Free Kate and the Wyoming Fossil Fiasco by Janice Hanna Page B

let’s win the treasure hunt.”
    Kate nodded.
    “It’s really an amazing honor,” Joel explained. “I’ve only been in there a couple of times over the years. The prep lab is usually off-limits to campers and quarry guests. But it’s by far the coolest place here.” He began to explain the process of cleaning the fossils, but Kate couldn’t keep up with him, he was talking so fast.
    “All we have to do is win the treasure hunt,” Kate said. “And then I’ll get to see it for myself.”
    “Not possible!” He laughed. “Sorry, girls, but this is my specialty. I’ll find all three specimens before you find even one!”
    “Campers, let’s get suited up,” Megan announced as she handed out hard hats, vests, and jackets. Then she gave the campers their backpacks, which were loaded down with tools.
    “I feel like I gain ten pounds when I put this on,” Patti complained as she struggled to get the backpack in place.
    “Just think of how strong your muscles are getting,” Megan said with a wink.
    Kate couldn’t help but think of Dexter. He would have loved this part. Maybe she could do more than win the treasure hunt today. Maybe she would locate a fossil that she
    could give him … something really special. That would make him feel better about not being there. And maybe—she grew more excited as she thought about it—maybe she and McKenzie would find enough fossils for each of the Camp Club Girls, too! Wouldn’t Bailey and the others love that!
    “Everybody ready?” Conner hollered.
    When the campers cheered, Conner lifted his hand and hollered, “On your mark, get set …” As he shouted “go!” he dropped his hand. The girls took off running toward the dry lake bed and the boys headed off to the field to their right.
    When they arrived, Kate and the others paused to catch their breath. She didn’t want to start out feeling so winded, especially when she hadn’t had much sleep.
    “I’m going to dig for a
Mioplosus,”
Lauren said. “My brother found one of those last year when he came to camp.”
    “I would suggest starting with the
Knightia,”
Megan said. “The quarry is filled with them.”
    Kate watched out of the corner of her eye as Joel went to work with his large chisel. “Man, he’s fast,” she whispered to McKenzie. “He really knows what he’s doing.”
    “You won’t find any fossils if you spend all of your time worrying about how much better he is than us,” McKenzie whispered back.
    “I know you’re in a hurry to get started,” Megan said, “but I always like to say a few words before the hunt begins. If you listen to my advice, you’ll be more likely to find fossils quickly.”
    Kate paid close attention.
    “Okay, girls, this is what you do.” Megan’s voice grew serious. “Notice that this whole area is filled with flat slabs of rock. It was formed a long time ago on the bed of the lake.”
    “Bed of the lake,” Kate whispered. Sounded funny.
    “You heard Conner explain yesterday how fossils are made. Can you remind me how the fossils got here, in the dry lake bed?”
    Kate raised her hand. “Yes. When a fish died, it would sink to the bottom of the lake, then get covered with mud, just like Conner talked about yesterday.”
    “That’s right,” Megan said. “And over a long period of time, the lake dried up and the mud turned to stone. So buried deep within those slabs of stone are priceless treasures. In order to find them, you have to pick up the rock and split it. You might be surprised at what you find inside.”
    Kate paused to think about how life was sometimes like that. Sometimes you really thought you knew someone … knew them really well. Then, after a little digging, you learned something else entirely new about them. For example, after a little digging, she had learned that McKenzie snored. Only a little, but still it was a snore. And hadn’t she learned a lot about each of the Camp Club Girls since they started solving mysteries