5 THUMMMPP THUMMMPP THUMMMPP

Chapter 5 THUMMMPP... THUMMMPP... THUMMMPP... "Andrew!" yelled Judy. "Get out of there!" "I can't!" said Andrew. meep… "Quicksand!" said Thudd. Andrew kicked his feet to keep from sinking, but the harder he kicked, the quicker he sank. Andrew tossed the DNA Detector to Judy. Then he pulled Thudd out of his pocket and put him on top of his head to keep him dry. Thudd was never supposed to get wet. meep… "Drewd can float on top of quicksand," said Thudd. "Quicksand is plain sand with lotsa water underneath. Drewd gotta stop kicking.

Kicking make Drewd get sucked down fast, fast, fast! Drewd gotta move slow, slow, slow. Then float." Andrew stopped kicking. As soon as he did, he stopped sinking. He put his head back. Thudd crept onto his forehead. Andrew slowly pulled his legs up. "YES!" said Andrew. He floated on his back and pushed the sand with his hands. Soon he arrived at the edge of the small pool of quicksand. Judy leaned toward Andrew. "Grab my hand, Bug-Brain," she said. Andrew reached out, but he wasn't close enough. THUMMMPP… THUMMMPP… THUMMMPP… The ground was shaking. meep… "Is a—" "Tyrannosaurus rex!" yelled a familiar voice. It was Beeper! He pushed his way through a clump of ferns toward Judy.

"Pee-yoooo!" he said. "Something smells like dinosaur poop. Hey! It's you!" "Cheese Louise!" yelled Judy. "Help me drag Bug-Brain out of the quicksand before we all get eaten!" THUMMMPP… THUMMMPP… THUMMMPP… The footsteps were faster now. The quicksand jiggled with every step. RRROHHHURROHRR! High above the ferns appeared a head as big as a refrigerator. Dark, ragged stuff was stuck between its dagger teeth. The dinosaur's tiny arms waved excitedly. With each step, it crossed the distance of a room. Beeper belly-flopped onto the quicksand. Judy was as frozen as a snowman. "Oody!" shouted Thudd. "Jump in!" RRROHHHURROHRR! The sound hurt Andrew's ears. "Judy!" he yelled. "Get in here!"

Judy shivered, dropped the DNA Detector, and plopped into the squishy stuff. The Tyrannosaurus was at the edge of the quicksand pond. It stopped and looked down. Andrew heard Judy's teeth chattering. He felt a scream creeping up his throat, but he knew that screaming would be a bad idea. The huge head lurched toward the sand.

"Hold your breath and duck your head under the quicksand," he whispered to the others. Andrew took a gulp of air and dunked his head into the cool sand. He tried not to sink too low. He couldn't let himself get sucked into the sand, and he couldn't let Thudd get wet. RRRRROOOOHHRRR! The Tyrannosaurus's roar was a rumble in Andrew's mud-filled ears. Suddenly he felt something scratch his scalp. Could it be… a Tyrannosaurus claw? In a second, it was gone. And something else was gone —Thudd!