Dr. Perry reached into his pocket, and Pete raised his rifle expectantly. Dr. Dumar extended a celluloid case, and Chuck looked at it with scrutiny. He saw the seal of the United States Government and under that the hourglass seal of the Department of Chronology.
“It’s all right, Pete,” he said. “Put up your rifle.”
He holstered the .45 and offered his hand to Dr. Perry. The paleontologist took it and squeezed it firmly. “Are we delighted to see you!” he said. “We’ve been lost for close to six months now.”
Dr. Dumar put his billfold back into his trousers pocket and his pale blue eyes sparkled behind the thick lenses of his glasses. “We’ve been searching for the rendezvous site,” he explained. “You see, we were granted a scientific dispensation to study the period. Our grant expired six months ago, at which time we were to be at the rendezvous site for a slip back to the present.” He shrugged his shoulders helplessly. “We couldn’t
“Before you raise your hopes,” Chuck said, “we don’t know where the site is, either.”
“Oh?” Dr. Perry raised his eyebrows.
“We’ve had a series of accidents,” Chuck said. The memory of Owen suddenly focused sharply in his mind. He stopped talking, nursing the ache in his heart.
Pete seemed to warm up suddenly. “We’re looking for the site now,” he said. “You’re welcome to join us.”
Dr. Dumar nodded. “The four of us should be able to…”
“There’s more than four of us,” Pete said. “We’ve got another four people back at our camp.”
“All the better,” Dr. Perry put in. “Our chances should increase with our numbers. This is a vigorous land.”
Dr. Dumar nodded. “We have been living off the countryside for the past four months. Foraging. It has not been pleasant.”
“Let’s get started,” Chuck said. “You’ll want to meet the rest of the party. And Pete will rustle up some grub for you. He’s our cook.”
Dr. Perry smiled, his teeth glistening against the darkness of his beard. “An excellent fellow to know.” he said.
They started toward the camp, and a new worry began to gnaw at Chuck’s mind. They had been forced to take along a meager supply of food as it was- and now there were two extra mouths to feed!
He sighed deeply, convinced that they would never again see their own time, that they would remain among the reptiles forever.
The camp was silent when they returned. Masterson and Gardel were seated on a low rock, their heads bent together as they spoke in low whispers. They stopped talking when Chuck appeared. Arthur and Denise were squatting by the fire, one of Denise’s long, blue-jeaned legs stretched out toward the warmth of the crackling flames.
When Arthur saw Chuck, he leaped to his feet and brought his rifle up, his eyes swinging to the two strangers.
“Relax, Arthur,” Chuck said easily. “They’re friends.” He led the two doctors to the fire and said, “Dr. Dumar and Dr. Perry, this is the rest of our party. The fellow behind the gun is Arthur.”
“Pleased to know you,” Arthur said. He extended his hand, and both doctors shook it in turn. “I was just about ready to come after you,” he said, turning to Chuck. “All that talk about cave men…”
“The doctors are far from cave men,” Chuck said, smiling. “Dr. Dumar is a geologist, and Dr. Perry is a paleontologist. They were doing some work in the area and couldn’t find the rendezvous site when it was time to return.”
Masterson walked over to the fire and extended his hand to Dr. Dumar. “Allow me to introduce myself,” he said. “I’m Dirk Masterson.” He paused and added, “I financed this little expedition.”
“Oh!” Dr. Dumar said. A frown started near his bald pate and moved down his forehead to curl his heavy black brows. Then he shook his head and said, “Forgive me. I must have had a mistaken impression.”
“About what?” Masterson asked.
“No, nothing. It is nothing. Forgive me.”
“I’m interested now,” Masterson said, his teeth flashing in an easy grin. His voice had lost all its bluster and was gently insistent now.
“Well,” Dr. Dumar said, “I was under the impression that private time slips were restricted to an area immediately surrounding the rendezvous site. I must have been mistaken.”
The smile flickered on Masterson’s face for an instant, seemed almost to extinguish. It came back stronger than ever, dazzling in its brilliance, and he said, “We had an accident. Our jeep crashed into the force field and shorted it”
Dr. Dumar nodded. “I see. But shouldn’t you have remained in the area of the ren…”
“This is my assistant, Brock Gardel,” Masterson said quickly.
Dr. Dumar smiled. “How do you do?”
Brock shook hands with the geologist and then turned to Dr. Perry. “You must have had a rough time, all alone back here. How long have you been lost?”
“About six months,” Dr. Perry said. His brown eyes studied Gardel as if he had discovered a new form of life for research.
“What brought you here in the first place?” Gardel asked.
Dr. Perry smiled. “The Time Slip, of course.”