Kate and the Wyoming Fossil Fiasco (5 page)

Joel rose and started to pace back and forth, his brow wrinkled. “That fossil is my best sample. How will they ever know what I’m capable of if it’s gone?” He continued to pace.

“Are you worried some other camper will get the internship?” Kate asked.

“Maybe. It’s pretty complicated,” he explained. “This internship is open to kids all over the world. More than three hundred teenagers have competed for this honor. I really thought I stood a chance … until now. Now I’m ready to give up.”

“Give up?” McKenzie gave him a curious look. “Over a missing fossil?”

“That stingray fossil is my biggest achievement and now it’s gone. There’s no proof that I discovered it. It’s like someone just walked away with the proof that I’m valuable. That I’m worth anything.”

Kate gasped. “Well, of course you’re valuable!” She looked at him, stunned, not quite believing he had said that. “You’re one of God’s kids. We’re all valuable in His sight.”

Joel shrugged. “You don’t get it, Kate. Where I come

from, you have to prove yourself. In my house, you have to get straight As on your report card or make the honor roll at school to get noticed.”

“But that doesn’t prove you’re valuable,” McKenzie argued. “Even if you got Bs or struggled in school, you would still be valuable to God.”

“Try telling that to my teachers and parents. You girls just don’t understand.” Joel plopped back down on the bench and sighed.

“I do.” Kate sat next to him. “My dad is really, really smart. He’s a professor, remember? But he would be the first to tell you that our real value comes from God.”

She pointed at the wall. “All of these things are worth a lot of money. I know that. But I also know that you’re more valuable to God than all of them put together. And you don’t have to prove anything to Him. He loves you, even if you’re not always the one who gets the internship or gets straight As.”

Joel bit his lip and Kate could tell he was really thinking about what she had said. After a while, he shrugged. “I guess. If you say so.” He gave her a funny look then glanced at the clock on the wall. “Oh no! It’s five minutes till two. We’ve got to get back out to the site. This is the best part. The excavation begins right away!”

“Do I have time to get my mirrored sunglasses?” Kate asked.

“Only if you hurry!”

The kids took off running toward the quarry as fast as their legs could go!

Kate ran behind Joel and McKenzie, stopping to get her sunglasses out of the bunkhouse. She arrived at the excavation site huffing and puffing, but right on time.

“Take a look around you,” Conner said to the group as he gestured to a large open field. “It’s hard to believe, but this area used to be a lake.”

Kate paused for a few breaths, then paid close attention.

“Wow. We’re standing in the middle of a dried up lake,” McKenzie whispered. “Good thing I brought my swimsuit!” She laughed and Kate giggled.

“This region of Wyoming is loaded with fossil specimens,” Conner explained. “Thousands of years ago rains would fall and the water would flow down the mountain, forming lakes.”

Megan stepped up beside him. “Another theory is that the whole earth was covered in water during the Genesis flood, creating the perfect environment for fish.”

“The Genesis flood?” Patti, the little girl with the red hair and freckles, looked confused.

“You know,” Kate threw in. “The story of Noah and the ark. It rained for forty days and nights.”

“I remember hearing that story in kids’ church,” Lauren said, tossing her hair. “Can you imagine being on that ark with all of those stinky animals?” She made a face and pinched her nose. “Gross!”

This got all of the girls tickled and before long, everyone was laughing. Well, everyone but Kate. She was still thinking about what Megan had said.

“Regardless,” Conner said. “The waters dried. When that happened, millions of fish died in just a short period of time.”

“How sad,” Kate whispered.

“Because of that, this area is rich in fish fossils,” Conner said. “That’s good news for us, since that’s what we’re searching for today.” He gestured to his right. “Layers of mud covered up the dead fish of course, but then volcanic activity occurred.”

“Volcanoes?” McKenzie looked very, very nervous. Her eyes grew big.

“That happened a long time ago,” Conner explained. “Not any more.”

“Whew.” McKenzie looked relieved.

“Anyway, the volcanic activity exposed the fish fossils. And thousands upon thousands of them are still here, waiting to be discovered … by you!”

“Wow.” Kate could hardly believe it. Would she really find a fossil? If so, would she get to keep it, or would they put itin a box and hang it on a wall in the museum? Suddenly she could hardly wait to get started.

“I know you kids are anxious,” Conner said. “But there are a few things we need to cover before we actually start digging.” He held up something small. Kate took a couple of steps toward him to see what it was.

“This is a
Mioplosus
specimen. They are very common in this region. I’m going to explain how it became a fossil, so pay close attention.”

Kate drew near, more excited than ever.

“There are five phases to fossilization,” Conner explained. “You might need your notepads for this one. You’ll want to remember all of this for later on.”

Kate leaned over to Megan and whispered, “Can I use my digital recorder?”

“Of course,” Megan nodded. “He’ll cover a lot of material, so taking notes would be tough anyway.”

Kate reached inside her backpack and came out with the tiny black digital recorder and turned it on.

Conner held up the fossil and explained. “The first phase of fossilization is death,” he said. “Let’s say, for example, that a fish dies, then drifts to the bottom of the lake. After scavengers get a hold of it, the skeleton is the only thing that remains.”

“Gross,” McKenzie whispered. “Doesn’t sound very appetizing.”

“Oh, but that’s the most important part,” Joel said softly.

“Sometimes bad things have to happen in order for good things to come out of them.”

“Hmm.” Kate thought about his words. Sometimes life was like that. Bad things happened … then good things came out of the bad.

“After death comes the deposition stage,” Conner explained. “During this phase, the sand and silt cover up the shell over a period of time, building several layers.”

“Those layers protect the shell from damage,” Kate whispered. “I read all about it online.”

“Yeah, I saw a video in my science class about this,” McKenzie whispered back. “After hundreds of years, the shell is way below the surface. No one even knows it’s there.”

“Right.” Kate nodded. “Sometimes for thousands of years. Can you imagine?”

McKenzie shook her head.

Kate was lost in her thoughts when Conner started talking once again.

“After the deposition comes the third phase,” he explained. “We call this permineralisation.”

“Per-mineralisation?” Little Patti shook her head. “I hope I don’t have to spell that word later. I’ll never get it right.”

Megan offered a smile. “Break the word down into parts. Per-mineral-is-a-tion. It just means the shell goes through a bunch of changes over time. Before long, the original shell becomes hard, like a rock.”

“Why didn’t he just say that?” Patti mumbled.

Conner went on to talk about that process, but Kate was distracted, watching Joel, who was scribbling notes in his notebook. He really was taking this seriously. She felt bad for him, knowing his fossils were missing. On the other hand, maybe they really had just been loaned to another museum. She hoped so, anyway.

Conner continued explaining how fossils were made, and Kate tried to pay attention, even though some of what he said didn’t make much sense.

“The fourth phase is erosion,” Conner said. “Wind, ice, sun, and rain begin to take their toll on the fossil, changing it.”

“Everything changes over time,” Joel whispered, still scribbling in his notebook.

Kate looked over at McKenzie, who had changed so much over the past year, and nodded. “Yep. It’s true,” she whispered.

Conner continued to talk. “Finally, the last phase. Exposure. Exposure comes when a paleontologist locates the fossil. It is removed from the ground and is cleaned up.”

“That’s what I do,” Joel said, squaring his shoulders. “Finding them is the best part!”

Kate tried to pay attention, but every time she thought about someone cleaning the fossils, she remembered Grumpy Gus. What did he do behind closed doors besides cleaning and packing fossils? Did he have a mold and several bags of brown sugar, perhaps? Did he take the real fossil plates and sell them illegally and pocket the money?

Was he the one who had stolen Joel’s fossils? Was he the one responsible for what happened to poor Mrs. Smith?

Kate’s imagination began to work overtime as she thought about it.

“After a fossil is exposed, we look at it under a magnifying lens,” Megan said. “Examine every square inch of it.”

“That’s the fun part,” Joel whispered. “Seeing everything close up. Have you ever looked at a fossil through a magnifying lens? It’s really cool.”

“Yes, actually, I …” she started to tell him about that day at the museum with her teacher, but stopped. No, she couldn’t give away too much information just yet. After all, she still wasn’t sure who she could trust. Joel might look like a good guy, but he could be faking it. She needed to be on the lookout for fakes … no doubt about that.

“How big are fossils, anyway?” McKenzie asked.

“Oh, they come in all shapes and sizes,” Conner explained. “Some are so tiny you can only see them with a magnifying lens, and some are huge. Some of the bigger ones include bones belonging to dinosaurs.”

“Wow.” The girl’s eyes grew wide at this news. “Really?”

Conner nodded.

Kate raised her hand. “Excuse me, but can I ask a question?”

“Sure,” Conner said.

“What happens to the fossils when they leave the quarry? Do you sell them?”

Conner appeared to be thinking about his answer. “As

we’ve discussed, many of the fossils are quite valuable. Those stay here at the museum but are often loaned to other museums around the country. People all over the country enjoy looking at Stone’s Throw fossils. They’re quite popular.”

When they’re real
, Kate thought
.

“You’d be very surprised at just how valuable some of these fossils are,” he added. “And how rare.”

“So valuable and rare that someone wants to steal them and keep the money for themselves!” McKenzie whispered.

Kate nodded, then looked at Joel. She couldn’t stop thinking about the missing stingray. Was Joel the victim? Or was he somehow involved in all of this? Only time would tell.

“Okay, kids!” Megan clapped her hands to get their attention. “It’s time to get suited up! We’re going to start our first dig. So grab those hard hats! Put on those safety goggles! Let’s get digging!”

Kate scrambled into her bright orange jacket, put on her yellow hard hat, and grabbed her goggles. After securing them, she reached for her backpack and pulled out the larger chisel.

“I’m ready!” she said with a giggle.

The next hour was spent digging. At first, it seemed easy. But after a while, Kate’s arms got really tired. “I don’t think I could be a paleontologist,” she whispered to McKenzie. “My arms aren’t strong enough!”

“What would Elizabeth say to that?” McKenzie whispered back.

“I know, I know.” Kate laughed. “She would say, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ “

“And she’s right,” McKenzie said. “Besides …” She flexed the muscles in her upper arm. “We’re getting stronger every day.”

“Getting stronger every day. I like that.” Kate nodded, and then slowly began to dig again.

Before long, one of the girls hollered, and Kate turned around, curious.

“I found one!” Lauren said with a joyous look. “I really, really found one! Look everyone!”

They all drew near and examined the fossil.

“It’s broken, but it’s still really cool.” She held it out for Conner to examine.

“Yes, that’s a
Knightia,”
he said. “They are very common here in Wyoming. Nicely done, Lauren. You’re the first to unearth a fossil, so you’ll get the privilege of leading one of the teams in the treasure hunt tomorrow morning.”

“Aw man.” Kate shrugged. “Wish I’d been the first.”

“What would Elizabeth say?” McKenzie asked her again.

Kate grinned. “She would quote the scripture ‘But many who are first will be last, and the last first.’ “

“Exactly.” McKenzie nodded. “So let’s remember that. And just because we’re not the first to discover a fossil doesn’t mean we won’t figure out who forged the ones at

your teacher’s museum. We’re here for a reason, Kate, and I truly believe the Lord will do something very exciting!”

Kate was starting to nod when something—or rather, someone—in the distance caught her eye. “Look, McKenzie!” She pointed as an older man disappeared behind the trees to their left. “Was that Grumpy Gus?”

“No idea. I didn’t get a good look.”

Kate reached into her bag and came up with her teensy-tiny binoculars. She pulled off her safety glasses and peered into the binoculars, trying to see into the forest. Yes, sure enough, a man was running, hiding from tree to tree. She couldn’t tell for sure, but it looked like Gus. He was wearing the same color shirt, anyway.

“Something is very suspicious here, McKenzie,” she whispered. “Very suspicious, indeed!”