Case of the Terrible T. Rex by Michele Torrey

Author:Michele Torrey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook
Publisher: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
Published: 2012-01-27T16:00:00+00:00

“Let’s get to work, shall we?” said Drake.

“Check,” said Nell.

Woof! said Dr. Livingston.

For the next hour, they investigated. They dug. They sifted. They took samples. They surveyed. Nell snapped photos. Drake drew diagrams. And Dr. Livingston snoozed in the shade. Then, after a two-and-a-half-minute lunch where the view just didn’t get any better, they returned to the lab for analysis.

Nell found a book on the shelf and turned to the page titled “Dinosaur Dilemma: What to Do When the Crowd Goes Wild, Something Foul Is Afoot, and a T. rex Stomps on Your Trilobite.” She read the section aloud, then said, “Let’s share our observations.”

By the time they’d formed and tested their hypothesis, it was five minutes to three.

“We have our answer!” cried Drake.

“To the Paleo Pals Club we go!” cried Nell.

Woof! Woof! cried Dr. Livingston.

They hopped on their bicycles and pedaled like mad to the Paleo Pals Club. (All of this pedaling-like-mad stuff was really very good exercise. Drake was feeling quite energized. Except, sadly, when he hit a pothole and fell, splat! Nothing too energizing about that.) Drake and Nell arrived just as the judge faced the crowd.

“Well,” the judge was saying, “this year, I must say, you’ve exceeded all our expectations. Especially Frisco. I mean, wow. That’s why it should come as no surprise that Frisco’s the win—”

“Stop everything!” cried Drake and Nell, hurrying to the front of the crowd.

The judge frowned. “This is most irregular.”

Frisco tapped his watch. “Uh—time? Hello? Don’t you lab rats ever use a watch? It’s time for the prize giveaway.”

“Allow us to explain,” said Drake, a bit out of breath.

Nell added, “We have vital information that could change the outcome of the contest.”

The crowd gasped.

Frisco rolled his eyes. “Spare me.”

The judge checked his watch. “Make it fast.”

Drake faced the crowd and pushed up his glasses with his finger. “We first became suspicious when we noticed that the T. rex fossil was too perfect.”

“Hey,” said Frisco. “Perfection is my middle name.”

“As you know,” Nell said, ignoring Frisco, “most fossils are in terrible shape. Some fossils require years of expert restoration.”

Frisco yawned. “And your point is?”

“Second,” continued Drake, “there was an extra bone in the spine, a bone commonly known as a vertebra.”

Frisco frowned. “Really? Uh—I mean, yeah. Heh heh. Did that on purpose. Just to see if any of you losers were paying attention.”

“An extra vertebra in the spine, you say?” The judge scribbled on his clipboard.

“Indeed,” said Nell. She began to pace, her hands clasped behind her back. Drake could tell she was quite serious. “After we realized that the T. rex had an extra vertebra, we paid a visit to the dig site. Now, as many of you are aware, the crust of the Earth’s surface is made up of layers of dirt and rock, all piled on top of one another.”

“News to me,” said Frisco.

“Case in point,” said Drake, “the walls of the Grand Canyon. You can see the dirt and rock in various layers.”

“Excellent example, Detective Doyle,” said Nell. “The oldest layer is on the bottom, while the newest layer is on the top.

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