The dinosaur began to run around the corral, among the trees.
“Get away!” Hunter yelled at the humans, seeing where they were. “Away from the fence. He might break out.”
Steve backed off, but Hunter was frantically running toward them.
“Now! Move!” Hunter spread his arms wide, slowing down abruptly. He herded the three humans away from the fence, back toward the camp. “Stay behind me.”
As they watched, the struthiomimus ran among the trees, shaking its head. For a moment it slipped out of sight in the dark, but reappeared, walking more slowly. So far it was still in the corral.
“It’s really pretty calm for a wild animal in captivity,” said Steve.
“It fought hard at first,” said Hunter. “It quickly tired itself out pulling against the trees we used as braces. It may still break out sometime tonight.”
“What do we do now?” Jane asked.
“Dinner’s ready,” said Steve. “Let’s give our captive time to adjust.”
“Yes,” said Hunter. “I will listen carefully to the dinosaur’s footsteps. If it becomes agitated, I will have to tend to it.”
“I’m hungry enough,” said Chad.
They sat down to eat facing the corral. By that time the forest was almost completely dark, but Steve moved one of the portable lights to the edge of the fence and angled it inside. They could see the dinosaur pacing anxiously among the trees, in and out of the light.
“Looks good so far,” said Steve, as he collected the empty dishes. He began cleaning the fish that Hunter had brought back, intending to use them in a future meal.
“He’s eating leaves,” said Jane. “Look.”
“That’s a good sign,” said Chad. “He’s not as upset as he was. Maybe he won’t break out.”
“You three go to bed,” said Hunter. “I will have to watch him all night. I cannot take the risk that he might break out and trample the tent.”
“What if he does escape?” Steve asked. “What can you actually do about it?”
“I will retrieve the ropes now. If I anticipate that he will break out, I can tie him to a tree again.”
“That’s good enough for me,” said Jane.
13
In the early light, Steve again woke up first. He hurried out right away to take a look at the dinosaur. “Hey, Hunter! Is it still here?”
“Good morning, Steve,” Hunter called from the corral. “Over this way.”
Steve ran to the gate, then stopped in surprise. Hunter, riding on the back of the struthiomimus with a saddle and bridle, guided his mount from the trees into full view. He rode up to the gate as Steve stared.
“You can ride it already?” Steve gazed at the calm struthiomimus. “It really looks like an ostrich, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, it does,” said Chad, coming up behind Steve. “It’s no accident, either. Walking birds in our own time, such as ostriches and emus, are among the closest living relatives of dinosaurs.”
“Really? Are they descendants of dinosaurs like this one?” Steve asked.
“The answer to that is still being debated,” said Chad. “Some experts say they are. Others feel that birds are descended from an ancestor common to the dinosaurs. That would make them descendants of, you might say, dinosaurs’ cousins.”
Steve nodded, impressed with Chad’s knowledge. That was the most civil conversation he and Chad had yet exchanged. He didn’t want to ruin it, so he said nothing else.
Hunter had used a small bit to go into the mouth of his mount and had tied a small bridle together out of rope. The struthiomimus’s head was higher than Hunter’s, and Hunter had to guide him with long reins. He sat on the small makeshift saddle, which was tightly cinched around the creature’s body.
“How did you tame him so soon?” Chad asked.
“After he calmed down, he became very responsive to me,” said Hunter. “I fed him with certain leaves and he let me get close. Since Steve needed his sleep, I spent a couple of hours making the saddle and bridle.”
“Wait a minute. You mean he just let you ride him?” Steve asked doubtfully.
“No, not exactly. He did not like the saddle or bridle much at all. I had to tie him up again to put them on and he fought them for another couple of hours after I untied him.”
“He got used to them pretty fast,” said Chad. “Maybe he’s smarter than the experts thought.”
“I judge him to be somewhat less intelligent than a horse,” said Hunter.
“How long have you been riding him?” Steve asked.
“About three hours,” said Hunter. “The first time, I had to sneak up on him and jump on. The Third Law allowed this, because falling from this height is not too serious. I can control my falls.”
“And now he’s trained enough to ride,” said Chad. “That’s pretty good work.”
“At least for the moment,” said Hunter. “He may resist again if I get off.”
“He’s day-broke,” said Steve.
“What?” Hunter asked.
“A horse that has to be broken to ride every day is called ‘day-broke.’ “
“I see. Yes, I think that is what he is,” said Hunter. “However, to keep him under control, I should stay mounted on him through the day unless a more pressing concern develops.”
“Okay,” said Steve. “I’ll get breakfast going right away. But then what do we do?”
“I want you to make another saddle for Chad,” said Hunter. “One we can strap on behind mine up here. He will ride double with me. Also another bridle that he will use tomorrow if all goes well. Now that we have one mount to ride, we should be able to run down another struthiomimus fairly easily.”
“Hey, that’s right,” said Chad. “No more sitting around waiting. And we won’t have to drag it on foot with ropes either.”
“What about Steve and me?” Jane asked, joining them at the corral.
“In the excitement last night, I never asked you for a debriefing,” said Hunter. “What did you find?”
“MC 1‘s trail is all over the place,” said Jane. “He’s roaming, not just running. Steve did a great job of tracking him.”
“Can you infer his motives?”
“Well, maybe. I’ve been thinking about it. Since he’s not trying to put simple distance between himself and us, two general possibilities present themselves. One is that he has malfunctioned in some way. A physical malfunction may have impaired his ability to judge what he is doing and where he is going.”
“He has no trouble running,” said Steve. “He can move fast. We even glimpsed him once, watching us.”
“That brings me to the second possibility,” said Jane. “He may have some reason for staying close and watching us, even though that means greater risk for him.”
“I would like you to continue tracking him today,” said Hunter. “I hope that tomorrow we will have two mounts on which to follow him, so tomorrow morning we will want to pick up his trail in the most recent spot you can give us.”
When breakfast was finished, Steve provisioned a day pack for Chad, cooking some of the fish and making sandwiches. Then he prepared the new saddle and bridle. Soon everyone was ready.
Steve handed Chad his pack and carried the saddle inside the corral. While Hunter held his mount steady, Steve, tingling with excitement, swung the new saddle up onto the back of the struthiomimus. He was ready to jump aside and run for the corral fence at the first sudden movement.
Hunter held the dinosaur firmly in place. Without incident, Steve cinched the saddle tight and waved to Chad, who was waiting at the gate. Then Chad, carrying the bridle, reluctantly came forward. Steve gave him a leg up into the saddle.
“Wow,” Chad said quietly, settling into the saddle. “I’m actually riding a dinosaur.”
“Put your arms around me and hang on,” said Hunter. “Its gait is reliable, since it walks on only two legs. But it moves its head up and down on that long neck to eat and to look around. The body angle shifts a little at the same time.”
“Right,” said Chad, looking up at the struthiomimus’s head with a new interest.
Steve ran to open the gate. Steve and Jane watched as the others rode out of the corral. Then, with a hesitant but controlled walk, Hunter and Chad’s mount carried them into the forest.
“So far, so good,” said Steve.
“They’ll be fine,” said Jane. “You know Hunter can’t let either one of them get hurt if he can help it.”