The Talking T. Rex (2 page)

He squeezed by the kids and stepped inside Tyrone’s belly. “I’ve put a loudspeaker up in Tyrone’s head,” Dean explained. He showed them a small microphone. “I speak into this, and it sounds like the voice is coming from Tyrone’s mouth.”

“Can you make him talk
now?”
Josh asked.

“That’ll have to wait till tomorrow,” Dean said. “We’ve been on the road since about five this morning, and I’m pretty whipped. I need about ten hours of sleep!”

Dean and the kids climbed out of Tyrone’s belly, and he closed the door.

“Are you all staying at the Shangri-la?” Ruth Rose asked.

“Jud and Scoop are,” Dean said. “I’m going to bed down out here.” He pulled
a sleeping bag from inside the truck and dropped it on the ground.

“Why do you sleep outside?” Dink asked.

Dean grinned. “Those two snore,” he said, gesturing toward Scoop and Jud. “Besides, I like sleeping under the stars. Plus, I guard Tyrone. In the morning I’ll go to the hotel and use their shower.”

“Where can we get some good burgers?” Scoop asked the kids. “And breakfast tomorrow?”

“Ellie’s Diner!” all three kids said.

Ruth Rose pointed toward Main Street. “It’s between the pet shop and the fitness center,” she said.

“Thanks for your help. We’ll see you tomorrow,” Jud said.

The three men climbed into the red car and Scoop drove off toward Main Street. A rumble of thunder over their heads sent the kids running for home.

CHAPTER 3

Thunder woke Dink during the night. He lay snugly in bed, watching the storm through his window. As lightning flashed, he thought about Tyrone, standing out there in the dark and rain.

The next day Dink got to the high school around eleven-thirty He gazed up at Tyrone. The dinosaur was tall and silent under a blue sky. His mouth was closed and his eyes stared into the distance. The grass was still wet from the storm, and mist rose as it dried in the sun.

Jud, Dean, and Scoop were nowhere in sight. Dink walked over to the truck and looked in the window. Dean’s sleeping bag was spread across the seats.

A few minutes later, Ruth Rose showed up with her little brother, Nate. She was dressed in orange, from her headband down to her socks and sneakers.

When Nate saw Tyrone, his mouth fell open. He walked up to one of the rear legs and touched it. “It feels like a rubber dinosaur toy,” he said.

Josh and his brothers, Brian and Bradley, came loping across the playing field. Pal was tugging on his leash.

The twins stopped in their tracks. “It’s a Tankosaurus!” Brian yelled.

“No it’s not!” Bradley argued. “It’s a Trainosaurus!”

Josh laughed. “Guys, it’s a Ty-ran-no-saur-us.”

“It’s not real, is it, Josh?” asked Bradley.

Josh let Pal off his leash. “No,” he said. “It’s just a big action figure.”

Scoop pulled up in his red car and parked next to Tyrone. He hopped out and walked over to the kids.

“Morning,” he said. “Some storm last night, huh? The thunder nearly knocked us out of our beds.”

Scoop sat on the ground and pulled on a pair of sandals. His wet sneakers were tied together, hanging from the car’s antenna.

Dean and Jud came walking through Center Park.

“Hi, kids,” Jud said. “Scoop, you missed a great breakfast. That Ellie makes amazing waffles!”

Scoop nodded. “I couldn’t seem to wake up,” he said.

Jud looked at Nate, Brian, and Bradley. “Do you guys like dinosaurs?”

The three little kids beamed and nodded.

“T. rex is my favorite!” Nate said.

People from town began arriving and stood around gaping up at Tyrone. Dink waved to Mr. Paskey from the Book Nook. He saw Mr. and Mrs. Spivets, who owned the Shangri-la Hotel.

Dink saw his mom show up with Josh’s and Ruth Rose’s mothers. Josh’s mom carried a picnic basket.

“Guys, go sit with Mom, okay?” Josh asked the twins.

“Can we take Pal?” Brian asked.

Josh handed the leash over to Brian. “Okay, but don’t let him off. And take him home when Mom leaves, okay?”

“Why does Brian get to do everything?” Bradley whined.

Josh sighed. “You two can share the leash, okay?”

Nate, Brian, and Bradley led Pal toward their mothers.

“This is great,” Jud said, watching the crowd increase. “Dean, why don’t you get Tyrone ready while Scoop and I collect money?”

While the kids were picking a place to sit, Dink saw more people he knew from town. A bunch of the O’Leary kids showed up, and Dink waved at them. Some people brought chairs or blankets to sit on. The high school playing field was filling up.

Jud and Scoop passed through the crowd, collecting a dollar from each person. When their hands were filled with bills, the men walked over to the truck and locked the money inside the cab. They each did this two or three times.

“They must make a ton of money,” Josh said. “I’ll bet there are two hundred people here!”

Jud climbed up onto the truck bed with a cordless microphone. “Thanks
for coming, folks!” he said to the crowd.

When everyone was quiet, Jud went on to explain why they were raising money “Our museum should be built by next summer, and I hope some of you will come for a visit,” he said.

Jud pointed his mike at the dinosaur. “Now I’d like you all to meet my friend Tyrone. Tyrone, why don’t you tell these good folks about yourself?” he said.

Nothing happened. Tyrone stood silent and still. He didn’t say a word.

“I guess Tyrone is shy this morning,” Jud said. Then, in a louder voice, he said, “Tyrone? Can you say hi to all our friends out here? Wiggle your tail if you hear me.”

This got a few laughs, but Tyrone still didn’t move.

Some of the kids in the audience began to fidget. A boy sitting behind Dink muttered, “I wonder if we can get our money back.”

Then, suddenly, Tyrone’s tail moved to the right, then to the left. His small front arms waved up and down. His mouth opened and Tyrone said, “Hi!” in a deep voice.

“HI, TYRONE!” the crowd yelled back.

“How many of you know what kind of dinosaur I am?” Tyrone asked. Dink recognized Dean’s voice coming from Tyrone’s mouth.

Every kid and adult raised a hand. “Tyrannosaurus!” Nate hollered.

“That’s right, I’m a Tyrannosaurus rex,” Tyrone said.

“Now, how many of you remembered to eat a good breakfast this morning?”

Most people raised a hand.

“Well,” Tyrone said, nodding his massive head, “about seventy million years ago,
I
ate other dinosaurs for
my
breakfast!”

Everyone laughed.

Jud hopped off the truck and sat with Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose.

“Dean’s good with the crowd, isn’t he?” Jud said.

“You’d swear Tyrone is really talking,” Dink said.

Jud nodded. “Yeah, Dean’s a genius with anything mechanical. He had me scared at the beginning, though. I thought something went wrong with the computer.”

Tyrone told the audience all about the dinosaurs who once roamed North America. He talked about what they ate, how they protected themselves, and how they raised their young.

The show lasted about half an hour. “I hope you’ll all go to the library and learn more about dinosaurs,” Tyrone said, waving good-bye with his small arms. “And come visit me next summer in Montana!”

A lot of the kids yelled, “Bye, Tyrone!” as the people began to leave.

“That was so cool!” Josh told Jud. “How many schools have you gone to so far?”

Jud scratched his head. “Gosh, I don’t really know, maybe fifty or so. Scoop keeps track of all that. I think he’s lined up about twenty more before we head back to Montana.”

Dean climbed out of Tyrone and walked over to where the kids and Jud were sitting.

“That was great,” Jud told Dean. “But what happened at the beginning?”

Dean shrugged. “I couldn’t get the laptop to boot up,” he said. “One of the cables was loose.”

“Well, at least you fixed it,” Jud said, standing up. “It’s getting warm,” he added. “I could use some ice cream. After we clean up, why don’t we meet at Ellie’s? Tyrone is treating!”

“You just made Josh happy,” Ruth Rose said. “What can we do?”

Jud pulled a plastic bag from his pocket. “If you’ll go around and pick up paper, that would be a great help,” he said.

While Jud walked toward the truck, Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose spread out and began collecting litter.

Dink was leaning over to grab a crumpled flyer when he heard a shout. He looked up. The yell had come from near Tyrone. Jud, Dean, and Scoop were huddled in front of the open door.

Even from a hundred feet away, Dink could hear Jud yell, “I don’t believe it!”