8 Flying home

Chapter Eight FLYING HOME Tamiko and Cheng were sitting in one of the other conifer trees, scanning the Jurassic sky for the Archaeopteryx mother. Pterosaurs circled and they could hear the trumpeting calls of dinosaurs grazing on the plain below. But there was no sign of the mother dinosaur.

They took turns to scavenge for worms and bugs to feed the baby Archaeopteryx. It was back on the branch where it had rested inside its egg, squawking and fussing its feathers with its tiny jaws. The sun began slowly to sink. "What if the mother never comes back?" Cheng asked anxiously. Tamiko rubbed her eyes. "I don't know," she admitted. She didn't want to think about that possibility. Cheng eyed the worm wriggling in Tamiko's hand. "I'm so hungry, I could eat that myself," he said. Tamiko went over to the Archaeopteryx, and dropped the worm into its open jaws. "Too late," she said.

The sky was turning to gold now. Cheng leaned against the trunk with his arms across his knees. "I'm going to sit here and dream about soup," he said. "A lovely big bowl of soup. And ice cream for dessert. And–what?" Tamiko had lifted her hand. She stared into the sky. "Listen," she said. The baby Archaeopteryx squawked excitedly. Away in the distance, Tamiko and Cheng heard an answering cry. It wasn't the piercing scream of a pterosaur, or the snuffling of a Stegosaurus. It wasn't the roar of an Allosaurus either. "There!" Tamiko exclaimed. "Cheng, look! It's the mum! She's come at last!" Swooping through the golden sky, they saw the mother Archaeopteryx. Her wings were spread wide. Her baby cried, and she

answered. Tamiko and Cheng watched as she circled the conifers. She dropped onto a branch beside it. Tamiko glimpsed a wriggling beetle in her jaws. In the next instant it had gone, straight down the baby's throat. Tamiko and Cheng looked at each other. Doing their best not to scare the mother away again, they both silently punched the air. More cries circled overhead. Four more adult Archaeopteryxes descended from the golden clouds. They settled beside the baby.

"It's an Archaeopteryx habitat!" Tamiko whispered. "Cheng, we haven't just saved one Archaeopteryx from the Allosauruses. We've saved thousands." "There's only five," Cheng pointed out. "Six if you include the baby." "There are only six right now," said Tamiko. "But thanks to us these guys can settle here, without worrying about predators. They can thrive, and have more babies. And those babies will have babies,

and THOSE babies will have babies for a thousand generations–and THAT plays a part in the whole evolution of modern birds!" "Whoa," exclaimed Cheng, impressed. "I guess we deserve a pat on the back after all." Tamiko could have stayed forever, watching the Archaeopteryxes circle and squawk. But the Beagle was waiting for them back at the swamp. So was the team at the Exploration Station, waiting for news of their mission. They made their way slowly and carefully back down the shattered hillside, and picked their way through the trees and ferns. They made it to the edge of the swamp as the Jurassic sun began to dip below the horizon.