11 Whose Humongous Tail Is That

Chapter 11 WHOSE HUMONGOUS TAIL IS THAT? Judy stuck her head out the door. "Take off your pants!" Beeper fished the two small black cases out of his pockets and tossed them through the door. Then he unbuttoned his shorts. The monster fish head sank below the water— with Beeper's shorts between its snaggly jaws! Beeper scrambled into the Time-A-Tron wearing just his lizard T-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts. His boxers had pictures of penguins on them. Andrew slid the door shut.

bong… "Welcome back, little Dubbles," said the Time-A-Tron. "I was afraid I might not see you again. And who is our guest?" "Beeper Jones," said Beeper. He bent down and picked up the black cases. "You're pretty cool for a time-travel machine! My uncle's time-travel machine just grunts." "Beeper is Doctor Kron-Tox's nephew," said Andrew. "But he's a good kid." bong… "Welcome, Master Beeper," said the Time-A-Tron. "Children, please prepare to leave immediately, before the Dunkleosteus returns to munch on the Fast-Fins. They have already been damaged. "But I have good news. There is a bit more tachyon fuel than I thought. We may have enough to rescue your uncle and return to our own time." "May have enough?" said Judy. bong… "And only if we travel more slowly than we did before," said the Time-A-Tron. "Let's go!" said Andrew, pulling down the door that led to the top compartment.

Hooo… hooo… The little owl was sitting on top of the tachyon fuel tank. It opened its beak and spread its wings. "What a great little owl!" said Beeper. He opened one of his small black cases, took out a gadget that looked like a remote control, and pointed it at the owl. ping… ping… ping… "It's a northern pygmy owl!" he said, reading a display at the top of the gadget. "What have you got there?" asked Andrew. "It's a DNA Detector," said Beeper. meep… "All living things got DNA molecules," said Thudd softly from inside the sandwich bag. Andrew opened it. "All DNA molecules different. Turtle DNA different from tiger DNA. Different kindsa owls got different DNA." Beeper nodded. "My uncle gave me this thing so I could find creatures on the island. We can use it to find your uncle!"

bong… "Let us hope so," said the Time-A- Tron. "But for now, please do hurry. I shall make room for Master Beeper." When they climbed to the upper compartment, a new silver-blue chair was rising from the floor behind Andrew and Judy's seat. Andrew, Judy, and Beeper strapped themselves in. Andrew took Thudd out of the sandwich bag and put him on the control panel. Judy checked the compartment under the control panel. The shrew's beady brown eyes stared up at her. Its pointy nose twitched. Something stringy was hanging out of its mouth. It was eating the cords that held the earplugs! Judy turned to Andrew and Beeper. "Is everyone ready?" she asked. "Yup," said Andrew. meep… "Okey-dokey," said Thudd. "You bet!" said Beeper. Judy held down the Fast-Forward button. HNNNN… HNNNN… WOOHOOOOO!

The Fast-Fins began to spin. At first, the Time- A-Tron whirled sideways in the water. Then it rose straight up and fluttered just above the surface. As the Fast-Fins spun faster, balls of green light flickered around the Time-A-Tron. BLAFOOOOOM! "Nice ride!" said Beeper, leaning over the front seat. "What's that button you're pushing?" "It's the Fast-Forward button," said Judy. "I have to hold it down till we get to twenty thousand years ago. That's when we start looking for Uncle Al." "That's how I can help!" Beeper said. "I'll set the DNA Detector for human DNA." The numbers on the digital display were flipping by more slowly than before: 246 MILLION YEARS AGO 185 MILLION YEARS AGO 93 MILLION YEARS AGO Now and then, the sky was lit by an exploding star.

"Let go of the Fast-Forward button," yelled Beeper. "The DNA Detector says we're close to a human!" bong… "I do not think so," said the Time-A- Tron. "We are approaching sixty-five million years ago. There are no humans here." "It could be Professor Wilde!" said Andrew. "We've got to stop." Professor Winka Wilde was one of Uncle Al's partners. She had been kidnapped before Uncle Al. Judy let go of the Fast-Forward button. BUH-BUH-BUH ZNERKKK! The Time-A-Tron wobbled to a stop. They were in a dark green forest, next to a giant gray boulder. Andrew rubbed his eyes. "Um, I thought I saw that boulder move," he said. "Probably because the Time-A-Tron smacked into it when we landed," said Judy. "Hoo boy!" said Beeper, peering down through the dome. "This boulder has a tail! A monster tail