The Press., 1912-06-19
Q e7s . e7se- ]. The Bones of a l: DinOSaur ]. They Came Very Near Making ,: a Corpse of Museum Curator | < ,. By F. A. MTTcEEL Copyright by American Press Asso- citation. 1911.
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By F. A. MrTcIEL

2 I animals or the@palaces of kings long dead. Professor ripton belonged to fI the delivers for fossils. Heewas barely 'I thirty years old. small of stature. a ! rifle bald on the forehead and wore il glasses. There was nothing beautiful Il about the professor except his smile. | and that was beautiful because 1t was Il Childike. One seeing the innocent parting of his lips. accompanied by a soft look that appeared in his eyes. felt l immediately like taking up the little man and hugging him.
 Now, 1t, having been reported to the directors of the museum of which Pro-
 lessor 'ripton was curator that the tip T of inc tail of some enormous animal had teen struck in digging a well in I a western territory. the curator was directed to repair to the spot. take a \ look at the protrusion:. determine to \ what animal 1t belonged, whether it \ was worth digging for and the cost of elimination: Il In due time the professor reached sai settlement some five or six miles from where the fossilized bones were ;. located and. learning that the only way to reach them would, be on. horseback, | called for a horse, mounted him and
 proceeded on his way. He had pro- ceeded about half the distance when
 he saw ahead of him what looked like I the dim outIile of cowboy, but as he ] and the coming object drew nearer he ] noticed that the rider was feminine. ! !. How doY she said as she refined in her steed. -,s@ :-.s.,,. ri ! 1.-The professor had never heard this form of greeting before and did, not understand 1t. However. he refined in his horse and smiled.
 1 The smile was something very new :! to the girl. The coarse guffaw of the ! .plainsman or the diabolical grin of the \ Indian was the only expression of a genial disposition she had ever seen. | What y doin out here. stranger" l she asked.
 I'm goin' to the fork of the river." 1 he replied
 '"What y goin' there forT' 1 A reply to an uneducated person was difficult. but the professor explained I his object as well as he could.
 "Y' think it's some kind O varmint P she asked.
 ':I don't know what a varmint is.
 but suspect what I'm going to look at will turn out to be either a masto- don ora dInosaur." r-.
 "AndYl don't know what them are. ltIt don't see no shOOtin' iron about y. , Where. do y carry it?''
 ''I didn't think to bring a weapon. Do need one2'' .,...-.....
 Well. now. y are the most inno- :, cent kid l ever seen. Need a gum i'll go with y It would be pity to s4eave a little felleE Hike y to wander i Rbout with not even a toy pistol" Turning her horse's head, she rode 1 back with Professor Tipton. There r was something odd in the defenseless man being under the protection of this { armed girl. He found her especially useful as a guide. for she knew the re- zion perfectly and took him to the ! point he wished to find. There was no one on the ground to locate the ex- sact spot. but the girl told him she had seen some men digging and landed him
 
 The moment the professor caught sight of few mammoth vertebrae that had been exposed he clasped his hands. raised his mild eyes to heaven. and i his lips moved in thanks.
 Its a dinosaur." said the professor.
 "Y' don't mean itP'
 Judging from these few vertebrae. :, it must be sixty or seventy feet long," ,"Gosh!' js "> @
 "And. judging from the horizontal position of what is exposed. there will be little cost in getting 1t out"
 twill it pay2" ....
 The professor did not hear this ques. ton. He had picked up a stick lying near and was scraping away the dirt
 s"How long has it been thereT' asked the girl. -.:
 ''Not less than 10000 years"
 Don't y think it's rather late in the day to disturb it?"
 At that moment there was a chatter of hoofs in the distance. and small party of men were seen gaIloping to- ward them.
 By gum" exclaimed the girl. tits Sheriff Glenn Barker: ] wonder what tle's after!' ,.~-2s ss-
 "HelIo. Kate!'' exclaimed Barker as he rode up. What v doin' cavortdn' around with hoSs thief?"
 Now it ia time to explain that the prOfassUf. after having left the settle mpnt. stopped at farmhouse for a drink of bnttermilk He had ridden a gray horse thus far. but when he left fffIe house nInIInted g rnan without mo- ticiDe the change Tn color. A man who shads stolen tine runn. being hard pressed by the slFriff and posse. seeing a comEarafisel fresh mount hftched to post. changed horses.
 ''He aint nu hOSS thief" replied the girl "He's a What air v anywayT'
 ''l am a''-
 ''Sep here interrupted one of the party. ''y may. In. anything v like. but that's roy hoSs v' het'n rtdln
 The professor looked at his horse and. not Knowing what the man was talking about. just smiled. He couldn't think of anything else to do.
 " ain't been stealth that hoss. have Y'?" asked the girl .s
 'T don't know what you people are all talking about said the professor i':l came out here to learn If this fossil Is of value. and ! tind 1t very valuable Indeed. Az l have said. it's dinosaur. must be sixty feet long and doubtless between lO,OOO and 2O.OOO years old"
 The sheriff. the owner of the horse and the posse ali looked at one another in astOnishment An idea popped into Kale's head. She gave the men a meaming look and drew them away from the professor. who. being more in terested in the dinosaur than their talk. forgot all about them in rummaging among the big stone vertebrate.
 Gents" said Kate. Ines lnnatic."
 What makes y think soY' asked the sheriff