Failed Prospects.P4

Randall ‘Randy’ Tarsh [Paleontology professor], Martin ‘Marty’ Robbins [Archaeology professor], Hugh Johnson [Geology student], Barbara Malters [investigative Journalist], Charlie Stutz [student of Photography]

Saturday , Oct 20^th: They had placed Marty’s duffle-bag full of the coprolites into the bed of the Mac truck which was then parked on the outskirts of town. Which ended the town food spoiling. Marty was already up and on the porch, dabbing his forehead sweat (bad dream). Which left Hugh to make the trip upstairs to bang on Professor Tarsh’s door, “Rise and shine.” They started the morning with a good breakfast and hearty conversation of both Marty and Charlie revealing their dreams. Randy chastised the other professor, “I thought you only believed in facts, not superstitions and foreboding dreams.” Barbara offered, “We should at least put the offending items back.” Both professors tried to stifle their snicker, “If we listened to all of the locals from our digs, the museums would be empty.”

Mary Penman cinched Matthew’s jacket, “It can get cold out there. You have your gloves? Listen to the men.” She turned to the team, “Please have him back before sunset; preferably by 3pm. He still has chores.” Hugh stepped forward and playfully rubbed the kid’s head, “I got this.” Deputy Smith exited the kitchen still munching on bacon, “Don’t worry Mary, I’m going along and will bring him back on my horse.” Barbara handed the note to Professor Tarsh for his signature before giving it to Mary, “Just in case someone from Dr. Baker’s team arrives while we are gone. Tells how we rummaged through the crates and removed those stones.” Marty teased, “Yeah, the craprolites that caused spoilage.”

0830: [Drive-fail] The truck refused to start for Hugh (having been left out in the cold night). Marty arrived to adjust the choke, “You have to know how to sweet talk her.” After picking up their perishable supplies from Ma’s Store, they headed north out of town with Smith/Matthew in the lead. Marty drove, with Barbara in the passenger seat, as the others found seating in the bed atop the canvas-covered gear/supplies. Kangee trotted his horse ahead so he could hear Matthew’s instructions over the rattle and sputter of the truck.

0930, Site-1: No road; all cross-country which made for a bouncing journey (weak truck springs). An hour before they reached the first site barely 5-6 miles north. Matthew guided on Peppercorn Ridge and a large boulder. They found a grid-pattern of digs just before the ridge. “No clearing for tents. Close enough to return to town to sleep.” With the truck stopped, they listened for the sound of other trucks to indicate Baker’s team returning. Nothing but wind and birds.

1030, Site-2: Less distance to travel but rougher ground still took an hour. Matthew got them to the general area; they had to search a little more to find the actual site. [Navigate, Geology] Hugh pointed out the horizontal striations on the ridge, “Morrison Formation distinctive to the Jurassic sedimentary rock. Fertile grounds for dinosaur fossils which are usually found in the green siltstone beds/layer.” Randy nodded approval at his student. They soon found the site: the gridded dig but still no clearing for tents.

Along the face of the ridge, they found exposed bones Professor Tarsh identified as Coelurasaur and T-rex. Charlie took pictures, then handed the camera to Kangee for a group shot. Hugh put Matthew on his shoulders. [When Charlie develops the pictures, he will find those out-of-focus and heads cut off.]

Matthew explained, “This is as far as I traveled following them. Too far to walk home and they talked about camping out the rest of the way.” The Deputy gave one last warning about Sica Hollow, “I can’t tell you to stay out; I can only warn you about its history. A number of disappearances over the century. My people speak of our ancestors. I can warn you about snakes and bears not yet in hibernation.” Barbara asked, “What can we do to not dishonor your people? Any ritual we should perform or something to burn?” Kangee only offered, “You could just stay out but I already sense that is not in your plans. Be safe.” Randy added, “Someone should be back in a week for resupply. When we find Dr. Baker’s team, we can request he send someone back to let you know all is OK.” Matthew waved goodbye from horseback.

Breakdown: Still no sounds of other trucks, they drove north. Hugh suggested following the dwindling river per the vague map. A rougher ride that rewarded those in the truck-bed bruised rumps. “WAM!” Until the truck broke down after a jarring jolt over a boulder. [Mechanical/Electrical] Hugh watched over Marty’s shoulder and offered suggestions, “Could it be the flux capacitor? Flat tire? Dad always stuck his tongue to the spark plug to check for current.” Marty ignored the tomfoolery as he poked his head under the hood and soon found the broken wire. “Simon fixed the one frayed sparkplug wire. He didn’t check them all.”

Meanwhile, Barbara wandered the area and soon discovered another etched coprolite which she showed Randy. The professor tossed it far away, “We have enough of those!” Barbara stuttered, “Yeah, but that one had paint on it!” At least the stone reminded the journalist to check the supplies and reported, “How could we be so foolish? With the stones in the truck, almost 80% of our food supplies have spoiled.”

Hidden treasure: They discussed leaving the duffle-bag behind. Hugh was concerned others might find it and steal it. They decided to bury the bag, “Over there by the ridgeline. We can use that crevice as a marker. See that lone cactus by the large rock?” As Hugh and Charlie carried shovels for the job, Barbara retrieved her coprolite and showed the others. Marty reasoned, “The paint flecks look like from a truck. Didn’t Matthew admit to throwing rocks?” Barbara corrected, “Yeah, but remember he walked back home from site #2. Probably Mr. Tucker continuing his pranks while they stopped to relieve themselves.” Randy humored himself examining the supplies… finding suitable snacks.

They resumed their travel, slower. Such that Hugh alternated between napping in the truck-bed and walking beside the truck. Charlie held onto the side railing as Barbara stood in the bed behind the cab for a better view of the landscape ahead. Which allowed Professor Tarsh to sit in the cab to sip a shot of whiskey, “Medicinal.”

1345, Site-3: [Spot- extreme] Charlie was the first to spot, “Looks to be a manmade clearing for their tents.” Randy focused his search for digging, “There’s piles of thrown dirt. Their dig site!” Still no sign of Baker’s team, Professor Tarsh advised they forage for food “to add to our meager supplies.” Charlie found berries and cactus which Hugh confirmed as edible. But in the search, Barbara saw a reflection and soon found “a digging trowel with the initials HB. "What’s Baker’s first name?” Marty corrected her, “That belongs to the student Henry Bates who was brought in for an injury. Frostbite.”

1430, Injuns! Randy interrupted their conversation, “You seeing this? Up on the ridge.” [Photography- 01] Charlie swapped lenses to zoom in, “Indians on horseback. By their wrinkled skin, I’d guess them elders.” Randy advised, “Play it cool.” Hugh leaned against the back of the truck on the handle of his pickaxe. As Marty sat behind the wheel, he offered, “Climb in and we can drive off.” Hugh laughed, “I think horses can run faster than 5 mph. And we only have one truck; so, we can’t circle the wagons.”

As the trio of Indians skillfully maneuvered their horses down the ridge and rode up, Professor Tarsh stepped forward (with Barbara at his side), “How. What can we do for you.” The Lakota elders responded, “Did your leader not relay our warnings about entering Sica Hollow? Like the others before you, we urge that you turn back. Sica is a bad place of our ancestors. The wind whispers with the cries of the spirits that are lost within the Hollow.” Randy asked, “What happened to your ancestors?” Elder Takoda spoke, “Killed by you white-men crazed for gold in the mountains. Killed for fun or sport. You have been warned.” And with that, the Indians turned and rode away. Randy called out, “Not all white-men are the same.”

Barbara felt unease, “Are we on a rescue mission?!” Professor Tarsh reassured, “Baker is just too focused on discovery. His team probably also found forage and decided not to waste a trip into town for groceries.” Barbara reminded, “OK, but someone SHOULD have come to meet us per the telegram.”

Even from Site #3, they could just see the edge of the forest in the distance. They drove on, following the drying river in its northward reach. They stopped short of the forest edge. “You can easily see the crushed prairie grass where the trucks went. Leads right toward that gap in the trees.” Randy instructed, “The sun is setting. I say we wait till dusk and send someone up the ridge to look upon the forest for a possible campfire. See where Baker’s team is.” Marty warned, The ridge is part of the Indian reservation.” Randy corrected, “Not to the top of the ridge. Just enough along the side for a decent view.” Marty talked the professor into following the known trail, “We can stop inside to see what’s going on and come back out to setup camp if needed.”

1730, Sica Hollow: With the nose of the truck just inside the tree line, they stopped to listen. Hugh and Barbara were surprised to hear rustling to their side. They looked to spot a small herd of deer spotted with warts, “My God, they are diseased! Poisonous food!” [Sanity -pass; Natural World- Hugh 000, Charlie- 95] The deer just stood, staring at them. Only ears twitching. Charlie squealed, “Ram it!” Hugh reached for the closest thing (can of food) and threw it at the closest deer. The can broke the front leg causing the deer to crumple on its forelegs. Yet the other deer only stared longer, until the injured deer rose on its 3-good-legs and hobbled off. They followed. [had they passed a Natural World check, they would have realized ‘deer warts’ are common occurrence. A harmless disease that soon goes away. Even found on cattle.]

1800, Site-4: They drove further in, maybe 150 yards, where they spotted the 2 trucks in the fading sunlight that filtered through the clutch of trees. No movement or sight of anyone coming forward. The clearing where tents once stood was now bare. They reasoned Baker’s team left in an orderly fashion. Marty turned the truck around, “In case we need to leave by headlights.” Marty laid on the horn intermittently as he also called out, “Doctor Baker!” No one around; nothing but the chitter of insects. Creeped out, Hugh armed himself with a shovel as he climbed out of the bed to slowly work his way over to the dig site. Randy and Barbara headed for the other trucks to check what was left behind. Charlie used the fading light to look for tracks going further into the forest.

Randy and Barbara inventoried the other trucks. Barbara found a spare tent and extra digging gear along with some canned goods, “Looks like they hand-carried what they could.” Randy checked the crates filled with discoveries. Barbara reacted to the long bone the professor held up, “Is that a leg bone?! Indian burial?” Randy informed her, “Barb, stick to journalism. This is a tibia from a bipedal dinosaur. I can’t confirm Coelurosaur yet, but definitely not human.”

Hugh poked thru the dig site to see if there was more items unearthed. What he thought was a branch mostly covered by the excavated earth proved to be a fossil bone. He called Professor Robbins over who confirmed it a fossil, “Most peculiar ridges, almost like the thorns on a rosebush. In human terms, it looks like the forearm radius bone complete with an elbow. Professor Tarsh, come take a look.” Between Hugh and Marty, they realized, “This bone isn’t fossilized. Maybe less than 100 years old!”

Meanwhile, Charlie followed truck tracks that poked into the distant trees. Barely entered the trees, before it was driven back out and parked next to the other truck. Imprinted in the muddy tire tracks were shoed-prints going into the forest. Charlie turned to join the others when he came face-to-face with a raccoon standing on its hind legs, hissing at him! Charlie kicked at the threatening critter that clawed at his leg, cutting his pant legs (but not breaking skin). [Dodge] Charlie shuddered and began to back up, catching himself from falling as he caught his foot on a root. He flailed his arms for balance… the motion looked like a repeat of the racoon’s raised arms. The racoon retreated when faced by an equally threatening but larger critter. Hugh was close enough to witness, “You fool! What if it has rabies?!”

Marty joined the others at Baker’s trucks and looked inside the cabs. Nothing on the car seats. “No note to tell where they went.” Nothing but a handwritten rental agreement for the trucks in the glovebox. Meanwhile, Randy climbed atop the truck cab for a better vantage to see into the forest, hoping to see a distant campfire.

[Listen- fail, POW- fail, DEX- fail] “What che doing up there?” Randy was startled by the sudden appearance of a stranger. He wheeled to see who, lost his balance, and fell on his tailbone. Jane continued, “Bit jumpy ain’t ya? Just like that young’un frightened by a little critter. Heard ya honking and hollering; thought I’d come see if Doctor Baker come back. I been gathering mushroom and nettles for a stew to feed them fellas and gals. Glad to share with ya if you’d like. Ya know, my backs been a bit achee; would one of ye fellas carry this pot and chop wood for the fire as I make the stew?”

Whether his pride broken, or just suspicious, Randy declined, “No thanks. Bye Sharon.” Jane looked puzzled, “Course I’m offering to share one and all. Oh, no, my name is Jane. Say, are you part of Baker’s team too? Ain’t seen ya before. Don’t believe them injuns. Sica ain’t no bad place. Lived out cher all my life.” Randy repeated, “Bye Sharon.” She picked up her pot and hobbled off.

They quickly made a campfire as the sun set. Marty used his flashlight to check the other trucks. No keys; so, he hot-wired the truck. Nothing, not even a click. Nor did the headlights work. “Battery dead.” He lifted the hood and found sticks sticking vertical beside the engine block. But more important, “Someone ripped out the spark-plug wiring!” Both trucks disabled the same way. Hugh was the first to accuse, “Jane!”

TO BE CONTINUED: https://wjr5oakley.blogspot.com/2023/05/failed-prospectsp5.html