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THE MYSTERY OF ROCKY ISLAND BAY

A children's story (8 -10 years)

By Nicholas A. Domino and John C. Domino, Ph.D. <johndomino@sbcglobal.net>

Copyright 2007

Prologue

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THE ROCKY ISLAND NEWS

Bay "CREATURE" Spotted Again
BY LOCAL FISHERMEN
Two Rocky Island residents fishing yesterday along the northeast shore of the bay told the Rocky Island News that they saw a "strange long-necked creature poking its head out of the water." The men said they "watched the animal for about a minute," but were unable to take a photograph before it disappeared. This would be the year's second sighting of the Bay Creature.
For those readers new to Rocky Island, sightings of a mysterious aquatic creature in the bay have taken place for nearly one hundred years. By most accounts, the creature surfaces for a moment before vanishing beneath the waves.
Last year, a team of scientists conducted a hi-tech search of Rocky Island Bay with sonar and underwater cameras. However, they failed to find a trace of our legendary creature.

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Nicholas read the newspaper article with interest, chuckled to himself, and then clipped it out for his journal. If you believe the local newspaper and the boat captains who ferry tourists around the bay, Rocky Island has its very own sea serpent. Fishermen and shrimpers also spin stories of a long-necked monster lurking among the jagged rocks near the northeast coast of the bay.
When Nicholas was younger he believed the stories and imagined what it would be like to actually see the graceful neck of creature rising up out of the clear green water of the bay. But as he did more research on prehistoric life and extinction, he realized that long-necked marine reptiles haven't existed for over one hundred million of years. If you could travel back in time you might see such a creature swimming the shallow sea that covered what is now Rocky Island. But today, the only "sea monsters" you will see are fossilized and on display at the local museum. The bay creature legend probably started when the first of many fossils were found long ago.

For as long as he could remember Nicholas was fascinated with prehistoric life. His teachers were always asking him to pronounce the scientific names of prehistoric creatures or to identify the geologic periods in which the dinosaurs lived. They would ask: "Nicholas, did T-rex live in the Jurassic or Cretaceous period?" Or, when did the flying reptiles emerge?"
He even had his own private museum of natural history. Built on three large wooden shelves above the aquarium on his dresser, the museum had an impressive collection of specimens. The “first floor” of the museum was crowded with fossils, arrowheads, and small bones. On the "second floor" of his natural history museum -- which was a brand new shelf that he and Dad had built last week -- were his models of dinosaurs and Ice Age mammals.
The "third floor" displayed his seashells, starfish, coral, and a smelly preserved Alligator head that his grandfather had sent from Florida. Nicholas noticed that his little sister, Chloe had put her pink kitty sunglasses on the gator again. He would have to talk to her about that!

Nicholas's museum was always expanding. His Mom often joked that if his collection kept growing they would have to add on a new room to the house. His knowledge was expanding as well. But Nicholas knew that he still had a lot to learn. Now that he was ten years old he was beginning to understand what his Dad meant when he said "The more that I know the less that I know." In other words, when you learn a lot about something, like dinosaurs or giant squid, or anything at all, you soon realize that you really don't know very much at all -- there is still more to learn. It was a kind of riddle that Nicholas had thought about for a long time.

Chapter 1: Professor Diggs
Nicholas woke up early on the first day of summer vacation. He tried to fall back to sleep but the bright sunlight streamed through his bedroom window. Dad peeked into Nicholas' room. "You're up early. Would you like to come with me to the university today? There's someone who wants to meet you." "Who, Dad?" Nicholas said as he jumped out of bed. Dad smiled mysteriously. "I'll tell you on the way. Just get dressed and come down for breakfast." Nicholas pulled on his field shorts, the ones with about twenty pockets, and his glow in the dark T-Rex shirt. He stuffed his journal and a few pens in his backpack.
Visiting the university was always an adventure, especially when he got to meet his Dad's colleagues. Dad was a zoology professor -- he studied and taught about all kinds of animal life and behavior. Actually, Dad did most of his research in herpetology, a branch of zoology that studies reptiles.

Nicholas thought that his dad had a cool job, especially when he went along on field trips to study alligators and crocodiles. Once his dad even took him to see a Komodo dragon, which is the largest living lizard. But secretly Nicholas often wished that Dad was a paleontologist or archeologist. That's what Nicholas planned to be when he grew up.
Over the years, Nicholas was introduced to different kinds of professors at the university: geologists, astronomers, philosophers, artists, and others. Before he was old enough to understand exactly what they did he just enjoyed poking around in their offices or labs, looking at rocks or solar system models or weird paintings.

"Dad, so who are we going to meet today?" Nicholas said about halfway to campus. "A paleontologist named Professor Diggs." Nicholas thought for a moment and said," Come on Dad stop kidding. A paleontologist named Diggs?" "Well, his name is actually Diggersen – Stephen Diggersen -- but students have called him Professor Diggs for as long as I can remember. In fact, he was my professor when I was a student here. When I told him of your interest in prehistoric marine reptiles he invited both of us to his office."

After about a fifteen minute drive the university campus came into view. The campus was very quiet since most of the college students had already packed up and moved home for the summer. Across the athletic fields Nicholas could see the sparkling green water of Rocky Island Bay a few miles to the southeast. He checked the compass that was clipped to his shorts. He knew that the arrow always points north toward Earth's magnetic pole. By lining up the little arrow with the N on his compass and then using the other compass points, he figured out the direction of the bay.
Dad parked the truck and they walked across campus to an old stone building. The building was Nicholas's favorite on campus because it was built from marine limestone. He marveled at the fossilized sea shells, brain coral, and sea fans left their imprints on the white rock. The limestone rock was mined from a inland quarry about fifty miles away. That was proof that millions of years ago a shallow ocean covered what was now dry land.

In front of the old building a man with bushy white hair paced back and forth. He wore a wrinkled khaki suit and white tennis shoes. Professor Diggs greeted them next to a rusty old iron sundial on the front lawn of his building. “Hello John!” he said to Nicholas’s dad as they shook hands. “Good to see you Professor Diggs,” John said. Nicholas noticed that his dad didn’t call Diggs by his first name. It was probably because he was Dad’s professor long ago, he thought. “Ah, this must be Nicholas,” Diggs said as he put his hand on Nicholas’ shoulder. “I’ve heard a lot about you, young man. Paleontologist in training, eh?” Diggs laughed and led them through heavy wooden doors and down two flights of stairs to his office. The old building had the smell of a museum. Fossils and artifacts were on display in dusty glass cabinets that lined the long narrow hallways.

The professor fumbled with his keys until he found the right one. The door creaked open, revealing what looked like the back room of a museum. Books and papers were scattered everywhere. Large brown fossils rested on shelves. Some were hanging from the ceiling. Whitened bones were mixed in with the crazy mess on Professor Digg's desk. Maps of the bay and coastline were plastered on the faded green walls.

Diggs' office was connected to the paleontology laboratory, where students cleaned and classified fossils. As the two professors chatted, Nicholas crept into the darkened lab and was startled by an old movie poster that Dr. Diggs’ students had tacked on the wall. It was a picture of a ferocious long-necked creature attacking a boat full of frightened people. Over the picture bold red letters proclaimed: "Sea Serpent! Coming to a Theatre Near You."

Nicholas continued to explore Professor Diggs' private museum and was amazed at its treasures. Diggs handed him an oval-shaped stone that took both hands to hold and asked him if he could identify it. Wiping away the dust, Nicholas concluded that it looked like a dinosaur egg. He was right. "Actually, I believe that it is a fossilized marine reptile egg from the Cretaceous period," said Professor Diggs.

Suddenly Diggs grew serious. "Gentlemen, if you have some time, I would like to show you something truly amazing." Nicholas was really curious now. “But you will have to be patient,” said Diggs, sensing Nicholas excitement. “What I want to show you is about a thirty minute drive from campus."

Chapter 2: The Secret

Professor Diggs insisted upon driving his old pickup truck to the warehouse, which was located down a long winding dirt path about two miles from the main road. To Nicholas, who sat between his Dad and the dusty professor, the brief trip seemed to take an eternity. But at last they arrived. Soon he would see the amazing fossil or whatever artifact that Professor Diggs kept hidden away in an old warehouse on the outskirts of town.

"Here we are," Diggs announced cheerfully as the old truck rattled to a stop. Several scruffy cats darted for cover. All kinds of junk littered the front yard of the warehouse. Two old yellow mini subs were perched up on cement blocks. An old boat rested on its side, partly covered in dark green vines.

While Professor Diggs fumbled with his huge collection of keys again, he broke the silence and asked, "Nicholas, are you familiar with a species called plesiosaur?” "Sure!" said Nicholas. "It's a long-necked marine reptile that lived during the Jurassic period. Dad told me that you found the fossil specimen that is on display at the city museum." So that's what he's got up his sleeve, thought Nicholas, a new plesiosaur fossil. Maybe a complete skeleton! “Very good,” replied Diggs, as he once again fumbled with his keys, “but actually the term plesiosaur - which means ‘almost lizard’ - refers to a family of marine creatures of various shapes and sizes that inhabited the seas of the Jurassic and Cretaceous period roughly 100 to 200 million years ago.” Nicholas listened but was more focused on professor Digg’s inability to control his massive ring of keys.

Just then the door creaked open to reveal…darkness. "Drat!" said Professor Diggs, "The power's off. Nicholas, would you please fetch the lantern from my truck.” Nicholas scrambled for the lantern, almost tripping over his own feet. "Thank you, my boy." Diggs lit the lantern and smiled. "Now, if you would follow me, please."

Nicholas felt his heart jump. The warehouse was filled with large, dark, oddly shaped objects. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light in the cobwebbed-filled room he could tell that everything in the warehouse was covered by huge canvas tarps. Professor Diggs then unlocked another large steel door and stepped through. "Follow me," he said. "Watch your step." Nicholas jumped again as something small scurried past.

Diggs felt around on the wall for a light switch. With a click long fluorescent light bulbs blinked on overhead. Nicholas jumped back in a moment of fright. Dad automatically pulled him close to his side. They both stared in amazement.
Towering over them was a huge prehistoric creature! Not a live one of course, but a life sized replica of a marine reptile. The model, or statue, or whatever it was, was so life-like that its yellow eyes seem to stare in Nicholas' direction.

"It's a plesiosaur, a huge model plesiosaur!" Nicholas shouted, running his hand along its life-like green rubber skin. "This is amazing!" Nicholas was busy examining the creature's long pointed head which was perched high atop a graceful neck. The beast's beady yellow and black eyes seemed to follow him. Its peg-like teeth gave it a kind of eerie toothy smile.
"Professor Diggs, where…? Who?" The old professor cut Nicholas off in mid question. "Ah, a million questions," he said calmly," a million questions." Nicholas could tell that Professor Diggs enjoyed keeping them in suspense.

Nicholas walked the length of the creature. Its head and long neck rose majestically over them. Its plump body was about the size of a small mini-van and its long flat flippers were at least six feet long. Its tail was not quite as long as its neck, but it was thick and muscular.

Diggs struggled up a rope ladder that was draped over the side of the creature. When he reached the top he cleared his throat and announced, "John, Nicholas. Allow me to introduce "Pleesie," a fully functional exploration submersible." Nicholas started to speak again. "Professor Diggs, a submersible? How…?" Lost in thought, Diggs opened a small round hatch on the top of Pleesie’s back. The hatch lifted up and away from the sub's frame and slid to one side revealing a bright light shining from within. "Take care, mind the step," Diggs said. Although the two professors had to squeeze through the small hatch, Nicholas climbed straight through with plenty of room to spare.

Nicholas noticed that once inside the creature it did not feel as if they were in a life-sized model of an extinct reptile. Instead, their surroundings resembled the insides of a miniature submarine. Gauges and dials glowed brightly overhead. Rubber-coated wires crisscrossed the low ceiling. Two computer monitors blinked on as the computer finished booting up.

The cabin of the plesiosaur-sub was about ten feet long by six feet wide. There were three work stations. The first was a two-person navigation and control station. Four rubber-coated hand grips that looked like shovel handles stood straight up on the right side of the station. On the left were several L-shaped handles for opening and closing air and water valves. A computer monitor rested directly above the work station.

The second position consisted of a panel of switches and lights, four tiny television screens, a laptop computer, and a binocular-shaped periscope eyepiece. On the last workstation were a round screen, a laptop computer, and an assortment of buttons and switches. Four steel air tanks like the kinds used by divers were strapped overhead.

Brushing some papers from one of the swiveling chairs in front of each station, Professor Diggs lowered himself down and pressed two small green buttons on the console. Then, clearing his throat, as if he was preparing to lecture his class, he began his story. "Ten years ago my brother Neil and I began construction on 'Pleesie,' as we came to call her. My brother was an expert in robotics and remote operated vehicles, or ROVs--you know, the kinds used to explore the bottom of deepest trenches in the ocean." "The abyss or dark zone of the ocean," Nicholas said. "That's right," Diggs continued. "After Neil made a fortune selling his inventions, he retired and spent the rest of his life teaching at the university by day and building his own private subs at night here in this warehouse.”

“Over the years we explored the bay as well as the channels and streams that lead into the bay. One day over lunch I told him about my plans to construct a life sized marine reptile for the city’s new marine science center. The museum’s directors asked me to 'bring a plesiosaur to life,' if you will. I had studied members of the plesiosaur family for years, collecting fossils from all over the world. Although, I would add many of out finest marine reptile fossil finds have come from the floor of our own Rocky Island Bay."

“So, using plesiosaur fossils and photos of other marine animals, such as sea turtles and seals, I began construction of an animatronic model. Oh, that's old Neil over there," Professor Diggs said, interrupting himself and pointing to a tattered old photo taped near the door. Neil was wearing a wetsuit and climbing into an egg-shaped submersible.
Diggs collected his thoughts and continued. "Where was I. Oh yes. Neil laughed at the animatronic plesiosaur idea. He said that he had made a fantastic discovery in the bay. He proposed that we build not merely an animatronic plesiosaur but a working plesiosaur submarine.

Professor Diggs held out his arms. “Well, he she is,” he announced, beaming proudly. “It took ten years to complete Pleesie!" Professor Diggs laughed to himself and said, "We tested it at night in the duck pond." Nicholas imagined terrified ducks flying from the pond at the sight of the plesiosaur.

"But wait a minute!” said Nicholas. “Why a plesiosaur submarine?" Diggs gave him a mysterious wink, but remained silent. "Does it really work? Can it actually travel underwater?" By now Nicholas was using every last bit of his will power to keep from touching the controls. "Yes it does," said Diggs. "Very reliable actually, although it took us a while to figure out how to keep Pleesie's head down while underwater.”

Using a computer simulation on his laptop, Diggs showed Nicholas and Dad the challenges of designing and building the sub’s propulsion systems. "Getting Pleesie's flippers to push her through the water was easy compared to her main system of propulsion. Professor Diggs pointed to the laptop screen. "Look here gentlemen. The main propulsion comes from an electric motor that moves water through two intake vents and, with great force, pushes it through two turbine fans out of the sub's, eh, rear end, if you will."

"But what kind of fuel does it use? What powers the motor? Batteries?" Nicholas asked. "Good question, my boy," said Diggs. "Actually, hydrogen fuel cells power the motor. Hydrogen gas flows into a fuel cell. A fuel cell is like a battery that never runs down or needs a recharge. The fuel cell converts, or changes the gas into an electric current which powers the motor." explained Diggs. "Very efficient and non- polluting." "The fuel-cell stack and fuel tanks are in the sub's belly. The weight of the cells also provides the sub with proper ballast and stability in the water.

"Hydrogen fuel cells! This is advanced technology!" exclaimed Dad. "Who funded your research? The university? The government?" "Heavens no!," Diggs laughed. “Neil’s wealth made all of this possible,” the professor said, gazing at the small photo of his brother.

Professor Diggs could sense that Nicholas wanted to see the plesiosaur in action. "If you two gentlemen will exit the sub and stand at a safe distance I will demonstrate its basic functions."
Moments later he pressed a button and the machine whirred to life. With a graceful swan-like motion and low humming sound the robotic plesiosaur lowered its long thin neck, turned its head, and, to Nicholas' surprise, used its jaws to grab and lift a dusty old chair from the warehouse floor. A small light shone from inside its mouth and a television camera allowed the operator to guide its movements. "Its neck is a robotic arm just like on a deep sea submersible," shouted Nicholas over the whirring sound of the machines, "except it's covered with a rubber skin." The professor then pressed another button which moved the flippers in flapping motions. Its heavy tail also moved from side to side, knocking over a tool box and an old bicycle. Diggs then shut off the power and the creature was again quiet, as if asleep.

"Now gentlemen," Professor Diggs said as he popped his head out of the open hatch, " if you would kindly step back inside I will do my best to instruct you in its operation." "Operation!," Nicholas shouted. "You mean were going to drive…er…sail this thing?" Diggs smiled patiently. "Actually pilot is the word. “Tomorrow morning we take Pleesie out into the bay and begin our mission. I need you and your Dad up to speed in its operation. Pleesie will need a four-person crew to complete her mission."

Nicholas was about to ask about the fourth person when Dr. Diggs turned to reenter the plesiosaur. Before he took another step, Nicholas finally got the courage to ask a question that had been on his mind for some time. "Dr. Diggs, is Pleesie the legendary bay creature? Did you build the sub just to make people believe in sea serpents?" Nicholas' question both startled and angered Professor Diggs. "Of course not! Diggs replied. I am a man of science -- I have no interest in such foolishness!"

Nicholas was upset and embarrassed that he had made Professor Diggs so angry. "I'm sorry Professor Diggs. I didn't mean …"But Diggs quickly calmed down and smiled. "That's alright my boy. You’ve grown up hearing about these fantastic stories. However, a fellow in a small airplane did catch a glimpse of Pleesie when we were out for a test dive last month. Unfortunately, that sighting led to the latest story in the Rocky Island News. But I assure you that it was not my intent to create more rumors."
"Then why are we going out into the bay tomorrow? What exactly are we searching for?" Nicholas asked. Diggs looked at Nicholas with a confused expression. Then he smiled mischievously. "I thought you knew. Why sea serpents, of course!"
"Sea serpents!," Nicholas shouted, startling both professors. He looked over at his dad in disbelief. "Dad, is Professor Diggs joking?" "No buddy," Dad said seriously, "he's not joking. Professor Diggs suspects that there may be an unknown species of marine reptile living in bay."

Nicholas couldn't believe it. He kept thinking that this was just a fantastic joke. "Come on professor, everybody knows that the bay creature is just a myth. I can't believe that you --a paleontologist -- think that such creatures really exist. Have you seen them?" asked Nicholas, blushing bright red.

The expression on the paleontologist's face was serious. For a moment he looked annoyed, but then smiled. "My, Nicholas you a quite a skeptic, aren’t you. But that’s not such a bad thing. To answer your question, no I have not seen the creatures. However, over the years I have collected evidence of their existence. Let me give you some examples. First, there are records of hundreds of eyewitness sightings. Not just the Rocky Island News' stories to attract tourists, but sightings by serious people, including scientists.”

“Second, about five years ago several of my paleontology students brought back bones that resemble those of an extinct reptile. Not fossils, mind you, but bones that were no more than ten years old.” Nicholas remembered the white bones mixed together with the brown fossils that were scattered across professor Diggs’ desk.
“Finally, the most convincing evidence of all are the photographs taken by my brother Neil over ten years ago."
Photos! Nicholas and his dad gasped. “So that's why your brother wanted to build Pleesie!" "That's correct," Diggs said. "Would you like to see them?"

Diggs leaned out of the hatch and said, “Nicholas, the photos are on the computer's C drive. Just reach over and click on the file named 'Digg's family photos.'" As the photos began to load Nicholas stared at the computer monitor in disbelief. The pictures were extremely blurry and dark (kind of like the famous photos of Big Foot) but you could plainly see two long-necked creatures with flippers swimming together in the murky water. Nicholas looked over at his dad. “What do you think, Dad,” asked Nicholas. Dad just smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"Does anyone else know about these photos?" Nicholas asked. "What color are the creatures? How many are there? Do you think you can find them?" Nicholas shot out questions faster than Diggs could answer.
Finally, Professor Diggs laughed "Slow down, my boy. All of our questions will be answered when we take Pleesie into the bay tomorrow. Your dad and I formed a hypothesis about why these wonderful creatures are so elusive. He believes that they hide in underwater limestone caverns." "Caves?" Nicholas asked. "Yes," Diggs said. "Geologists have known about the caves for about ten years, but few people have explored them because they are located in such dangerous waters.”

Nicholas thought for a moment and concluded, "So you believe that by disguising the sub as a plesiosaur we will be able to approach the creatures without scaring them away." "It's more than a disguise, my boy," said Diggs as he patted Pleesie's bumpy green rubber neck. "She’s a fully functional robotic plesiosaur and tomorrow’s her first voyage! Are you ready for an adventure?,” Diggs asked as they all gazed into the eerie glowing eyes of Pleesie – who, by the way, still had the old workshop chair dangling from her mouth.

Chapter 3: The Search

That night Nicholas could not sleep. As he watched the moonlight shining on his museum, hundreds of thoughts raced through his mind. For years he secretly hoped that the bay creature was real, but he always told himself that it was just a story to sell boat tours and souvenirs. He fondly remembered when he was very young and his mom took him to a souvenir shop on the bay that sold little bay creature snow globes and key chains. His little sister even slept with a soft sea serpent toy.

Could it be possible that an animal that was extinct for over fifty million years lived in the bay not far from his home? Nicholas quietly crawled out of bed and switched on his laptop computer. He typed in the word "plesiosaur" and clicked the search button. The website stated that a plesiosaur is not just one creature but a family of long-necked marine reptiles made up of animals of all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some were the size of a modern seal while others the size of a whale – a carnivorous whale!

Nicholas concluded that the creatures in Professor Diggs' photos more closely resembled an animal called Cryptoclidus than the larger members of the plesiosaur family, such as Elasmosaurus. The long-necked Cryptoclidus lived during the Late Jurassic period. It grew up to 14 feet long and hunted fish and squid. Nicholas remembered seeing a fossilized Cryptoclidus skull in Dr. Digg's office. Its two eye sockets faced up and there wasn't much room in the creature's flattened skull for a brain. If there were Cryptocliduses alive today, Nicholas wondered, did they have bigger brains than their ancestors? Had they evolved over millions of years?

Nicholas was startled awake when Dad's alarm buzzed before dawn. He quickly dressed and grabbed his backpack. The sun was rising through pale purple clouds over the glistening bay as they arrived at Professor Diggs' warehouse. Diggs was already in his workshop. Pleesie's systems were activated. Wires, cables and hoses connected the sub with two machines that Nicholas hadn't noticed yesterday. "Good morning gentlemen," Diggs roared over the noise of the machines. "Welcome!" Nicholas was surprised to see a girl loading supplies into the sub. She was dressed like Diggs in khaki pants, white tee-shirt, and tennis shoes, except she wore a red baseball cap.

Professor Diggs stopped for a moment and said, "John, Nicholas, allow me to introduce my granddaughter, Penny." "Morning." Penny smiled. "Grandpa's told me all about you," she said and went back to her work. Penny was eleven, just about a year older than Nicholas, but a head taller. "Hi!" Nicholas said, "Are you coming with us?" "Nope, laughed Penny, "You're coming with us. Watch the hatch and stow your gear in the aft compartment," she ordered. "Aft, means in the back of the cabin." "I know!" said Nicholas, a little annoyed that Penny was barking orders.

Nicholas now remembered that Dad had told him about Penelope Diggersen several days ago. Dad said that he hoped that Nicholas and "Penny" could spend some time together this summer while she was visiting her grandfather. According to Dad, Penny was a math whiz and computer genius who designed software. Sometimes Professor Diggs called her wunderkind, which in German means wonder child.

At first Nicholas was a little suspicious of Penny, but he didn’t realize exactly how much he had in common with her. Both kids already knew more about nature and science than most adults -- including their teachers -- would ever know. Yet, they both were often lonely since they spent most of their time with books and computers.

All of a sudden the workroom became silent, except for the low whirring sound of the sub. Professor Diggs had pressed a red button to shut down the machines that gave life to the plesiosaur sub. He then pulled out all of the wires and cables that connected the sub to the machines and pounded a large rubber cover, or plug, in place over the outlet holes in Pleesie’s body. Diggs moved to the other side of the room and pressed a green button. With a loud clanking sound a heavy garage door opened revealing a small murky canal surrounded by tall green marsh grasses and trees. A few wading Snowy Egrets were startled into flight by the outrageously noisy door.

"The canal leads to a deep water inlet and then to the bay," Penny explained. Diggs shouted, "On board everyone!" Nicholas felt his Dad's hand on his shoulder as they boarded the sub. The two professors sat at the main controls. Diggs switched on a television monitor that allowed them to see in front of the sub using a camera in Pleesie's nose.

Penny took her place at a small computer desk in the aft cabin. She switched on the screen and booted up the laptop computer. "Nicholas," Penny said as she pushed several buttons, "please sit at the station with four small television monitors. Your job will be to watch what is happening outside the sub. Use these little joysticks to zoom in on any objects in the water." " Like sea monsters?" asked Nicholas said as he tested the cameras. "That's right!" answered Penny, scowling at Nicholas’ little joke. "Nicholas, you are our primary spotter. If you see anything unusual press this little red record button."

Pleesie rested on the kind of long rubber rollers used to lower boats into the water. When Diggs pressed a button the rubber rollers started to turn. Slowly the sub moved along a ramp that led to the canal. Once the sub cleared the door, Nicholas watched on the video monitors as the doors of the warehouse closed behind them. A moment later the sub bobbed into the water and rolled gently from side to side. "All systems go," announced Professor Diggs. "Ahead slow." The sub cruised on the surface for a few minutes and then slowly submerged as the canal became deeper.

Diggs swiveled around in his chair. “Attention everyone. It is important that we all know our assignments. Penny is trained on the MBES to watch and listen for any moving objects and to warn us of underwater hazards. The MBES, or multi-beam echo-sounder, is a new invention much more powerful than sonar. It’s used by marine archeologists and treasure hunters to get a clear picture of what's on the seabed."

Diggs continued. "Penny will also serve as our computer troubleshooter. If you have any problems with the hardware or software, don't ask me, ask Penny." Penny turned her red cap backwards and put on large headphones.
Professor Diggs then turned to Nicholas' dad. "John, your responsibility will be to navigate, locate the caves, and assist me in piloting Pleesie."

The sub moved slowly through the murky water. On the four video screens Nicholas could see aquatic grasses, crabs scurrying along the bottom, and an occasional surprised fish. As Professor Diggs piloted Pleesie from the shallow canal into the deeper inlet the water became clear. The sub was now fully submerged with its neck projecting straight out ahead as it swam. Until now Pleesie just flapped her long flippers. But once they were in the deep water Diggs activated the sub's main propulsion system. Nicholas felt the sub steadily surge ahead. Bubbles poured out of Pleesie and spiraled to the surface.
Nicholas glanced over at the screen on Penny's workstation. "Do you see these little glowing shapes lights? Penny asked, "The larger shapes at the top of the screen are boats on the surface and the very small shapes in the middle and on the bottom of the screen are fish." Nicholas was amazed at how the echo-sounder used sound to create three dimensional pictures of boats, fish, and the seabed.

Penny pointed to different places on the screen and said, "Nicholas, look at how the echo-sounder shows us that the seabed below Pleesie is smooth but then up ahead of us are rock formations.” Professor Diggs added, "The sub's navigational computer sees these obstacles and then steers around or over them.”
“Do you mean the computer is steering Pleesie?" asked Nicholas. "I thought you and Dad were doing that." "Actually, we work with the sub's computer," Penny answered. "The navigational software allows the computer to steer the sub through the inlet into the bay. The pilot can make corrections or changes in course, but the computer takes over if it thinks we are going to collide with something."

Penny continued, "The computer acts as a co-pilot that never gets distracted." "Dad needs that when he's driving to work," Nicholas joked softly to Penny. "The two kids laughed.” I heard that!" Dad said and smiled.
Pleesie was cruising swiftly near the rocky bottom of the inlet. Boats used the inlet as a waterway to Rocky Island Bay. From the bay, a deep channel allowed boats and ships to come and go from the bay to the ocean. But Pleesie's destination was not the ocean -- she was headed for the underwater rocky cliffs on the southern most side of the bay.

Nicholas had read that the waters near the cliffs were so dangerous that very few fishing boats ever ventured there. "That’s where most of the 'sea monster' sightings took place," Nicholas said to Penny. "If the creatures do exist it would be a perfect habitat for them. They could live undisturbed and have plenty of fish to eat." Penny nodded in agreement.

Nicholas thought for a minute and decided to ask Penny a question. She wasn’t exactly the easiest person to talk to. "Penny, why does your grandfather keep his invention a secret?" asked Nicholas looking up from the video screens. He had been watching the same fish and the seafloor for about an hour and was getting restless. "Are you kidding?" Penny snapped. "Why do you think?" We would have every newspaper and tabloid following us out here!" "Oh," said Nicholas. "What's a tabloid?” You know, those ridiculous newspapers that print stories about aliens, flying saucers and three-headed goats," Penny growled. She added, "People might laugh at Grandpa."

Penny went back to monitoring the echo sounder screen. "Penny?" Nicholas continued. Penny rolled her eyes. "What now?" "Do you believe that we might actually find prehistoric creatures in the caves?" Without looking up Penny said, "I'm not sure. All I know is I have faith in my grandpa and his work.

Penny pulled two small packages from her backpack and tossed them in his direction without taking her eyes off the monitor. Here have some breakfast bars -- I made them myself."

Chapter 4: The Creatures!

Penny's creations weren't bad, just a little too sweet, thought Nicholas as he tried to pick the Rice Krispies from the computer keyboard at his work station. Penny looked over and shook her head, thinking that boys are so messy!
Pleesie was now just hovering in about twenty feet of water. Dad and Professor Diggs were moving around the cabin, checking the television monitors and the echo-sounder screen. Dad put his hand on Nicholas's shoulder. "Any luck, buddy?" "No Dad," sighed Nicholas, "just a lot of fish. I mean fish everywhere!" Diggs jumped over to the monitor. Thousands of silvery fish swam in perfect formation, twisting and turning as if they were all one glimmering creature.

"Perfect," Diggs said. "Might be a larger predator chasing the fish. Let's hold our position and see what happens next. Penny take the controls," Diggs continued. "Have Pleesie swim a few figure eights while we look over some charts." "Nicholas," ordered Diggs, "continue watching the monitors." The sub's main propulsion system was shut down so that only the graceful flapping of the flippers pushed the machine through the water. Nicholas preferred how the sub moved under the main drive system. When Pleesie used her flippers she gently rocked from side to side, causing Nicholas to feel a little seasick.

Penny somehow sensed that he was a little queasy so, smiling mischievously, she handed him a small blue seasickness bag. Nicholas’ face turned red when he saw her smile. “Save them for your breakfast bars!,” he growled as he shoved the bags back in her direction. “Well, you ate about ten of them!, Penny laughed. “You must have liked them.
Professor Diggs looked up from his navigational charts, scowling. “Let’s all try to keep quiet and work together, okay.” The two professors glanced at each other and shook their heads. Nicholas was embarrassed. He wondered why is was so hard to get along with Penny. Penny just stared at the monitor.

The crew was quiet while Pleesie gracefully steered figure eights near the huge schools of silver and blue fish. Suddenly, Nicholas cried out "Dad, Professor Diggs, Penny look, look!" The starboard camera had picked up a blackish object cutting through the water in pursuit of fish. It moved so fast that the crew could only catch glimpses of it as it circled around the sub. "Dolphin?, Diggs asked. "No, look at the long neck!" said Nicholas. "Sea Lions?" Penny, asked. Diggs shook his head without looking up from the monitors. "Not in these waters," he said.

Then the creature slowed and turned its swan-like neck toward the sub, apparently curious enough to break off from its pursuit of breakfast. It began to inspect the sub, making graceful circles around Pleesie. Finally, the crew was able to get a good look at the creature. No doubts remained. These unworldly creatures were from a different time. “Wow,” said Penny, “a plesiosaur!” “No, it’s a Cryptoclidus,” said Nicholas. “The smallest member of the plesiosaur family!”

Penny hugged her grandpa. Diggs was silent but smiling. Nicholas noticed that the creature was fascinated by the bubbles rising up from the sub's propulsion system. It then rubbed up against the sub, knocking Penny and Nicholas to the floor. "We're okay," they both said at the same time as the two professors helped them up.

The plesiosaur was about fifteen feet long -- as long as a large Orca, or Killer Whale, although it was mostly long neck and tail. Its flippers were longer than Nicholas expected. "Look how they use their flippers Grandpa," Penny said. "They remind me of how penguins swim." "You're right Penny, Nicholas said. "It's more of a flying than a paddling motion."

Nicholas pointed to the monitors and said, "watch how its flippers go in different directions when the creature steers or turns. But look, when it needs a burst of speed the flippers all push in one direction.” Professor Diggs was nodding in agreement. “Good observation Nicholas. No living marine reptile moves like that …I mean no other marine reptiles," Diggs said, correcting himself after realizing that he was watching a living plesiosaur.

Diggs looked as if he'd seen a ghost. The old paleontologist had studied plesiosaur fossils for most of his life. Now, right before him was a living fossil! His eyes were glued to the monitors, as if trying to record every moment in his memory.
Suddenly, the creature was gone. "Off the screen!" shouted Penny, who was back at her station. "We've lost him!" exclaimed Nicholas, who was busy adjusting Pleesie's cameras using the little joystick on the workstation. "Maybe the plesiosaur has just gone to the surface for a breath of air,” Nicholas said to Penny. He was trying to think like a plesiosaur. He wondered what the creature thought of Pleesie.

"Wasn't it amazing how the creature just hovered around the sub for such a long time before it surfaced," Penny whispered. "I think it’s because plesiosaurs swallow stones to keep them from floating to the surface," Nicholas said as he glanced toward Diggs. Professor Diggs was nodding in agreement. Nicholas remembered reading that paleontologists had found large smooth stones with Cryptoclidus fossils. The animals swallowed gastroliths, or "stomach stones" for ballast, weighing them down in the water so that the air in their lungs wouldn’t make them bob to the surface like a cork. Scuba divers do the same thing when they wear weight belts.

After a few minutes passed and there was no sign of the creature, Professor Diggs spoke. "Penny, what was the creature's last sonar reading -- what direction was he going when we lost him?" "This way Grandpa -- northwest," Penny said, as she ran her finger across the screen. Diggs glanced at his charts and said, "Time to test your theory, John. Let's head for the caves." Nicholas watched his dad push a button and slowly move a handle forward. Pleesie swam toward shallow water.


Chapter 5: The Caves

"Are there really underwater caves?" asked Penny. Nicholas thought for a minute and answered, "Well, they're not really underwater caves but old caves underground that filled with sea water." "That doesn't make any sense," Penny said, shaking her head. "It makes sense to me!" Nicholas said.

Before the two kids started arguing again, Professor Diggs walked back to the kid's workstation. "Penny, what Nicholas means is that long ago the caverns were not filled with sea water. As the waves pounding on the cliffs eroded the soil and rocks, openings formed between the bay and the caves. And, some of the openings are underwater."
Penny smiled. "That makes sense," she said. "But how do you know that the
plesiosaurs live in the caves?" “Well, we don't know for sure," said Diggs, "it's just a hypothesis -- a good guess based on a few puzzle pieces." "That's how modern science works kids. Based on what we already know, we think of a possible explanation and then search for evidence that proves or disproves the explanation."

How is a hypothesis different from a theory?” asked Nicholas. “A theory,” Diggs continued, “is more than a hypothesis. A scientific theory must be based on a great deal of evidence in order to explain why something happened or how it works.”
Just then the sub jerked forward. "All stop!" ordered Diggs. "What happened?" Nicholas asked as lost his balance. “Don’t worry," Penny assured him, "one of Pleesie's flippers hit the sandy bottom. We're in shallow water now. What's our location, Penny?" Diggs moved to Penny's echo-sounder station. "Look here, everyone." Dad traced his finger along a curved line. "This is Rocky Cove at the northwest side of the bay." "We need to move slowly through these two rocks here and here," Dad explained, continuing to move his finger along the images forming on the echo-sounder screen. "The cave opening should be about one hundred yards straight ahead." You could tell Penny and Nicholas were nervous because for the first time they were holding hands.

"Grandpa, the water is too shallow to pilot the sub by computer and cameras," said Penny. "We should use Pleesie’s periscope." "We can't do that!" Nicholas said, "Someone might see Pleesie's head sticking out of the water." "We'll just have to chance it," Diggs said calmly. If someone does see her they will have another sea monster story to tell." He smiled at Nicholas. Nicholas thought about how he was wrong to doubt Professor Diggs’ hypothesis, but he just had to see the creatures for himself.
Diggs spun around in his workstation chair. “John, your eyesight is better than mine. Use the scope to pilot the sub around the rocks until we are safe in the cove. Nicholas, you and Penny keep watch for plesiosaurs. Perhaps our friends will make it easy for us and lead us into the caves."

Nicholas watched Diggs flip a switch that raised Pleesie's small head above the surface. Her flippers paddled slowly through the rocky waters. Several times Nicholas could feel the sub brushing against a rock or the sandy bottom. But soon they were safe in the still clear water of the cove. Nicholas and Penny watched for plesiosaurs on the video monitors but all they saw were odd-looking fish swimming among the olive-green kelp and sea grasses.

"There! Straight ahead!" said Penny. Dr. Diggs and Dad studied the cave opening through the periscope and TV camera. "What do you think?, John," asked Diggs. "Is the cave opening wide enough for Pleesie?" "Yes, I believe so; and the area is geologically stable -- no reported earth quakes or tremors. These caves have been here for millions of years."
"All right then," announced Diggs, "I'm taking her in."

Watching the monitors, Nicholas and Penny saw the dark cave opening in the smooth white rock grow closer and closer as Pleesie paddled cautiously. Several times the sub bumped against a limestone wall, causing the cabin lights to flicker. Once they were inside the cave, the powerful spotlights in Pleesie's eyes automatically switched on. The sub swam about one hundred feet and came to a stop.

They were inside of a huge dark cavern that was half-filled with dark water. As Pleesie bobbed on the surface, Nicholas felt as if they were floating in a bottle of ink. A gush of cool cave air flowed into the cabin when the sub's air snorkel was raised. The walls of the cave were wet and shiny. Stalactites hung from the ceiling. Startled by the lights, thousands of bats darted past Pleesie's raised neck.

"How did bats gets in here?" Nicholas said, breaking the silence. "Oh, I'm sure that there are many passages that lead to the surface, said Diggs.
"Grandpa," Penny interrupted, "come take a look at the! There are four objects moving toward us fast!" "I see them!" shouted Nicholas, pointing to swimming plesiosaurs on the forward television screen. Diggs said nothing as he quickly moved the lever that eased Pleesie back underwater. He also switched off the spotlights. "We need to meet them face to face." Diggs said. "The sub will appear more realistic submerged rather than bobbing on the surface."

Nicholas watched all four TV screens as the sleek creatures swam like seals around and around the sub. "I can't tell what color they are!” Nicholas exclaimed in frustration. "The water is much too dark," said Penny, "and we can't risk turning on the sub's spotlights." The four plesiosaurs continued swimming near the sub. They stopped and poked their noses at Pleesie's rubber skin. Nicholas could see their long toothy heads. When one creature bumped the sub Nicholas and Penny fell out of their chairs on to the rubberized floor. They were stunned but quickly climbed back up to the workstation to watch the show outside.

"Wow, did you feel the strength of the creature?," Diggs said. "I would estimate that they weigh four or five hundred pounds. Much like small Orcas." Although the sub was larger and heavier than the plesiosaurs, it was not immune to their show of force. Another one bumped the sub. This time all hands held on tightly to their workstations. "What are they doing?” asked Nicholas. “Do they want us to leave?" "I'm not sure," said Penny. "Most likely they don't know what to make of us, Diggs said. What do you think John? You’re the herpetologist.”

Nicholas watched his Dad think for a few moments before he responded to Diggs. "If they recognize others of their species by scent alone then they are probably confused, since Pleesie smells like rubber and metal. But if they rely more on eyesight then they probably think of us as either as a rather large threat or as a new member of the social group. But, that's just a hypothesis." "But it's a good hypothesis" said Penny. "I agree," added Nicholas. "Thanks guys, but without further study of their behavior it's hard to draw any conclusions," Dad said, as he used the forward camera to steer Pleesie slowly through the dark water.

Nicholas looked up from his monitor and said, "Dr. Diggs, what about sound? You didn't mention sound as a way of communicating. Dolphins and whales make all kinds of clicking and whistling sounds. The plesiosaurs may even use echolocation, bouncing sound off objects as a way of seeing in the dark." "Very clever," said Diggs. "Good thinking son," added Dad. Not to be outdone by Nicholas, Penny switched on Pleesie's hydrophone, an underwater listening device.
Sure enough, the plesiosaurs were making low chirping sounds as they swam around the sub. "Recording," Penny said, as she downloaded the audio data to her computer.

The creatures were no longer bumping the sub, just gracefully swimming alongside of Pleesie. Moments later they tore off after a school of small fish, leaving a swirl of bubbles in their wake.
When the creatures were gone, Diggs raised Pleesie's head above the dark water for a look around. "Look over there Professor Diggs" exclaimed Nicholas, while still watching the video screens. "Dry land!" Along the edges of the cavern were a number of smooth rock ledges wide enough for walking. Professor Diggs announced, "Penny, Nicholas please get the lanterns and cave gear out of the storage locker. We're going ashore."
The professor steered Pleesie to the nearest rock ledge. "John, please go out and secure the sub to the wall," said Diggs. "I will keep Pleesie stable until she is tied fast."

Nicholas watched his dad turn the wheel that opened the hatch on the ceiling of the cabin. Cool, moist air rushed in. Penny hoped that bats wouldn't rush in as well! On the monitors they watched Dad hammer two small anchor pegs into the wall and then tightly tie a strong nylon rope between the anchors and Pleesie. He popped his head in the hatch and said, "She's secure, Professor Diggs. Oh, and get your jackets, it's pretty chilly out here." Nicholas watched with envy as Peggy slipped on a cool red jacket with a Pleesie emblem sewn on the pocket.

Diggs was the last member of the crew to climb down off of Pleesie onto the slick rock ledge. Penny then used a small palm-sized computer to seal the hatch and turn off the sub's powerful spotlights. Now, with the only light coming from the small lanterns the cave was seemed much spookier. Their voices bounced off the walls and boomed back as eerie echoes. "Nicholas, hook your harness rope to your dad's belt and Penny will hook hers to mine," Diggs said. "We will take no chances on this slick rock. Let's go!"

The crew hiked up a path past huge pinkish limestone columns and around massive dripping arches. Nicholas could see hundreds of stalactites hanging from the ceiling and stalagmites reaching up from the trail.
Professor Diggs could sense that the kids were nervous. To distract them he asked, "do you know how caves form?" His voice echoed off the ceiling. "Water dissolving rocks?" Nicholas said softly. "Chemical reactions? Penny whispered. You're both right, said Diggs. "Over millions of years, rainwater seeps down through limestone, carving little channels and pockets in the rock. Rainwater is slightly acidic. Over time this weak acid dissolves, or eats away the limestone. Little by little the cracks and pockets expand, allowing even more water to seep down."

"It's hard to believe that dripping water created this huge cave, Grandpa," Penny said. "It's not really, explained Diggs, "if you think in terms of millions and millions of years. Remember our trip to the Grand Canyon, Penny? Think of the Colorado River eroding away a few handfuls of sand and rock day after day for millions of years." "If you have enough time any change is possible." added Nicholas." "That's right." said Diggs. "Mountains rise and fall. Life emerges, evolves, then becomes extinct. Bones fossilize into rock. It's just a matter of time."

"Sorry to interrupt class Professor," said Dad, "but I think you ought to take a look at this." In the next chamber of the cave, past a large pillar, was a large flat rocky floor that looked like a beach on the edge of the water. On the "beach" was a colony of plesiosaurs. Some dozed while others flopped about like fat seals. Two of the largest beasts argued over a fish. Their jaws snapped loudly in the air.

"Wow, a colony of plee…," Nicholas shouted but was quickly silenced by the two professors. "Please keep quiet, all of you," said Diggs, "and turn off your lanterns." Rays of sunlight shone down from the ceiling high above the plesiosaurs. "Where is the light coming from?" asked Penny. "I believe that sections of the cave's ceiling collapsed, forming a sinkhole," said Professor Diggs.

"Let's get closer," said Penny. "I'm dying to know their color." Nicholas nodded in agreement. On the sub's monitors the creatures appeared to be black, but as the crew moved closer they could see that the plesiosaurs had beautiful iridescent, or shiny blue-green skin. The two kids had their compact video cameras running as a few of the animals slid over the edge of the beach into the dark water. Two small creatures appeared to be playing tag. On a higher rock ledge a larger plesiosaur nested with a smaller version of itself. "Look Professor Diggs," said Nicholas, "they're not solitary animals like all of the books say -- they're social!"
"Fascinating!" Diggs repeated to himself." "What do you think, buddy?," Dad asked Nicholas. "Amazing!" said Nicholas, "I've counted twenty-seven plesiosaurs." "No, thirty," said Penny. "And look!" Penny handed her compact birding binoculars to Dad. "Unbelievable!" he exclaimed, handing the binoculars to Diggs. "Incredible!" said Diggs, as he handed them to Nicholas. "Dad, eggs!" shouted Nicholas as he nearly fell off the ledge into the water.

Penny had spotted a clutch of football-size white eggs resting in a nest of sea grass. Nicholas was thrilled at the discovery. "Can you imagine if we witnessed a plesiosaur hatching?" he exclaimed. "That would be of great scientific value, said Dad, but let's not get too close to those nesting mothers. I'm sure they have powerful protective instincts." Nicholas was sure that his dad was thinking of the time he was charged by a angry mother alligator during a research trip to Florida. He had never seen Dad run so fast! Nicholas loved to watch that video!

The crew climbed to a higher ledge not only to get a better view but to get a safer spot in case one of the huge creatures charged. But none of the animals seem to notice the crew. The plesiosaurs just basked peacefully in the shimmering rays of sunlight pouring down through cracks in the cave ceiling. They were fat and seal-like but their long necks and pointed heads resembled nothing in this world. Large peg-like teeth lined the creatures' jaws. Their eyes were more bird-like rather than reptilian, darting this way and that.

Dragons, Nicholas thought to himself. They look like the dragons in my mythology book. Maybe these creatures are the origins of those myths, he pondered. Just like how the manatee was the basis of the mermaid myth. His dad once explained to him about the role that mythology played in nearly all civilizations. People create myths and legends to try to explain what they cannot understand or what they fear.

"Professor Diggs,” Nicholas said softly. “They’re not what I expected.” “What do you mean?, asked Diggs. "Well, they look like reptiles and marine mammals. Their heads are reptilian but their bodies move like walruses.” Penny quickly added, “And they’re part of a social group rather than being solitary.” The two professors noticed that Nicholas and Penny were now competing with each other. Nicholas jumped in. "They also lay eggs and take care of their young just like crocodilians." "And, I think that they are curious and intelligent animals." said Penny.

Dad smiled. "Very good. I agree with both of you. But there is still more to learn. The next step a zoologist would take is to tranquilize an animal in order to take its body temperature and draw blood. Perhaps, if we found the remains of a dead animal we could conduct a complete examination of its anatomy and biology." Nicholas and Penny didn't like the sound of "dead animal" but went on munching the last of the snacks from their backpack.

As Penny was digging around in her backpack for a bottle of water, she accidentally dropped her pocket knife on the rocky ledge. The knife slid off the ledge and made a sharp CRACK on the limestone rock below. The sound was more than enough to spook the plesiosaurs, sending them slipping and sliding into the water like huge penguins over an ice cliff. Huge waves splashed up on the beach. It was total chaos!

"Sorry," Penny whimpered, biting her lip." "Oh, great job!" Nicholas said angrily. "Now you've scared them away." "Hey, it was an accident, Penny snapped." "That's enough you two," said Professor Diggs. "Don't worry Penny. I'm sure they will be back. They certainly put on quite a show when they all rushed for the water, didn't they?" said Diggs, laughing and giving his granddaughter a hug. "Besides, it's late. Time for us to get back to Pleesie. We'll get a good night's rest and spend tomorrow studying the plesiosaurs."

Chapter 6: Danger Ahead

As the crew hiked back down along the trails they were tired but happy. Occasionally, the crew caught glimpses of shadowy fish-like creatures swimming in the channel. Professor Diggs speculated that they might be a kind of Ichthyosaurs – prehistoric marine reptiles from the late Cretaceous period. Nicholas was overwhelmed! He thought to himself about the possibility of other prehistoric animals living in the caves.

The discovery of these living fossils filled them with wonder and awe. In many ways it was like a dream. "What will we do now?" asked Nicholas. "You know, about the plesiosaurs. Will we write a book? Hey, I know, we can produce a video for National Geographic or the Discovery Channel!"

Nicholas asked the question about which they were all thinking. But before Professor Diggs or Dad could answer, Penny exclaimed "No!" I don't think we should tell anybody about the plesiosaurs. They're so beautiful and, well, fragile. If other people knew they would come disturb them. Maybe even hunt them. You know what happens to rare wildlife. They’ll turn the caves into a theme park or something."

Penny was fighting back the tears, expecting to get an argument from Nicholas. But after giving this some thought, Nicholas surprised her by saying, "She's right! It would be exciting to be on TV or publish a book, but Penny's right. Everything will be ruined." Both kids were now upset. "We've got to keep the plesiosaurs a secret!" Nicholas said.

"I don't know kids," Diggs said, "this is an historic scientific discovery. We can't just cover it up. People have the right to know. And, besides, eventually someone else will explore these caves and find the plesiosaurs." "That's true," added Dad. "At least we are men and women of science. We'll make sure that the creatures are protected before we reveal their existence.
"But Grandpa," Penny argued, "how can we make sure the plesiosaurs will be safe. Not everyone will listen. Just think of whales. Some countries like Japan and Norway still hunt whales even though most people agree not to. And what about poachers in Africa who kill Elephants for their tusks and then take their calves.”

"Penny, all of what you say is true," said Professor Diggs, "but you cannot automatically assume the worst about people. Some men and women dedicate their whole lives to protecting rare and endangered species. Penny, try to be optimistic. Most people by nature are good. They have good intentions. It is just a matter of educating them about the world – helping them to think clearly."

Nicholas moved close to Penny and said, "Dad, I agree with Penny. I don't want the plesiosaurs to go to an aquarium. They belong here in their natural habitat." After a moment, Diggs smiled and said, "You all make good points. But there is no need to make any decisions now. We're all very tired and in much need of rest. Why don't we agree not to talk about it until tomorrow, okay?" Everyone agreed, and continued along the slick cave trail back to Pleesie.

One by one the plesiosaurs were popping their heads out of the water. Several of the creatures that had been spooked by the sound of the pocketknife hitting the ground had by now pulled themselves back on to the beach as if nothing had happened. A few of the massive creatures were feeding on the strange lizard-like fish that Nicholas had spotted.
Nicholas was walking behind his dad shining his flashlight at the ceiling of the cave. He watched bats free fall from the ceiling and then swoop toward the light. He was startled when Penny stopped suddenly and grabbed his arm. "Ouch, what's wrong Pen…" "Hush, get down everyone!" Dad said urgently. He too saw what terrified Penny.

"Quickly, everyone behind this stalagmite!," Dad exclaimed. Before the crew could say anything, Dad pushed Diggs, Nicholas, and Penny off the trail. "What in blazes are you doing John!" Diggs asked, nearly slipping on the slick cave path. Then Professor Diggs saw the cause of concern. His face grew serious. "Penny, Nicholas stay right here," he said in a dire voice. The kids were scared. They had never seen the two professors act this way.

Directly below the path Pleesie was moored in the calm water of the channel just where they had left her. However, she was not alone. Four large men in black jumpsuits were standing next to her. Behind Pleesie was a black saucer-shaped submersible with metal arms extended high in the air. At the end of each arm was a claw holding what looked like a large fishing net. Against the wishes of the two professors, Nicholas and Penny peeked around the stalagmite to watch in disbelief. The men were too far away for Nicholas to make out what they were saying, but his instincts told him that the men were definitely not scientists on a research mission.

"If they so much as scratch Pleesie…I'll…" "Shhh!" snapped Dad, cutting off Professor Diggs in mid-sentence. "Do something," said Penny, "they're going to capture the plesiosaurs!" "Be calm. Let's think," Dad said, as he held on tightly to Nicholas and Penny. Diggs just stared in disbelief, pounding his fist into his hand.
"Let's examine our options," said Dad. But Diggs was in no mood to talk about plans or options. The old professor was walking down the trail waving a long metal flashlight, yelling "get away from my sub!"
"Quickly!," Dad said. "You two kids go into that little chamber behind us," pointing to a bedroom-sized alcove off the path. "Take the laptops and cameras.” “Dad, what are you going to do?" Nicholas asked, looking really worried. "I don't know yet, son,” said Dad. “Just please wait here. Oh, and here's a mobile phone. Penny was able to boost its power, so you should be able to call out for help. If something happens call 911. But, for now just sit tight."
"John," cried Penny, "don't let them hurt my grandpa." "Don't worry, he said and smiled.

Chapter 7: The Poachers
Penny and Nicholas watched as Dad jogged down the path to catch up to Professor Diggs. The men were now pointing in their direction and waving. One of them called out, "Hello Professor Diggs, good to see you." "Dad turned toward Diggs. "Professor Diggs, do you know these men?" "I'm not sure. Uh, I don't know," he replied.
The men had had tried, unsuccessfully, to open Pleesie's hatch. They were now standing on the deck of their black sub. The one with the red beard, who was clearly the leader, seemed to know Diggs. "Professor Diggs, I congratulate you on your discovery and thank you for leading me to the plesiosaurs. My name is Malen. These men are my associates." "Do I know you?," asked Diggs. "No,” replied Malen, “but I am very familiar with you and your brother's work."

"You knew Neil?" Diggs inquired. "No, but I knew of his research,” replied Malen. “In fact, I helped build several of his submersibles. Like your brother I am a robotics engineer. When he died five years ago I found emails that he sent you about your interest in plesiosaurs, including images. We then built the 'Black Shark,' using stealth technology that keeps us from being detected by sonar."

“So, that's why they never showed up on Penny's echo-sounder screen, thought Diggs.
After Malen finished his story, Diggs asked, "So what is your intent, Malen?" Malen pointed back to the Shark and the metal nets hanging from its claws. "That's pretty easy to figure out, Professor. Capture plesiosaurs and sell them to aquariums and collectors." Diggs’ face went red with fury. "You have no right! You pirate! I won't let you! These are rare creatures and these caves are part of a state wildlife preserve. Under law you cannot remove animals, plants, or artifacts."

Diggs had completely lost his temper and was yelling at Malen. Dad was trying to calm him down, but it wasn't working. Malen's men dropped what they were doing and moved closer. "John, give me that blasted mobile phone!" That was the worse possible thing that Diggs could say, because as soon as he said "phone" Malen's crew grabbed the two professors. No longer in the mood for conversation, Malen barked "enough talk, put them in the Shark!" We've spend too much money on this mission to have it ruined by two dreamers!" Malen growled. "We’ll release them after we capture the plesiosaurs."

The Black Shark was larger than Pleesie. Inside, a dim red light illuminated the workstations. Five high-powered rifles were locked in a gun case in the forward cabin. The two professors were led below and told to sit on the metal floor.
"John," whispered Diggs, "They don't know about the kids." "I hope you are correct. Penny and Nicholas must be really frightened," Dad said, shaking his head in disgust. "Well, for better or worse, the kids have heard every word spoken,” whispered Diggs. "The watches that Penny gave you and Nicholas are also walkie-talkies. You distract Malen’s men and I will attempt to contact the kids.”
Clutching his stomach as if in pain, Dad called to Malen's men. "Ahem, gentlemen. I am not feeling well. Unless you wish for me to become ill all over your nice clean sub, I suggest that you let me go topside for a moment." Diggs winked at Dad.

While the two men helped Dad up through the hatch, Diggs switched the setting on the walkie talkie watch from “listen” to the "two-way" setting. "Penny, Nicholas, do you hear me?" he whispered. "Grandpa, are you okay? We heard what happened," Penny said in a frightened voice. Diggs whispered, “Don’t worry, John and I are well. We will get through this. But for now, you and Nicholas need to phone for help. Find a spot where sunlight shines in through the roof of the cave and attempt to call 911..."
Just then, Diggs heard the hatch opening. He switched off the watch-radio and covered it with his shirt sleeve.

"Grandpa! Grandpa! I can't hear you!” Penny cried. She turned to Nicholas with a look of panic on her face. “Nicholas, Grandpa said that we need to call 911. Where's the mobile phone?” Nicholas reached in his backpack and found the phone. “Penny. the phone is not working. I think it got wet!"

Both kids were holding on to each other, starting to cry. But then they grew silent. Wiping his eyes, Nicholas whispered, "Penny we have to do something." "What can we do?" said Penny, "We're just two kids against four poachers." But then Penny took a few deep breaths and spoke in a calm voice. "Nicholas, my grandpa once told me a story about when he and his brother were very young they wandered away from their family's campsite looking for fossils. They were missing in the woods for two days. He even showed me an old yellow newspaper clipping about how the two boys survived."

"What did they do," asked Nicholas. "Well, he told me that they just played a game." "A game!" Nicholas exclaimed. "Yes, said Penny seriously, "I think it was a role-playing game. You know, like the kind we play in school. Each time they faced a new challenge -- such as finding shelter, starting a fire, or finding food -- they asked themselves 'what would our parents do' or ' what would a scientist do' or 'what would an outdoorsman do' until they found a way out of the woods. As it turned out, they had enough science knowledge and common sense between the two of them to survive in the wild." Nicholas shook his head in agreement. "You know, I once saw a poster of Rosa Parks in a library that said 'ordinary people can do extraordinary things.'" "I like that!, said Penny. "Shall we try?" "Let's do it!," answered Nicholas.

Chapter 8: Pleesie to the Rescue

"Penny, the black sub is gone!" Nicholas shouted. Penny nervously bit her lip, paused, but then smiled. “Come on. Let's go wake up our girl Pleesie. As they hurried down the wet slippery path toward the sub, Penny said "Nicholas, how much did my grandpa tell you about Pleesie?" "Oh, not much, I don't remember everything. He mostly talked to my dad. Why?" "Because Pleesie can do some pretty cool things, Penny said. "What do you mean?" asked Nicholas. “I’ll show you,” smiled.

The two kids were now next to Pleesie. "Penny whispered, "Nicholas watch this." Penny pulled a small palm-sized computer out of her backpack. She held it close to her mouth and spoke, "Pleesie, wake up!" At Penny’s command Pleesie whirred to life, her yellow eyes shining brightly in the dark cave. "I believe that her hatch is open now. Give it a try, will you." Nicholas smiled. "That's why the poachers couldn't get in to Pleesie." "That's right," laughed Penny, who was wearing a proud smile. "After I saw the poachers I re-programmed Pleesie's main computer to respond to voice commands. Just tell her what you want her to do."
"Boy, you are a wunderkind!" said Nicholas. "Oh, please," snapped Penny. "Don't ever call me that! “Why not,” asked Nicholas quietly, realizing that Penny had a quick temper just like her grandfather. Penny shook her head, “You just don’t understand, Nicholas. All of my life people have treated me differently because I can do things that most grown-ups can’t -- especially in math. It’s just hard to make friends.”

Nicholas understood. Very few of his classmates shared his interest in science and history. Most of them were interested only in TV shows or video games. They would look at him like he was an alien when he brought up the subject of cloning or nanotechnology.

“Penny,” Nicholas said softly. “What now, Nicholas?,” Penny barked, as she adjusted her hand computer. “I’m your friend,” Nicholas whispered, holding out his hand. Penny smiled. “Come on Nicholas,” we have work to do!”
Holding hands, they both jumped on to Pleesie's back. Nicholas used his key chain pocket knife to cut the ropes that held the sub to the cave wall. They climbed down into Pleesie through the hatch and sealed it tightly behind them. Inside Nicholas switched on the television screens and activated the cameras.

Penny wasted no time. She spoke to Pleesie using her hand-held computer. "Pleesie, swim forward full speed!" The plesiosaur sub jumped to life. Its long flippers moved like wings pushing the heavy craft through the water. Pleesie yellow eyes glowed in the dim light of the cave. She seemed angry.
Penny gave Nicholas the hand-held computer. "Here, you might as well learn how to use it. Tell her to 'activate main drive -- half-speed'." Nicholas spoke the command and the sub lurched forward as the main drive kicked in. No longer was Pleesie just paddling. She cut through the water like a torpedo toward the inky black lagoon where the crew had first discovered the plesiosaur colony. Her computers made navigation easy. It was impossible to crash the sub when the navigation computer was switched on. All Nicholas had to do was steer right, left, or straight.

"Nothing on the echo-sounder," said Penny. "I can't understand why we're not picking up that big sub." Nicholas thought about the strange shape of black sub and how it reminded him of a model stealth fighter that he had at home on his desk. He had read an article about how the navy was planning to build stealth submarines and ships.

"Hey, Penny, do you know what 'stealth' is? "Yeah, doesn't it mean that you can move quietly or secretly like a cat?," Penny answered as she reconnected her laptop computer to the workstation. "Yes," Nicholas said, "but I read that a stealth airplane can't be detected by radar. If they have a stealth sub then you won't be able to see it on the sonar screen." “Wow, good thinking Nicholas,” Penny said as she kept one eye on the echo-sounder and the other on a computer monitor.

The Black Shark was now quickly approaching the plesiosaur colony. It slowed just as it approached the entrance of the quiet lagoon. On one of the Shark's monitors the two professors watched as Malen and his fellow poachers use the sub's claws to anchor a large fishing net to both sides of the lagoon’s entrance high above the surface so that the creatures could not escape. They then used heavy weights to sink the bottom edge of the net to the floor of the lagoon. The plesiosaurs would be trapped. Malen now ordered his men to go ashore just out of sight of the plesiosaur colony. There, they began to assemble small floating cages to be used to transport the captured animals.

Malen then loaded an air-powered gun with what Dad recognized as a tranquilizer dart that zoologists use to sedate large animals. As Malen opened boxes of darts and loaded them into the guns, Dad whispered, “Professor Diggs, if I could get my hands on a few of those smaller darts I might be able to slow down these pirates.” Diggs frowned and shook his head. “Don’t try to be a hero, John. These men are deadly serious. They have weapons and I’m sure that they would not hesitate to use them on us. Besides, think of the children. We’ll find a better way." Dad sat silently, eyeing the box of tranquilizer darts.

Malen then turned and walked back to where the professors sat. “Gentlemen,” he said. “Don’t look so glum. I would like to make you an offer. I need your help. The plesiosaurs are larger and faster than I thought. I need the expertise of a zoologist to capture and monitor the creatures. I also need another sub to transport the caged animals back to the mainland. If you assist me then I will share the fame and wealth with you.”

Digg’s face grew red with anger. Before Dad could stop him Diggs, shouted, “Never, Malen! I would never assist you in this crime!” Malen face grew angry, but then he laughed. “You scientists are such idealists – you actually think that the rest of the world just cares about science and protecting wildlife. For most people wildlife is mere entertainment – a trained dolphin jumping through a hoop or some sad circus elephant chained up in the parking lot of the local mall. Well, it’s all about money and power! Don’t you understand? I’m giving you a choice. You can either help me and share the wealth or I can arrange for you two to have a tragic accident with that silly toy sub of yours. I can see the news reports now: ‘Two well-known professors die in experimental sub accident.’” Malen growled, “the choice is yours…think about it." The two professors listened to Malen’s rant and just hung their heads in disgust. Malen then turned and climbed out of the submarine’s hatch.

“Pleesie, stop!” shouted Penny into her palm computer. The sub responded to her command and rocked to a gradual stop in the still water. “What do you see Penny?,” Nicholas said nervously. “I think I found the stealth sub!” Penny said, pointing to a fuzzy blip on the echo-sounder. "How did you do that, Penny?" asked Nicholas. "I thought that stealth technology couldn't be detected." "Well," Penny responded, "I re-programmed the echo-sounder's computer to display any movement in the water. It made the display kind of hard to read, but I think it worked." Nicholas glanced at the confusing yellow blips and smears on the screen. "That's amazing Penny!" he said. Penny smiled.

“Nicholas, edge Pleesie ahead to that large wall. I think that’s where the channel turns toward the plesiosaurs’ lagoon." Nicholas moved a small handle forward one click and the sub slowly inched forward. He then used a joystick that moved Pleesie’s neck so that she could look around the corner. Penny gave him the thumbs up.

On the forward monitor they could see the black sub and the huge steel net that the poachers attached to the walls of the channel. Penny moved closer to Nicholas and said, “Have you received any messages from my grandpa or your dad?" "No Penny," Nicholas whispered. "Well, see if you can get an image of what’s happening on the surface."

Nicholas moved the joystick and Pleesie’s head broke through the water. Nicholas flipped on Pleesie’s night vision. The auto focus on her nose camera adjusted to the dimly lit cave. As the image came into focus on the TV monitor, the two kids were horrified to see men with guns advancing toward the basking plesiosaurs. “Penny, what should we do?” Penny was silent for a moment, rubbing her chin just like her grandpa did when he was thinking. “Nicholas, try to call my grandpa on the walkie talkie.” Nicholas pressed a green button on the small device on his wrist. “Professor Diggs, are you there?" he whispered.

Diggs’ walkie-talkie vibrated on his wrist. Since Malen and his crew were outside preparing for the attack on the plesiosaurs, he could respond to Nicholas. “Nicholas, are you and Penny safe? Where are you?” Diggs knew at that moment that the kids were nearby because the walkie-talkies had only a limited range. “We’re fine.” Nicholas responded. “We’re in Pleesie on the other side of Malen’s big net.” “Nicholas, did you and Penny call the authorities?” No, the mobile phone was dead.” “Let me talk to Penny,” Diggs said excitedly. “Penny, turn Pleesie around this minute and go get help!”

Just then Diggs saw Malen coming through the hatch, so he turned of the phone and pretended to be talking to Dad. “So, John just how many creatures are nesting…” “All right gentlemen,” Malen snarled. “We are ready to begin our operation. What is your answer? Will you help us?

“Professor Diggs?, Dad? Can you hear me?,” Nicholas shouted into his walkie-talkie. He began to panic. Penny was trembling. “Penny, let’s go get help like your grandfather said!” “No, Nicholas. I'm scared too, but there’s no time. It would take all day to find help,” Penny said quietly while watching the men on the monitor. “We’ve got to rescue them. There are no other choices.

Nicholas, get ready to take Pleesie in.” “Okay Penny,” Nicholas sighed. He thought about the story Penny had told about the Diggs brothers lost in the woods. “But Penny, the poachers have guns. Their submarine might even have torpedoes! Pleesie’s an amazing machine, but she's designed for science, not fighting.” “That’s true,” answered Penny, “but remembers back in the cave when I told you that Pleesie can do some pretty cool things?” “Yes, I remember,” said Nicholas. “Well,” smiled Penny, “I think that between the three of us, we can do this. We just need to have faith in ourselves and Pleesie.” Nicholas smiled confidently and said, “I'm ready to take her in!"

“I ask you for the last time!” shouted Malen, “will you help me?” The two professors nodded at each other. “Alright,” said Diggs. “We won’t take your money, but since you are going through with this terrible mistake with or without us, John and I will help you tranquilize the animals and monitor their heart rate and breathing while they are sedated. We don’t want to see any of these creatures harmed. I assume that you have the necessary equipment.”

“Fine, Malen said, “more money for me. Malen pointed his gloved hand at two large plastic box bungeed to the sub’s deck. “In that black case you will find equipment designed for monitoring the creatures. In the green box are the tranquilizing drugs.” Malen glared at Dad and said, “No tricks. Do you understand? “I understand,” said Dad, as he reached for the equipment.”

Diggs shook his head. “John, I cannot believe that you talked me into helping these thieves!” “Look, Professor Diggs, we have no choice,” answered Dad. “These men do not have the education or training to safely capture a four-hundred pound animal. If we don’t help many of the plesiosaurs will die and we might die right along with them.” “Very well,” agreed Diggs reluctantly, but I saw Malen loading his pockets with real bullets and not just the tranquilizer drugs.” “I know,” said Dad, “these men are dangerous.”
For a moment Diggs looked depressed, but then the spark quickly returned to his eyes. “All right then, John! The kids have devised a plan. Look here at the digital display on my watch. It receives text messages as well. Pretty clever, eh?” Dad shook his head in amazement as he read the kid’s message.
pleesie waiting around the bend in channel .
will surface in 10 min. love, p & n.

Diggs whispered, “The problem is that Malen’s men are stationed near the Black Shark. Hmm, what we need is a diversion of some kind. Yes, that’s it, a diversion! Just a few moments of chaos will do the trick. But how?” Diggs said as he rubbed his chin.
"I wouldn’t worry too much about a diversion," said Dad smiling. "I switched the tranquilizer darts so that the plesiosaurs will be out for only a few minutes. When the creatures wake up sooner than expected, Malen and his men will be so busy that we'll have more than enough time to make a run for Pleesie. You’ll have plenty of chaos!”

“Well done!” exclaimed Diggs. “These men are so blinded by ignorance and greed that they’re bound to make plenty of mistakes.” “Perhaps,” said John, “but just stay on high ground away from the beach. I'm certain that the plesiosaurs will bolt for the water like four hundred pound seals. You wouldn’t want to get in the path of an angry plesiosaur, would you?” "I don't know," chuckled the old paleontologist. "I never imagined that anyone would ever ask me that question.” The two professors laughed.
Nicholas and Penny watched on the monitor as Malen and his men moved toward the plesiosaurs. “Are you ready for Operation Pleesie?” asked Nicholas. “Ready for stage one,” said Penny confidently. Both kids were sitting side by side at the forward workstation. Penny gave the command. “Submerge, Pleesie!” The sub quickly dove to the bottom of the channel to the spot where the poacher’s net was anchored to the ground. Nicholas pushed the main control handle forward, moving Pleesie’s powerful steel jaws into the metal net. “Cut Pleesie!,” Nicholas shouted into the palm computer.

Pleesie’s jaws opened wide, revealing two powerful spinning saw blades. Nicholas gently moved the little joystick that controlled the neck. It was working! The diamond-studded saw was slicing through the net. Inside the sub the noise of the cutting blades was deafening. Penny and Nicholas quickly put on earphones to protect their ears from the screaming saw. Penny glanced at the time display on her computer. Eight minutes remained.

Pleesie continued to chew through the steel net. Several times the net tangled in the saw blades but Nicholas remained calm and wiggled the stick until the blades were free again. Soon, Pleesie’s blades cut a large circular hole in the net. “Stop cutting, Pleesie!” Nicholas commanded. The saw shut down and Pleesie’s mouth closed back over the blades. “Great job Nicholas!, Penny said. Nicholas smiled, “Thanks, actually that was kind of fun.”

“Okay, now comes the hard part,” Penny said, taking a deep breath. “Stage two,” Nicholas said. “Stage two,” Penny agreed. “Ahead slow, Pleesie!” At her command the sub glided through the hole in the net into the lagoon. Several plesiosaurs from the colony approached the sub, happily circling and diving. The animals knew nothing of the looming threat.
Nicholas and Penny watched them gracefully glide and porpoise through the water. For a moment, the kids forgot about the danger above them in the cave. They saw another unknown species of animal shoot through the water and pondered how the creatures had lived here in peace for a million years – or at least as long as the caves had been here. No predator ever threatened them. But now he sensed that everything had changed forever.

Nicholas piloted Pleesie closer to the black sub but stayed far enough away so that they would not be detected. He moved the control so that Pleesie’s head was barely above the surface of the water.

On the monitor they could see Malen and his men closing in on the plesiosaurs. On a ledge above the basking creatures Nicholas could plainly see his dad and Professor Diggs. Nicholas switched on his walkie-talkie. “Dad, what’s going on?” “The poachers are moving in,” his dad responded. “They will begin shooting any moment. Once the animals see the men they will head for the lagoon. I’m afraid that in the confusion the plesiosaurs will get tangled in the net. I’ve seen dolphins drown that way.”
“Dad, we cut a hole in the net.” “Really?” Dad said surprised. “How large of a hole?” “I don’t know,” said Nicholas. “Just big enough for Pleesie.” Professor Diggs spoke up. “That’s not large enough, Nicholas. I believe that these creatures have poor eyesight. They won’t find their way out by themselves. You will have to try to…,” The radio went dead.

Just then Malen fired the first shot. The dart flew into the creature’s back, piercing its rubbery skin. The great reptile lifted his long neck and roared. Nicholas sensed that the roar was not one of pain but to warn the colony of the poachers' approach. Other plesiosaurs roared as the men fired their guns. Most of the animals, however, quickly waddled on their bellies to the lagoon. They slid and tumbled off the beach into the water like giant penguins. Dad was right. It was total chaos.

Nicholas and Penny watched the confusion unfold on the monitor. “Nicholas, what should we do!” screeched Penny. “The plesiosaurs are swimming into the net!” Nicholas thought to himself, What was Professor Diggs going to say? He said that they wouldn’t find their way out. Then he understood. “Penny, we’ve got to lead the plesiosaurs through the hole in the net. That’s what your grandpa was trying to say! Somehow we’ve got to get their attention.” Four minutes remained.
They could now see plesiosaurs swimming in all directions. The water was getting rough, tossing Pleesie from side to side. “Nicholas, help me pilot Pleesie!,” Penny screamed. The kids steered the sub in to the center of the swirling storm of plesiosaurs. The water was so rough that they had to hang on to their workstations.

"Penny!" shouted Nicholas. "You've got to get the plesiosaurs attention!" "Just how, do you propose I get their attention,” snarled Penny, “yell at them?” But all of a sudden Penny realized that she had answered her own question. She jumped to her station and pressed a button that caused the echo-sounder to emit a loud tinging sound—the kind used by subs to locate underwater objects. TA-TING, TA-TING, TA-TING. Then she screamed, “Nicholas, take us through the hole in the net! Now!” Nicholas turned Pleesie about and used the TV screen to aim for the hole in the net. He shouted in Penny’s palm computer, “Pleesie, forward fast!”
The two kids were thrown to the floor as Pleesie sped through the hole. TA-TING, TA-TING, TA-TING. It worked! The plesiosaurs were following them out of the lagoon and into the main channel. They were so spooked that most of them seemed to be headed straight for the bay. The kids marveled at how fast the creatures could swim.
“Now,” Penny said, “ we need to rescue Grandpa and your dad.” She switched off the tinging sonar. “Nicholas, try to contact my grandpa or your dad. I’ll take Pleesie back in.”
“Hello Professor Diggs! Dad! Come in,” Nicholas repeated into his walkie-talkie, but there was no response. “Penny, they don’t answer. We’ll have to surface and take a look around.”

Penny brought the sub back into the lagoon. Nicholas raised Pleesie’s head above water and turned on her nose camera. On the beach four plesiosaurs lay on their sides. He could see Dad and Professor Diggs bending over one of the sleeping animals. The poachers were busy trying to move one plesiosaur into a cage, but they weren’t having much success with the huge animal. Malen and his crew had no idea that the other plesiosaurs had been rescued. They believed that the animals were just swimming around the lagoon, corralled like cattle by the huge steel net.

Suddenly, just as Dad had predicted, one of the huge animals woke up a bit sooner than the poachers expected. Two of Malen's men were knocked down to the hard cave floor with one swipe of the grumpy plesiosaur's powerful tail.

Just then, Nicholas saw Professor Diggs look out into the lagoon and point to where Pleesie’s glowing eyes stuck out of the choppy water. Diggs tapped Dad on the shoulder and the two men began to make a dash away from the beach along the edge of the lagoon. “Penny, look! My dad and your grandpa are coming toward us. Let’s go get them!” Penny looked at the time display. “Perfect!” she announced.

Pleesie was only about twenty feet from the edge. Nicholas commanded, “Pleesie, go right, slow!” The sub moved to the edge of the lagoon. He could see the two professors running up the path. Penny had already opened the hatch on Pleesie’s back and was waving at the two men above on a ledge. “Grandpa! John! In the water! Jump!,” she shouted. “Jump!" Dad grabbed Diggs and pushed him off the ledge into the lagoon.

The plan seemed to be working perfectly until Nicholas saw Malen running along the edge of the lagoon holding a tranquilizer gun. Nicholas yelled up to Penny, “Hurry!” Dad and Professor Diggs were having a difficult time climbing up on Pleesie’s back because the sub was rocking back and forth in the choppy water. Nicholas watched the forward video monitor. He saw that Malen was now close enough to fire a shot. Only Nicholas could see Malen because Penny was busy helping her grandpa and his dad into the sub. Two other poachers were now running a few paces behind Malen. Malen stopped and raised his gun to fire. Nicholas yelled up to Penny, "what should I do!”

Then an idea came to him! Malen was right in his sight. Nicholas screamed “Pleesie! Grab! Grab!” At Nicholas' command Pleesie’s huge jaws moved down on Malen, grabbing his arm just before he fired his gun. Malen now dangled in the air, kicking and screaming. Nicholas smiled gleefully as he flicked the little joystick that twitched Pleesie’s neck and sent Malen flying through the air into the lagoon. His two men tried to avoid Pleesie's jaws by sneaking up behind the sub. Nicholas saw them and instantly commanded "Pleesie! Move tail fast!" WAP! With one swipe the two men were knocked down on the slick rock path.
Nicholas heard the hatch slam shut and the next thing he new his dad was giving him a big hug. “Boy, am I glad to see you, Dad!" Nicholas said.” Penny had hugged her grandpa so hard they both fell over laughing. But they were so busy in their congratulations that they didn’t see the Black Shark surfacing not far behind them.

While Malen and two crewmen had pursued the two professors on foot, another poacher had quietly moved the black sub toward Pleesie. All of a sudden Pleesie lurched back. The black steel claw of the Shark had grabbed Pleesie’s tail and was shaking the sub. Penny fell and hit her head. Her palm computer slid under the workstation as the cabins lights flickered. Blood ran down on her forehead. Nicholas crawled to the control panel and moved the joystick that controlled Pleesie’s tail. Now both subs were now shaking and twisting in the water, like two prehistoric monsters locked in a battle to the death.

Then, the Shark’s other claw clenched Pleesie’s neck and began to squeeze. A few of Pleesie's systems blinked on and off. Her nose camera went dead for an instant. Wiping the blood from her face Penny crawled along the deck searching for her palm computer. At last she found it and screamed “Pleesie shock! Shock Pleesie!

At her command, Pleesie’s outer metal skin became electrified, shooting a powerful electric shock into the Shark. ZZZAPPP! The black sub’s claws let go instantly. Pleesie was free! Penny dropped the palm computer and it skidded under a workstation. Nicholas grabbed for the small device in the dark and screamed “Pleesie forward! Fast! Forward!,” although he was not exactly sure which way the sub was pointed.

Pleesie found her way out of the lagoon and into the main channel that led to the bay. Thinking that all of this was some sort of game, the plesiosaurs decided to follow Pleesie out of the cave. But so had the Shark, which had recovered from the electric shock and was gaining fast. Damaged by her battle with the Shark, Pleesie could now only travel at half speed.

Penny was back at her station. Nicholas was monitoring the four television screens. Dad and Professor Diggs were piloting Pleesie, trying to get all the speed they could from her damaged engine. “Grandpa, shouted Penny, “there is an unidentified object on my screen! It’s moving faster than any other object in the water!” "Is it a plesiosaur?" asked Diggs. "No, its too fast, Grandpa," responded Penny. Nicholas used the aft camera to zoom in on the object. His eyes grew wide and he gasped, “It’s a torpedo!" Brace yourselves!” Diggs shouted.

Dad was at the main controls. He had to take drastic action to escape the Shark's mini-torpedo. Nicholas and Penny sensed this so they used the sonar screen at Penny’s workstations to come up with a path of escape. Penny saw unusually jagged lines on the bottom of her screen. She shouted, "Nicholas! Zoom in on the seabed!" The camera zoomed in instantly. There it was! Right below them was a ridge of rock and coral – part of an ancient seabed that was pushed up through the sand.

Nicholas could see the torpedo closing fast. He had to act now. Penny's palm computer was nearby. He grabbed it and shouted "Pleesie! Down! The sub went down fast and bounced off the sandy bottom behind the ridge. It was a good gamble because just as Pleesie passed behind the low ridge the torpedo sped overhead, missing the sub by just a few feet and exploding in the distance.

The crew cheered until they heard Penny say, “the Black Shark is closing -- one hundred yards on our port side.” This time professor Diggs spotted an escape route. He piloted the wounded sub along the ridge back and into a small cave opening. He said sadly, “at less than half power we have no chance of outrunning the Black Shark. I suggest that we hide in the caverns -- perhaps abandon Pleesie and travel on foot to the surface. Are there any objections to that plan?” The crew was silent.
The opening was small but Pleesie managed to squeeze through. The second torpedo hit near the cave’s entrance causing a small avalanche. The shock wave of the explosion shook Pleesie violently. A few more of her systems went off line. A spray of water fell on Penny’s workstation.

Watching the aft monitor, Nicholas said softly, “I think we’re safe. The blast sealed the entrance to the cave. The Shark can’t follow us!” They found a large lagoon and surfaced to get a better look around. "Perhaps we can find an exit to the bay,” Diggs said as he and Dad pilot the sub. "Oh, by the way, good thinking back there kids," Diggs chuckled. "Of course, if the torpedoes don't kill us your piloting will!" The crew laughed nervously.

Pleesie slowly bobbed to the surface. All was quiet in still water of the cavern. “John, take the controls while I tend to Penny’s wounds,” Diggs commanded. Nicholas saw one of the strange small ichthyosaurs swim past on his monitor.
Just as Pleesie’s head broke the surface and her nose camera flickered on, they saw what they feared the most – the Black Shark cruising through the water. “That’s’ it, were cornered,” uttered Diggs. “Any other ideas? Better think fast.”
“I wish the plesiosaurs were here!” said Nicholas, afraid that he would never see them again. Frustrated, Penny yelled at Nicholas. “Oh, you and those plesiosaurs! We're about to get killed by poachers and you can't stop thinking about the dumb plesiosaurs! Just exactly how could the plesiosaurs help us?” But in an instant her scowl turned into a broad smile. “Nicholas that is an excellent idea!” She had a plan. It was a desperate idea, but worth a try. Instantly, Penny flipped a switch that turned on the sonar tings. TA-TING, TA-TING, TA-TING.

“What on earth are you doing, Penny!” shouted Diggs. Then working quickly she opened the file containing the recorded plesiosaur sounds. She boosted the volume as high as it would go. CRRIKK, CRRIKK, CRRIKK. Between the sonar pings and plesiosaur clicks the noise was almost unbearable.
“Penny are you doing what I think you are doing?,” asked Nicholas, smiling at his friend. “Penny, answer us! demanded Diggs, “what are you doing?”

The Black Shark was closing in. Its razor-sharp metal claws were fully extended, ready to crush the life from Pleesie. The echo-sounder tings and plesiosaur noises seemed to grow even louder. Then suddenly Nicholas screamed over the noise. “Look at the screen!” At least twenty little yellow shapes moved toward a central point on the sonar display. Nicholas could see the colony of plesiosaurs approaching fast. But they weren’t heading for Pleesie. Instead, the animals torpedoed through the water toward the Shark.

At first the plesiosaurs circled and dove at the black sub. Then, some of the larger creatures bumped Malen’s craft, knocking his crew to the floor; while others used their long white teeth to tear at the hoses and tubes used to control the Black Shark’s robotic arms. Malen was losing control of his sub. The Shark had rolled nearly upside down. Malen screamed at the creatures and desperately tried to use the sub’s robotic arms to repel away the angry plesiosaurs. He was able to strike one of them, creating a huge gash on the plesiosaur’s neck. But this only made the creatures more furious.

Again and again they dove at the Shark, driving the injured sub deeper and deeper into a black crevasse at the bottom of the lagoon.

By now Diggs had slowed Pleesie to a stop so that the crew could witness the incredible sight. The crew watched silently as bubbles streamed out of the Shark’s air tanks as its hull was ripped by the sharp rocks. Sparks shot from the dying sub as it sank deeper into the dark crevasse. Moments later the Black Shark was gone.

Chapter 9: The Voyage Home

The plesiosaurs broke off of their attack on the Shark. They then swam gracefully around Pleesie a few times and disappeared through a channel on the far side of the lagoon. Pleesie rocked gently from side to side. The crew was stunned by what they had just witnessed. Nicholas broke the silence. “Dad, are the poachers d…d…dead?” “I don’t know son. The caverns are linked by many tunnels and channels. They may have escaped. But their sub was damaged pretty badly. They may even have totally lost their oxygen supply when the Shark hit those rocks.”

Diggs looked exhausted. “What a nightmare,” he muttered to himself. Penny worked the joystick to move Pleesie’s nose camera back and forth underwater to search for survivors. “No sign of any movement,” Dad said, “but we’ll continue the search for awhile longer.”

Diggs swiveled around in his chair. “Penny, Nicholas, you both astonish me! That was quick thinking! Had you not called the plesiosaurs I believe that Malen would have destroyed us all. He was a madman.” The two kids were tying hard to keep from crying. The two professors were shaken.

“Dad, why did the plesiosaurs attack the Shark?” Nicholas asked. “The creatures were out of danger. Why did they come back? Were they trying to protect Pleesie?” Were they angry at Malen and his crew?” Penny and Diggs were thinking the same thing and waited for the zoologist's answer. “Well, that’s a tough question, son. I don’t know if they were ‘angry’ with Malen but clearly they sensed that the Shark was a threat to the colony. I’ve seen Orcas chase down and kill a shark that has attacked a calf, or young whale. Dolphins are known to travel great distances to help an injured family member. But whales and dolphins are mammals with highly developed brains.”

Nicholas hugged his dad and smiled. “Well Dad, maybe the plesiosaurs are more intelligent that you think -- not just ‘dumb reptiles.'" Penny agreed with her friend and said, "John, you said yourself that the plesiosaurs had the ability to form social groups, to communicate, and to solve problems.” Professor Diggs just sat there smiling as the two kids argued with a zoology professor. He noticed how confident they had become over the past two days and how John was proud of them, as well.
Finally Diggs said, "Sometimes we scientists too often use the word instinct to explain animal behavior that we just don't understand. The plesiosaurs acted on more than instinct when they responded to Pleesie's distress call. They're not simply machines. I think that they have the ability to solve problems and meet new challenges. They have been doing so for millions of years. The plesiosaurs are truly survivors."
“Okay,” said Penny, who looked exhausted, “what now?” Nicholas, who continued to be worried about the creatures, said “did Malen hurt any of the plesiosaurs, Dad?” “I don’t think so Nicholas, but we should go back to the colony and pull down what’s left of the net in the plesiosaur's lagoon.” Professor Diggs looked up from an open panel on the floor and said, “we can’t make the trip home until repairs are made on Pleesie’s engines. I propose that we return to the lagoon for the night. Penny, Nicholas, take Pleesie through that channel up ahead. Go slowly, please! John and I will begin repairs on Pleesie’s damaged systems.”

By following the path that plesiosaurs took after the battle, Penny and Nicholas easily found their way back to the main channel and then to the lagoon. “Nicholas, do you see anything on the monitors,” Penny asked nervously. “No, Penny. No sign of the plesiosaurs. Only the ripped net.” Penny glanced a