The Mystery of Wandering Caveman - M. V. Carey [7]
“Aunt Thalia and my mum were sisters,” she went on. “I’d have had to go to an orphanage if Aunt Thalia hadn’t taken me in.”
She opened the door and the boys followed her into the dusty dimness of the barn.
They saw a shining new pickup truck there, and a big fourdoor sedan that bristled with chrome. They also saw the heaped-up debris of years — bundles of yellowed newspapers and piles of old cartons and a jumble of tools rusting on a workbench.
A ladder on the back wall led to the loft, and— the boys climbed to a shadowed, suffocating area under the roof. There was a window thick with dirt and cobwebs.
When Jupe opened it, coolness and fresh air swept in.
“You want me to get you some towels?” Eleanor called from below.
“That’s okay,” Pete called back. “We brought our own stuff.”
Still she lingered at the bottom of the ladder. At last she called, “I’m going up to the foundation pretty soon. Would you like to come and see the animals?”
It was plainly the nicest thing she could offer. Jupe leaned over the edge of the loft.
“Do you know the archaeologist who found the bones?” he asked.
“Dr. Brandon? Sure. You want to meet him? I can introduce you if he’s home.”
“I’ve been wanting to meet him ever since I heard about the fossils,” said Jupe.
“Has he formed any theories about the age of the bones? Does he know how they got into the cave?”
Eleanor grimaced. “Everybody’s so excited about that cave man. But he’s so ugly.
He must have looked like a gorilla, only much, much smaller.” Suddenly she looked alarmed. “Don’t you go near that cave when there’s nobody here,” she warned.
“Uncle Newt’s keeping a loaded shotgun behind the kitchen door. He says people will pay plenty to see the cave man, and if anybody tries to interfere, he’ll blow him full of holes!”
“He wouldn’t be talking about the archaeologist, would he?” questioned Jupe.
“Yes. Or anybody who tried to tamper with the cave man. I’m scared that something’s going to happen — something really bad!”
Chapter 4
Eleanor Tells a Lie
THE SPICER FOUNDATION was a sprawling house on a hill half a mile up the road past McAfee’s place. It had no fence to protect its smooth green lawns, but there were stone gateposts and a gate. The boys followed Eleanor up the drive to the house. She opened the door and went in without knocking.
There was no entry hall. Eleanor and the boys were immediately in a big living room. James Brandon was there too. He was pacing, and he paused to scowl when Eleanor introduced the boys.
“You came for the three-ring circus,” he said. It sounded like an accusation.
“To see the cave man?” said Pete. “Yes we did.”
“You and four million other people,” said Brandon. He started to pace again.
“They’re going to trample everything. If there are more fossils in these hills, they’ll be destroyed. If I had a gun …”
“You’d shoot them all,” said a calm voice.
The boys turned. A tall, mournful-looking man had walked into the room. Jupiter recognized him immediately as the man who had come to the Rocky Beach hospital the night Karl Birkensteen died. On that occasion he had worn a threadbare grey suit.
Now he was dressed in faded khaki shorts and a polo shirt. He sat down in an armchair near the fireplace and stared at his own bony knees.
“Dr. Terreano, you’ve met Jupiter Jones,” said Eleanor Hess.
Terreano looked surprised. “I have?”
“He helped me when I was in Rocky Beach with Dr. Birkensteen,” Eleanor explained. “He was at the hospital, remember?”
“Oh, yes. I recall now. Nice to see you again — and under happier circumstances.”
Terreano smiled and suddenly appeared much younger.
“Dr. Terreano is an archaeologist too,” said Eleanor. “He’s writing a book.”
Terreano grinned. “We are always writing books.”
“Oh, yes!” said Jupe suddenly. “I know! You wrote Ancient Enemy !”
Terreano’s eyebrows shot up. “You read that?”
“Yes,” said Jupe. “I found the book at the library. It’s fascinating, but discouraging. If man has always had a need to battle his fellow man, and if he always will …”
“Sad, isn’t it?” said Terreano. “Our violence