The Berenstain Bears Chapter Book: The G-Rex Bones (6 page)

It worked out perfectly. The mesa was about a mile from the highway, and the big tent was another mile on. The shallow gulch they’d seen before ran right by the tent. It was too dangerous to drive a big, heavy tour bus two miles off the highway, but a pickup truck could make it with ease. Now there wasn’t any doubt that they’d seen Ralph and four other bears with shovels at the fossil site on the day
before
the fossils were supposed to have been discovered.

“Step right up! Step right up!” barked Ralph as he pulled a tent flap open. “See the colossal bones of the great
Gigantosaurus rex!”
Actual Factual’s name for the beast had been reported that morning in every newspaper in Bear Country.

Papa and the cubs filed in with the others. It was cooler in the tent, but enough of the blazing sunlight shone through the canvas ceiling to clearly show the bones spread out on the sand.

“Wow,” said Brother. “Look at the size of those things. What do you think, Papa?”

“Pretty interesting,” said Papa. “Guess I’ll have to bone up on dinosaurs. Get it?
Bone
up on dinosaurs?”

“I get it, Papa,” said Brother. He turned to Ferdy. “More important, what do
you
think, Ferd?”

Ferdy was stroking his chin, looking thoughtfully at the vast array of fossil bones. “I think there’s something fishy about these bones,” he said. “They’re so clean. If they’ve ever actually been in the ground, it couldn’t have been for long.” He raised his hand and called out, “Oh, Ralph!”

“That’s Mr. Ripoff to you, sonny,” sneered Ralph. “Oh, it’s you, Ferdy. What is it, young fella?”

“Has the Bearsonian staff been here to clean off the fossils?” asked Ferdy.

“Er … uh, no, they haven’t,” said Ralph. “But I had Sandcrab Jones clean ’em up the other day. Wanted them to look nice and neat for the photographers.” He scanned the audience. “Any other questions, folks?”

As the other tourists asked questions, the Bear Detectives huddled. “Do you think he’s telling the truth?” asked Brother.

“I doubt it,” said Ferdy. “But even if he is, there’s something else about those bones that troubles me.”

“What is it?” asked Fred.

“That’s the trouble,” said Ferdy. “I can’t quite put my finger on it. Perhaps if I sleep on it …”

Chapter 10

Lingering Doubts

Ferdy did sleep on it. Not just for one night, though. He slept on it for
three
nights. That’s because he just couldn’t figure out what was bothering him about the
G-rex
fossils.

During those few days, Ferdy avoided the other Bear Detectives at school. He was embarrassed about not being able to solve a scientific problem. Finally, the others approached him in the schoolyard at recess.

“Hey, Ferdy,” said Brother. “We’re kind of curious about what’s happening with you.”

“Well,” said Ferdy with a sigh, “I’ve gotten a lot of sleep lately, but that’s about all.”

“Maybe that’s because there’s nothing wrong with the fossils,” suggested Fred.

Ferdy shook his head. “I wish it were so,” he said, “but I just can’t bring myself to believe it. I remain skeptical.”

“Skeptical?”
said Lizzy.

Fred, who read the dictionary for fun, defined the word.
“Skeptical,”
he said.
“Inclined to doubt or question.
It’s very important for scientists to be skeptical, you know. They have to question everything until they have proof.”

“Very well put,” said Ferdy.

“Thanks,” said Fred. “But it’s also important for scientists to talk to each other about their doubts. Shouldn’t you talk to your uncle about this?”

“I agree,” said Ferdy. “Let’s all go see him at the Bearsonian after school today.”

And they did. In Actual Factual’s office, Ferdy expressed his doubts about the
G-rex
fossils. The professor didn’t seem to listen very carefully. When Ferdy was done, his uncle leaned back in his chair and smiled.

“Of course, as a scientist I approve of your skeptical attitude, Ferdy,” said Actual Factual. “However, I must tell you that my laboratory tests on the
G-rex
toe bone are now complete. In fact, I am about to announce the results to the media. And those results show, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the
G-rex
toe bone is chemically very similar to
T-rex
bones that are seventy million years old.”

Ferdy shook his head and said, “I must admit, Uncle Actual, that this is very powerful evidence. But I still can’t help wondering: if the
G-rex
lived at the same time as the
T-rex
, why haven’t any fossils been found before now? A number of
T-rex
fossils have been found over the years, but not a single solitary
G-rex
bone. And now, all of a sudden, we have a whole skeleton!”

“There are any number of possible reasons for that,” said the professor. “There may have been many fewer
G-rex
es than
T-rex
es. Or it may have lived in only a small space on the earth compared to
T-rex.
” He smiled again. “Ah, my dear brilliant little nephew! It does my heart good to see you sticking to your guns like this. But if the lab tests can’t persuade you, what can? Being skeptical is always the first thing a scientist must be. But it can be taken too far. A scientist must also be open to the new, the unexpected. Don’t let your skeptical attitude ruin the excitement of this great discovery, Ferdy! Now, if you’ll excuse me …”

And with that, Actual Factual strode quickly down the hall to where a crowd of reporters and photographers was waiting at the front entrance.

Chapter 11

The Unveiling

Finally, it was the day of the great unveiling—the unveiling of the put-together
G-rex
skeleton at the Bearsonian Institution. The museum staff had worked for days to piece together the great pile of bones. Now the colossal skeleton stood tall in the rotunda of the Hall of Dinosaurs, covered by an equally colossal veil of canvas. Actually, “tall” wasn’t a strong enough word to describe how it stood. The top of its head almost touched the rotunda’s skylight, partially blotting out the sun. It was obvious to all gathered in the rotunda that the
G-rex
skeleton was fully twice the height of the big
T-rex
skeleton at the Big Bear City Museum of Natural History.

There must have been a hundred guests crammed into the rotunda. Of course, Ralph Ripoff and Sandcrab Jones were among them. So were Chief Bruno and Officer Marguerite, to maintain order and guard the
G-rex
. But the throng that circled the great covered beast was made up mostly of the media and invited scientists. The scientists wore name tags listing their universities or other institutions. Ferdy Factual, a scientist in his own right, wore a Bearsonian Institution tag. Actual Factual had given him four extra passes, which he’d given to the Bear Detectives in honor of their efforts to ensure that the
G-rex
was no hoax.

“Isn’t this exciting?” said Brother to Ferdy. “First the unveiling, then the signing.” He motioned to the table that had been placed beside the
G-rex
display. “Just imagine. In a few minutes your uncle will sit there and sign the bill of sale. And the
G-rex
will belong to the Bearsonian forever.”

But Ferdy didn’t seem to share Brother’s upbeat mood.

“What’s wrong, Ferd?” asked Brother. “You don’t look excited.”

“That’s only because I’m
not
excited,” said Ferdy. “I still can’t help believing that something will go wrong. Very wrong.”

Brother let out a groan. “Let it go, Ferd,” he pleaded. “You’re gonna bring everyone else down—even your uncle …”

“Not much chance of that,” scoffed Ferdy. “Uncle Actual has been lost somewhere up in the stratosphere ever since those chemical tests were completed. I’d need a guided missile to bring
him
down!”

Just then Mayor Horace J. Honeypot stepped up to the podium beside the table and spoke into the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said in solemn tones, “we are gathered here today—”