The Talking T. Rex (6 page)

CHAPTER 10

An hour later, the kids were lying on their sleeping bags in Dink’s backyard. They were gazing up at the stars.

“There’s the Big Dipper!” Josh said, sitting up.

“I think I see Mars!” Dink said.

“There’s a shooting star. Make a wish!” Ruth Rose said. “I wish I could be the first woman president!”

“I wish Ruth Rose could become president and put me in charge of desserts,” Josh said.

Dink and Ruth Rose sat up and laughed.

“I wish Jud and Dean would leave Tyrone in Green Lawn,” Dink said.

“Yeah,” Josh said. “That would be so excellent. We could make him walk all over town.”

“People would pay us to give them rides in Tyrone,” Ruth Rose added. “We could send the money to Jud and Dean for their museum.”

The three kids sighed and settled back on their sleeping bags.

“I still can’t figure out how Scoop got Jud’s key,” Ruth Rose said.

“Oh, that was easy,” Josh said. “I figured it out a long time ago.”

Dink popped up and glared at his friend. “And are you planning to
tell
us?”

Josh let out a dramatic sigh. “Scoop heard Dean say it was going to rain last night. He knew Dean would probably move inside somewhere to stay dry. I think that’s when Scoop decided to steal the money. He waited till Jud was
sound asleep, then took his key.”

“But how did Scoop get into Jud’s room?” Dink asked.

“He didn’t have to,” Josh said. “They slept in the same room.”

“Joshua, how do you know that?” Ruth Rose asked.

Josh grinned. “Remember when Mr. Linkletter said hi to us at the fireworks? I heard him ask Jud and Scoop how their room was. Room, not rooms.”

“It’s a good thing Officer Fallon showed up at the shed,” Dink said. “I wonder how he knew Scoop would go there.”

“Dean might have convinced him,” Josh said. “Dean must’ve figured out the only way the crook could have gotten a key was by taking it from Jud during the night. And Dean knew Jud and Scoop shared a room.”

“Well, I hate to admit it,” Dink said, “but you’re pretty smart.”

“I know,” Josh said. “But thanks anyway.”

“You’re welcome,” Dink said.

“Maybe I’ll put you in charge of the FBI when I’m president,” Ruth Rose said.

Josh yawned. “Naw. I’d rather be in charge of food.”

The three kids smiled in the dark. Then, as the stars twinkled above them, they slowly went to sleep.

Dear Readers,

My first book was called
A Thousand Pails of Water,
and it was published in 1978. The story was about a little boy who saves a huge whale. In my story the boy finds the whale stranded on the beach, stuck in some rocks. The boy knows the whale will die out of the water, but what can he do to help? He sits and watches the whale. The whale watches the boy.

Then the boy has an idea. He rushes to the water’s edge and fills his plastic pail with water. He throws the water onto the whale. Of course, one pailful of water isn’t nearly enough, so the boy goes back for more. He throws many pails of water— more than a thousand—on the whale’s body. I won’t tell you the ending, but it is a happy one for the boy and for the whale.

At about the time my book was published, the Science Center in West
Hartford, Connecticut, asked me to come and see a whale it was building as an exhibit for kids. The workers at the Science Center built a large sperm whale. It is hollow, so you can go inside the whale’s belly!

When I began thinking about the T book, I remembered that hollow whale. That’s what gave me the idea for Tyrone, the hollow dinosaur in
The Talking T Rex.
I had a lot of fun writing this story, and I hope you enjoy it.

The Science Center still has the sperm whale on its front lawn. You can visit it if you are ever in West Hartford.

Here’s a picture of A to Z Mysteries fan Ethan Hunt. Ethan sure knows how to get buried in a book!

Happy reading!

Sincerely,

Collect clues with Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose
in their next exciting adventure,

THE UNWILLING UMPIRE

“You’re not going to believe this!” Josh whispered. “Mr. Pocket’s autographed baseballs are gone!”

“What do you mean, gone?” Dink asked.

“I mean they’re not there anymore!” Josh yelped.

Ruth Rose looked toward the clubhouse. “Maybe Mr. Pocket moved them someplace else when the game started,” she said.

Josh was shaking his head. “No! The glass case is smashed in a million pieces!” he said. “Someone stole those balls!”

A STEPPING STONE BOOK™

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Grades 1-3

Adam Sharp
series
    by George Edward Stanley
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#2 London Calling
#3 Swimming with Sharks

Duz Shedd
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Mole and Shrew All Year Through
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Grades 2-4

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series by J. C. Greenburg

Capital Mysteries
series by Ron Roy
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#2 Kidnapped at the Capital
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Next Spring an Oriole
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Shadow of the Wolf
Silver

NONFICTION
Magic Tree House
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Research Guides
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Grades 3-5

The Magic Elements Quartet
    by Mallory Loehr
#1 Water Wishes
#2 Earth Magic
#3 Wind Spell
#4 Fire Dreams

NONFICTION
Thomas Conklin
The
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