Chuck kept the .45 trained at the boulders. Arthur had already unslung his rifle and had it resting on the rock. He aimed along the barrel at the boulders and waited for Masterson to show some sign of himself. Behind them, they heard scraping sounds as Pete and Dr. Perry worked their way toward the protection of the rock. Masterson shouted, “I see you!” and triggered off a shot that nearly planted itself in Pete’s leg. Pete pulled the leg in, breathed a deep sigh and continued to crawl toward the rock, Dr. Perry behind him. Arthur opened fire, peppering the boulders with a steady stream of bullets that discouraged Masterson from taking any more pot shots at the approaching duo.
When they reached the rock, Chuck quickly explained the situation to them. Arthur had stopped firing, but he kept watching the boulders.
“Looks like a stalemate to me,” Dr. Perry said.
“Yes,” Chuck agreed, “unless we can talk some sense into him.”
“Chuck Spencer!” Masterson’s voice boomed again. It bounced off the boulders, echoed in a thousand darkened shadows, echoed in the very pockmarks of time itself.
“I’m here, Masterson.”
“Send Gardel over. Send him right now.”
“He’s not going anywhere,” Chuck yelled back.
Gardel tried to rise, but Arthur slammed one meaty hand into the small of his back, and he bounced back against the ground again, the wind knocked out of him.
“Send him over or I’ll shoot Denise,” Masterson said.
Dr. Perry’s eyes widened. “Why, the man is insane!”
“He’s bluffing,” Pete said. “He wouldn’t shoot his own niece.”
“Try him and see,” Gardel muttered.
“Gardel stays with us,” Chuck shouted back.
“I’m not kidding,” Masterson said. “I’m not fooling, Spencer. I’ll shoot her if you don’t send Gardel over.”
Chuck heard Denise shout, “Don’t believe…” Her voice was cut off, as if a hand had been clamped over her mouth.
“You’re bluffing,” Chuck shouted. “And we’re calling your bluff.”
Dr. Perry’s eyes took on an anxious look. “Chuck, are you sure you’re…”
There was a deadly silence now. It seemed to hang over the land like a mailed fist. The fog was almost all gone, but the sky was still a leaden gray. Chuck saw a small reptile scamper across the no man’s land between the rock and the boulders.
The silence continued, and Chuck waited with his heart in his mouth.
“Send him over,” Dr. Perry said. “Send Gardel over or he’ll shoot the girl.”
“What’s to stop him from shooting her once he gets Gardel?” Chuck asked.
“The man is a maniac, can’t you see? Why should we provoke him?”
“I think you’re wrong, Doc,” Chuck said. “He’s more than a maniac. He’s got something up his sleeve. If we send Gardel over, we’ll be playing right into his hands.”
“You gamble real pretty with somebody else’s life,” Gardel muttered. “Maybe Denise don’t feel the way you do about it.”
There was silence again. Chuck waited, his ears straining for the sound of a bolt being shoved home.
Finally Masterson said, “All right, Spencer, I’ll make a bargain with you. I’ll send Denise back safely.”
“All right,” Chuck said. “Send her over.”
“I said a bargain, not a gift. I’ll trade Denise for Gardel and Dr. Perry.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Send over Gardel and Dr. Perry, and the girl is yours.”
“Tell him we’ll do it,” Dr. Perry said quickly.
“‘No!” Chuck snapped. Something was beginning to take shape in his mind. He began to wonder all over again about Masterson’s reasons for taking Dr. Dumar with him and leaving Pete behind. Dr. Dumar was undoubtedly valuable to him, whereas Pete was not. Now he wanted Dr. Perry. Why?
He remembered the mining equipment he had seen in the truck that day he had unloaded supplies. Suddenly it became perfectly clear to him.
Uranium!
Of course! Why the entire time slip had probably been an excuse for Masterson to get back here where he could get his hands on the uranium deposit. He’d probably read all about it in the newspapers and decided to come back to the Jurassic to find the scientists and the deposit. That explained the mining equipment in the truck and it explained Masterson’s motive for smashing the force field. A hunter, indeed! He was hunting, all right. He was hunting for a fortune in uranium, and the only men who could lead him to it were Dr. Dumar and Dr. Perry.
Now Chuck understood why Masterson had constantly wanted to return to the spot where the two doctors had been found. He had probably assumed that the deposit was somewhere