“Shall I bodily remove her, sir?” Mr. Murphy asked.
“Aw, Guster, if you wanted to dance, you really should have asked,” Nellie called over her shoulder. “My card’s all full up, now.”
“Just go and look after Horner, you incompetent cretin,” Lamb said to Murphy, stomping across the dig site to intercept the reporter. “You know very well that you are not permitted to be on the premises!”
“Do I? Honest misunderstanding, I’m sure. You should be more clear in the future.”
“More cl—? Miss Fuller, I addressed you by name, looked you squarely in the eyes, and told you to stay out!”
“Then we’re agreed that it was poor communication all around. No hard feelings, though, sunshine. I forgive you. Goodness, just look at the ribs on this behemoth! That first bone was impressive and all, but this is really a sight to see.”
“I think you’ve all seen quite enough,” snapped Lamb.
“But, sir, we’ve only just begun,” I said meekly. “In fact, Mr. Jackaby really ought to be here as well. Do you think you could send one of your men to fetch him? He might be able to see . . .”
“Out! I’m done with all of you!”
“Professor Lamb,” Charlie began.
“Don’t you Professor Lamb me, Officer Barker! I am in direct communication with your supervisor, and Commander Bell has promised me your full cooperation. I played your game. I gave you your look. Now go get me my property—and take these . . . these . . . women with you.”
“You’re the boss,” Nellie said, making no rush to leave and turning to me. “But you seem to be the brains. It’s Abigail Rook, yes? Mind if I call you Abbie? Lovely. Before we go, do you happen to know the word for that bone that birds have right here?” She pointed along her sternum.
“It’s called the keel,” I said.
“That’s the one. Is it just me, or is that a big fat keel?” She pointed toward a wide stretch at the creature’s front, which I had missed entirely, having simply taken it for a flat stretch of earth. “Is that normal on a dinosaur?”
Mr. Bradley looked up from the creature’s neck. His eyes were twinkling. “You think that’s crazy? You ladies should see this.” He stepped away and began to lift the tarpaulin shrouding the creature’s back.
“That’s quite enough!” yelled Lamb, vibrating furiously. Bradley dropped the canvas and froze.
He had not been quick enough. Miss Fuller and I turned to each other, and I saw reflected in the reporter’s face the same impossible thrill that was dancing through me. Wings. The colossus had wings.
Lamb ushered us brusquely through the canvas flap, all but literally kicking us off the site. He gave Mr. Bradley an acid glare on the way, and I did not envy the lecture the poor man was likely to endure later. My mind was reeling at the implications of what he had revealed to us.
“What do you make of it, Miss Rook?” Charlie asked.
“It’s impossible!” I said as we trod back down the sloping foothills toward the farm.
“This is front-page material, without a doubt.” Nellie grinned.
“It’s like some amazing amalgam of a theropod and a pterosaur! The scientific community will be absolutely astir!” I said.
“Abbie, darling, you’re cute, but the scientific community won’t be the half of it when I’m through writing the story,” said Nellie.
“Your story will have to wait until I’ve finished my examination and am fully ready to release a formal report on the specimen.” Lamb was keeping pace behind us, unwilling to trust that we could find our way unescorted.
“Surely it won’t take long to finish a report,” I said. “The figure is almost entirely intact, and the fossils are unbelievably well preserved.”
“They are unbelievable, Miss Rook, which gives me all the more reason for pause. I do not know how Owen Horner feels about the integrity of the scientific process, but I for one am not eager to be made a fool.”