Weird West 04 - The Doctor and the Dinosaurs by Mike Resnick

Author:Mike Resnick [Resnick, Mike]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Science Fiction, SteamPunk, Fantasy, Historical, Westerns
ISBN: 1616148616
Google: EX5cAQAAQBAJ
Amazon: B00DFIDXJE
Publisher: Pyr
Published: 2013-12-10T06:00:00+00:00

ROOSEVELT SHOWED UP JUST BEFORE DARK, dismounted, and walked to the center of camp.

“Welcome back, sir,” said one of the men who were preparing dinner.

“I'd like some coffee, please,” said Roosevelt. “It's been a long ride.”

Roosevelt waited until they'd poured him a cup, then looked around the camp. Men were starting to come in from the afternoon dig, but he soon spotted the men he wanted and walked over to them.

“What the hell are you doing here?” asked Holliday.

“I'm pleased to see you too,” said Roosevelt, flashing him a toothy grin.

“Damn it, you know what I mean,” said Holliday. “I thought you were keeping an eye on Marsh's camp while I watched this one.”

“I have a feeling this one's in more trouble,” said Roosevelt, sitting down on a tree stump.

“What are you talking about, Theodore?” asked Buntline.

“I was out hunting for the camp's dinner, as usual,” began Roosevelt. “They're currently about twenty miles east of you, maybe a little more. Anyway, I was tracking a pronghorn buck when I heard a pretty hideous noise, not like anything I've ever heard before…”

“What did it sound like?” asked Buntline.

“He just told you he'd never heard it before,” noted Edison mildly.

“I mean, was it like an animal, or some kind of machine like—I don't know—like a train or something.”

“Probably closer to a scream,” said Roosevelt, frowning. “But it wasn't like any scream I've ever heard.”

“Besides,” added, Edison, “pronghorns are mute. Go on, Theodore.”

“I came to the buck about five minutes later,” continued Roosevelt. “Half of it was missing.”

“Missing?”

“Something big had killed it and taken a couple of bites of it, and I found what was left.” Roosevelt grimaced. “It was a mess. I mean, I've hunted grizzly and puma, but I've never seen anything with a bite like that. So I figured maybe what we were afraid of was coming to pass, and I decided to follow the creature's trail and see what we're dealing with here.”

“And what are we dealing with?” asked Holliday.

Roosevelt shrugged. “I don't know. I never caught up with it. But in another three or four miles I came to what was left of a really big grizzly that didn't get out of its way fast enough.”

Edison smiled a satisfied smile. “Ned was afraid we'd made this trip for nothing. I'm glad to see he was wrong.”

“I think you'd have been much happier if he was right,” responded Roosevelt. “Believe me, Tom, I've spent a lot of time in the wilderness, and I never saw anything that can do the damage this thing did—not as much, and certainly not as fast.”

“You've left out the most important thing, Theodore,” said Holliday.

“Oh?”

Holliday nodded. “Why do you think we're in more danger than Marsh's camp?”

“Because I followed whatever it was to within about five miles of here, and then I came upon some more tracks, just as big but clearly different. So right at the moment I don't know for a fact that any of these creatures are in Marsh's immediate vicinity, but I know for a fact that you've got at least two of them within five miles of you.

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