Chapter 3

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.