Weird West 04 - The Doctor and the Dinosaurs by Mike Resnick Read Free Book Online Page A

at last.
    “It's a little difficult to explain,” said Holliday, “but basically I'm here to get your boss and this Marsh fellow to go dig for bones elsewhere.”
    Younger frowned. “You know a better spot?”
    “Nope,” answered Holliday. “But I know a lot of safer spots.”
    “I can handle any trouble that shows up here,” said Younger.
    “I don't think so,” interjected Roosevelt.
    Younger turned to Roosevelt. “Is this your idea?” he demanded pugnaciously.
    “No, Cole,” said Holliday. “He's just a friend who I talked into coming along with me. This is Geronimo's idea.”
    “Geronimo?” repeated Younger, frowning in puzzlement. That just don't make any sense,” he complained. He turned to Roosevelt. “I know he signed his treaty with you .” And back to Holliday. “And I heard that you did him a favor or two, But does he want these bones for himself?”
    Holliday shook his head. “He doesn't want ’em at all.”
    Younger frowned. “Then I truly don't understand what the hell he's got to do with this.”
    “You know where you are right this minute?” asked Holliday.
    “Right here, talking to you two.”
    “And do you know where ‘right here’ is?”
    “Wyoming territory,” said Younger, frowning.
    “Close but no cigar,” said Holliday. “You, and Cope's whole expedition, and Marsh's whole expedition, are standing on some sacred Comanche burial grounds.”
    “How the hell do you know?” said Younger irritably. “Indians don't plant no crosses.”
    “ I don't know,” replied Holliday. “But Geronimo does.”
    “Are you trying to get me to believe that old bastard has made peace with the Comanche?”
    “No, he doesn't give a damn about them.”
    “I know I spent a lot of years in jail,” said Younger, not trying to hide his exasperation, “but my brain hasn't stopped working, and you're just not making any sense.”
    “The two expeditions have to dig through the burial grounds to get to the fossils,” interjected Roosevelt.
    “Fossils?” repeated Younger.
    “Dinosaur bones.”
    “Okay, they have to dig through the small bones to get down to the big ones,” said Younger. “So what? They're all dead.”
    “Dead isn't necessarily a permanent condition,” said Holliday. “Don't forget: the combined powers of something like fifty-five medicine men kept the United States from expanding across the Mississippi until Geronimo went against their wishes and signed the treaty with Theodore. He's the most powerful of them all, but they haven't lost their powers.”
    “Okay, everyone's powerful,” said Younger irritably. “What's that got to do with anything?”
    “He's mostly concerned with the Comanche medicine men,” continued Holliday. “If Professor Cope and Professor Marsh desecrate enough graves, he's afraid the medicine men might magic up some of the creatures the bones come from to either scare you off or kill you.”
    “And he's worried about the Comanche turning their critters loose on us ?” snorted Younger in disbelief. “You'll have to do better than that, Doc.”
    “He doesn't give a damn about you,” agreed Holliday.
    “Then I still don't—”
    “He isn't worried about their supernatural creatures, because they can control what they create,” said Holliday.
    “You'd better make some sense soon,” grumbled Younger. “I'm getting ready for dinner and so far you've used a hell of a lot of words to say nothing.”
    “They created a creature to kill Theodore a year ago,” said Holliday. “He's still here. They resurrected Johnny Ringo a few years ago and sent him to Tombstone to kill me. I'm still here.”
    Holliday took a swallow from his flask. “Their creatures can be awesome, and they're certainly deadly, but they're not perfect. And if you and Cody live long enough, like for another month or two, you'll figure out how to beat them. So Geronimo thinks they may have thepower to resurrect hundreds of creatures, not from inside their heads, but