger along the ridge. “Certainly feels like a bone. Well done.” He smiled at her. “One of my men can come and finish the job.”
His statement doused the joy bubbling through Martha. If she pushed too hard, he might kick her off his dig, but she couldn’t pass up the opportunity. “Could I dig just a little more? Make sure it’s worth the attention of one of your workers?”
Mr. Johnson hesitated then nodded. “But if you get deeper and it looks like it is too big for you to remove, you call me.”
“I will, I promise.” Martha placed her hand over her heart.She bent back over the protrusion and thought for a minute while Lily Rose sat on a boulder with her parasol and watched. The silent scrutiny spoke volumes.
No matter. Martha wasn’t about to stop now. Her flat-edged chisel might help loosen some of the harder rock around whatever this thing was. For the next hour, she found a rhythm of working. Her fine chisel broke up the surface rock and dirt closest to the bone. She used the sharp-edged trowel to scoop out dirt and pry clumps of rocks out of the stubborn clay. The flat-edged chisel gave her enough leverage to loosen the object and break it free from its Rocky Mountain prison.
“Martha—”
She glanced at Lily Rose.
“How long would your mother want you to be out in the sun?”
