6 Beeper

Chapter 6 BEEPER "What is that?" asked Judy. bong… "It is amazing," said the Time-A-Tron. "Humans will not appear on Earth for more than three hundred million years!" A face pushed its way through the ferns. The face had a big smile and lots of freckles and was surrounded by curly red hair. "How did he get here?" asked Andrew, waving at the boy. The boy motioned for them to come out. "Let's go!" said Andrew.

bong… "It may not be safe out there," said the Time-A-Tron. "Tell the boy to come inside." "Look!" said Judy. "He's sticking his tongue out at us!" Andrew and Judy unbuckled their seat belts. Judy looked around for the shrew. She saw a skinny little tail poking out of the compartment under the control panel. The shrew had found a place to hide. "Okay, little guy," said Judy. "Stay put till we get back."

Andrew pulled open the door in the floor. Since the Time-A-Tron was on its side, Andrew and Judy slid into the lower compartment. Andrew switched on the light. He looked for the owl, but it was nowhere to be seen. bong… The outer door opened. Andrew poked his head outside. The air was hot and wet. Andrew breathed in the salty, fishy smell of the sea. He hopped out and waved to the boy. "Hey there!" he said. "My name's Andrew." "I'm Judy Dubble," said Judy, stepping through the door. meep… "Thudd here!" squeaked Thudd from Andrew's pocket. The boy came over to the door. He was wearing dirty green shorts and an orange T-shirt with a picture of a lizard on the front. "Hi!" he said. "My name's Beeper. Beeper Jones. You're on my island!"

"How did you get here?" asked Andrew. Beeper chuckled. "Doctor Kron-Tox dumped me here," he said. "Why would Doctor Kron-Tox kidnap a bratty little kid?" asked Judy. "He didn't kidnap me," said Beeper. "He's my uncle, but he makes me call him Doctor Kron- Tox. He said he dropped me off here to do stuff for him. But the real reason he dumped me is because I'm a pain. "My uncle told me about you Dubble kids. He doesn't like you very much. Why are you in your pajamas?" Judy put her hands on her hips and looked down at Beeper. "Because your stupid uncle kidnapped our uncle when we were getting ready for bed," she said crossly. Beeper cocked his head and smiled. "Want to see some cool stuff?" he asked. "Sure!" said Andrew. "Andrew!" said Judy sharply. "We're not wandering off on some bizarre-o island. We could

be eaten by a Tyrannosaurus or something." Beeper laughed. "I wish there were dinosaurs here!" he said. meep… "No dinosaurs for hundred million more years," said Thudd. "Come on, Beeper," said Judy. "Get into the Time-A-Tron. We've got to rescue our uncle, then we'll get back to our own time." "I can't leave without my stuff," said Beeper. "What stuff?" asked Andrew. "Stuff that I left in the forest," said Beeper. "I even have something that can help you find your uncle. But first, you need to help me carry my things." Judy rolled her eyes. "I guess we have to," she said. bong… "Do be extremely careful," said the Time-A-Tron. "Hurry back. And this is most important—do not go into the water." "Why not?" asked Andrew.

bong… "Because I said so," said the Time-A- Tron, with a bit of impatience. "Okay," said Andrew. "We won't go swimming." The beach was covered with large, cake-shaped rocks. Andrew stepped onto one of them… and slid off. "Oofers!" he said. "These rocks are slippery!" meep… "Rocks called stromatolites," said Thudd. "Made by special bacteria. Bacteria make mud stick together. Burp up lotsa oxygen, too. Baby Earth not got much oxygen till bacteria start burping three billion years ago!"