Dick and Dr. Dan: The Boy Monster Hunters of the Bad Lands
9781465675316
213 pages
Library of Alexandria
Overview
“Hello, Dick! Where are you going in such a hurry? You must have had your breakfast and it isn’t dinner time yet.” Two boys of about eighteen years met unexpectedly in the little park in front of the United States National Museum, Washington, D. C. Dick Darrell was one and Charley Nicholson the other; both were in the employ of the paleontological department of the museum, their duties being to sort out and arrange the bones of the various prehistoric animals found by the agents of the museum in different parts of the United States. “I’m not after grub just now, Charley,” replied Dick. “Perhaps you don’t know that I’ve been under the weather for the last day or two, but such is the fact. Wasn’t coming down this morning, but I just received a telegram from old Poynter telling me to come at once if I was able to leave my bed.” “Hello!” cried Charley. “What’s in the wind now, I wonder? Have you drawn another prize?” “Can’t tell.” “Great Scott! I only wish it was my luck.” “Wait a bit. Perhaps I’m going to get the grand bounce.” “I hardly think that. Oh, I know! You are going to be sent off on some bone hunting expedition or another. A regular picnic. Something that will last all summer. No such luck ever comes my way.” “You can’t tell. Stick to your work and try to do it the best you possibly can; that’s the thing that brings promotion every time.” The boys separated inside the employees’ door of the museum, for Charley’s duties called him to the extreme end of the long building, while Dick was bound for Professor Poynter’s office, on the second floor. That genial old scientist was at his desk busily writing. “Good morning, Dick,” he called out. “One minute, my boy, until I finish this letter; then I will talk.” Dick waited patiently for fully fifteen minutes, after which the professor folded up his letter and motioned to him to draw up a chair. “Dick,” he said, “we want you for another expedition. You did so well down among the fossil beds of South Carolina that we are disposed to try you again.” “Thank you, sir,” replied Dick. “I always try to do my best. What is it to be this time?” “Well, it isn’t bone hunting,” replied the professor, “and you will be surprised when I tell you what it is.” Professor Poynter paused and began tumbling over the mass of papers upon his desk, leaving Dick to wonder what it all meant. “I have the letter here somewhere,” he said, “but I don’t seem to find it. Ah, yes! Here it is, and here’s the newspaper cutting attached to it which first called our attention to the matter. It’s from the Cheyenne Herald of a month ago. Listen to this: “Ike Izard and Doctor Dan are in town again, back from a three weeks’ bone hunting trip in the Bad Lands. Ike seems to be sober—more so than usual—but he reports a most astonishing experience, which is certainly enough to make us wonder how heavy a supply of Cheyenne bug juice he and the doctor had with them on their last trip. “It seems that they started out from Node Ranch and went into the Bad Lands as far as Walker’s Creek, pretty well covering the central eastern section of Converse county; one morning, after climbing a high mountain—Ike declares they went up at least 5,000 feet—they came suddenly upon a lake a mile or more wide and five miles long, which is not down on the maps, and so Ike took the liberty of naming it for himself, Izard Lake. “Here they went into camp and spent several days, as the shores of the lake were well strewn with fossil bones of the sort they were out after. “On the morning of the third day Ike was suddenly awakened by a strange bellowing, which seemed to come from off on the water. He shook up the doctor and they both ran out and were nearly paralyzed (question is if they weren’t entirely paralyzed the night before) at seeing a huge monster swimming toward them over the lake, bellowing like a mad bull.
