But the three days gone meant they had only four days in which to find the site. That wasn’t much time. Four days were barely enough time to pronounce the names of some of the reptiles of the period, no less find a site that was as elusive as the fastest of the animals.
Chuck began to wonder if they would
He confided this to Denise shortly before lunch that day.
“It’s like pushing through one of those mazes they give rats to play with,” he said. “The rendezvous site is the hunk of cheese at the end of the maze. But the maze is full of blind alleys and dead ends and false leads.” He shook his head. “I wonder how many rats every reach the cheese.”
“You don’t think we’ll make it, then?”
“I don’t know, Denise. I just don’t know. I don’t recognize a thing about the country. It all looks the same to me, every inch of it.”
Denise sighed heavily, pushing a strand of blonde hair oft her forehead. “Do you have any idea at all what you’re looking for?”
“Yes. A giant pair of white rocks poking up into the sky. When we spot those, I’ll know we’re somewhere near the site. Until then, we’ve just got to keep pushing ahead and hoping we’re going in the right direction.”
“Twin white rocks,” Denise murmured.
“And thank God they’re white,” Chuck said fervently. “Imagine how hard they’d be to find if they were green!”
Denise laughed, but there was a hollow ring to it.
It was midafternoon when Chuck spotted the lake.
“Arthur!” he called.
“What is it, Chuck?” Arthur answered, as he ran to him quickly.
“That lake. It looks familiar.”
“Yeah?” Arthur studied the shimmering surface of the distant lake. “It looks like all the other lakes we’ve seen,” he said.
“Let’s get closer to it. It rings a bell, somehow.”
They made their way down to the edge of the lake, struggling forward through thick growth that sometimes rose higher than their heads. It was slow, torturous labor. Every muscle of the body was called into play against the tenacious plants. It was impossible to relax for a moment. The land seemed to wage a grim battle against the trespassers, determined to let them know it did not approve of their intrusion. It took them the better part of the afternoon to reach the lake, and Pete started supper as soon as they found a good place to make camp.
“I think we’re getting closer,” Chuck said. “I think this is the lake we camped by the first day-right after our tussle with the stegosaurs.”
“I think you’re wrong, Spencer,” Masterson said.
“Why?”
“Because I think we’ve been traveling in the wrong direction ever since we met the doctors, that’s why.”
“That’s no reason. You’re saying, ‘I think you’re wrong because I think you’re wrong.’ Why do you think so?”
“Call it intuition,” Masterson said. “Or just plain sense of direction. I know we’re heading in the wrong direction, though. I think we ought to start back from where we met the doctors and take it from there.”
Chuck sighed and ran his fingers through his short hair.
“I don’t know. Maybe you’re right.”
He realized abruptly that he was talking to Masterson, talking to him in civil tones. The memory of Owen came back sharply and poignantly, and he felt immensely guilty over having forgotten him so completely. He turned away from Masterson and walked down to the water’s edge, staring across the lake.
Was that the way it would be? Would Owen keep fading out of his mind until even the memory was lost? Would he eventually forget that Masterson had caused his brother’s death? Could he ever forget that?
Could he ever forget something as big and as obvious as, for example, the two white rocks there across the lake? Would that be the pattern of events? The memory would grow dimmer and dimmer and then it would fade completely until only…
He started so suddenly that he almost fell into the lake. His eyes opened wide, and he stared across the lake in surprised fascination.
“The rocks!” he shouted, pointing wildly. “The twin rocks! There they are!”
He whirled rapidly and ran back to the party.
“The rocks! Across the lake there. We’re not far from the site now. Those rocks are right near it.”
“Are you sure?” Arthur asked.
“I’m positive,” Chuck said. “I’m positive!” He clapped Arthur on the back. “We’re going to make it, Arthur. We’re going to make it.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Denise squealed.
“What are we standing around for then?” Pete asked. “Let’s eat and turn in early so we can get an early start in the morning.”
Chuck looked at the rocks again and then his eyes scanned the surrounding countryside. He was remembering how long it had taken them to get down to the lake’s edge. If they tried to cut through the growth again, working their slow way around the entire lake, they might not reach the site in time.
“Geometry,” he said suddenly.
Gardel looked up, a frown on his face. “What?”
“Geometry. The shortest distance between two points-and in this case, the fastest. A straight line!”
Dr. Dumar looked at the lake and then asked, “You want to cross it?”