CRASH! Her popcorn flew out of the bag as she bumped into someone hard. Stepping back, Nancy gulped when she saw who it was.
It was Bess — standing right next to George!
3
Zipped Lips
Yuck! “Bess cried.” You got buttered popcorn all over my new sweater, Nancy.”
Nancy couldn't believe her bad luck. Of all people, she had to run into Bess and George.
“Sorry, Bess,” Nancy said.
“What are you doing here?” George asked. “You said you wanted to study.”
“I will,” Nancy said. “But not now.”
Bess smiled. She pointed to Theater Two. “Great!” she said. “Then we can all see Diggety the Dog together.”
“I can't,” Nancy said slowly. “I'm here to see . . . Prehistoric Pests.”
George looked surprised. “With who?”
“Naaaan-cy!” Jason's voice called.
Nancy gulped when she saw the boys waving at her from Theater Four.
“Prehistoric Pests is starting,” David called. “We'll save you a seat!”
Nancy turned slowly to Bess and George. Their mouths were wide open.
“The boys?” Bess shrieked. “You're seeing Prehistoric Pests with the boys?”
“After all the creepy things they've done to us?” George asked.
Nancy felt awful. “I want to explain,” she said. “But I can't yet.”
“Let's go, Bess,” George said. “Diggety the Dog is starting, too.”
Nancy watched her friends walk away. Bess looked hurt as she glanced back.
What if this case spoils my friendship with Bess and George? Nancy thought sadly. And if it does — is it worth it?
Prehistoric Pests wasn't as bad as Nancy thought it would be. And the boys threw their popcorn only twice.
“Was that movie awesome or what?”Jason asked as they came out of the movie theater. “Those dinosaurs were huge!”
“So were their feet!” Mike said. “And they had three toes — just like the footprint we found.”
Nancy shook her head. “Those dinosaur feet were much bigger than the footprint you found.”
The boys stared at Nancy.
“Are you saying that our footprint is not a dinosaur's?” Jason asked Nancy.
“I'm just saying that we have to explore all possibilities,” Nancy said.
“Detective talk!” Jason scoffed.
“We just want to explore one possibility,” Mike said. “That our footprint is for real.”
“Yeah,” Jason said. He folded his arms across his chest. “And you'd better prove that the footprint is a dinosaur's by Friday or the deal is off.”
“O-f-f!” David spelled.
“But today is Tuesday,” Nancy said. “That gives me only two more days!”
A car honked. It was Mrs. Hutchings picking the boys up in her minivan.
“Friday!” Jason repeated as they ran to the van.
Nancy felt her cheeks burn as she waited for Hannah to arrive.
Those boys think they're so smart, she thought. But I am going to prove this case by Friday.
Nancy pulled out her notebook. She wrote “too small” in the Not a Dinosaur column.
“I'm going to prove that the footprint is not a dinosaur's,” Nancy muttered to herself. She closed her notebook and heaved a big sigh. “Now, if I can just figure out how.”
“Daddy?” Nancy asked in the kitchen before dinner. “Do detectives have to know everything in order to be a detective?”
Carson Drew laughed as he sorted through the mail. “Nancy, if detectives knew everything, they wouldn't be detectives. They'd be superhuman!”
Nancy wished she could tell her dad about the case. Mr. Drew was a lawyer and always helped Nancy with her cases. But this time Nancy couldn't tell anyone about the footprint — not even her dad.
“But what if a detective is working on a case,” Nancy asked “And needs to know more about the subject?”
“Then that detective should talk to an expert,” Carson said. He smiled at Nancy. “Could that detective be you?”
“Maybe” was all Nancy could say. “Thanks, Daddy.”
Nancy's puppy, Chocolate Chip, followed her into the den. Her father's advice was good, but it didn't help very much.
The only dinosaur experts I know are at the River Heights Museum, Nancy thought. And the boys don't want them to know about the footprint.
Nancy glanced at the clock. It was five-thirty — time for her favorite TV program, Mr. Lizard's Funhouse.
Oh, well, Nancy thought as she pressed the remote. Even detectives need a break sometimes.
Nancy smiled when Mr. Lizard appeared on the TV screen. He was wearing a checkered jacket and a baseball cap over his wild red hair.
“It's time for Mr. Lizard's Funhouse!” he said. “And as a special treat, we're going to start with the lizard dance!”
The music began, and Nancy jumped in front of the TV set. She wiggled her fingers over her head and flicked out her tongue. Chip barked and wagged her tail as she jumped up and down.
When the dance was over, Mr. Lizard walked over to a purple door. “Was that a knock I just heard?” he asked. “That must be my special guest!”
Mr. Lizard pulled the door open. A girl with dark hair stood in the doorway.
“She's nine-year-old Sylvie Arroyo, the winner of the junior statewide science fair!” Mr. Lizard announced.
I know Sylvie, Nancy thought. She's in the fourth grade at my school.
Sylvie was wearing a dinosaur cap, a dinosaur T-shirt, and dinosaur earrings.
“Let me guess,” Mr. Lizard joked. “Your science project was about — pigs?”
“Dinosaurs!” Sylvie laughed. “I made a
dinosaur diorama out of all kinds of macaroni. I left it backstage.”
“And it tasted great!”Mr. Lizard said. “Just kidding, just kidding.”
Sylvie looked nervous as she followed Mr. Lizard into the TV clubhouse.
“So, Sylvie. What do you know about dinosaurs?” Mr. Lizard asked.
“I know that they first appeared over two hundred million years ago,” Sylvie said. “And that dinosaur fossils have been found on every continent including Antarctica. And that they were once called the Great Lizards.”
“Lizards?” Mr. Lizard cried. “I knew there was something about dinosaurs that I liked. Ha-ha-haaaa!”
Nancy stared at the TV set. Sylvie seemed to know everything about dinosaurs.
She was practically an expert. . . .
“That's it, Chip!” Nancy said excitedly. “I just found a dinosaur expert!”
4
Fossil Fever
The next morning Nancy couldn't wait to speak to Sylvie. She found her alone in the schoolyard at the water fountain.
“Hi, Sylvie,” Nancy said.
Sylvie's chin dripped with water as she looked up. She was wearing a jacket with a shiny dinosaur stitched on the back.
“My name is Nancy Drew,” Nancy said. “I'm in Mrs. Reynolds's class. I saw you on Mr. Lizard's Funhouse yesterday.”
“He wears a wig. Did you know that?” Sylvie asked with wide eyes.
“Yes,” Nancy said. “But can I talk to you about something else?”
“Can't,” Sylvie said. She wiped her chin with her hand. “I have a meeting with my club. My secret club.”
“Then can we talk later?” Nancy asked. “It's about dinosaurs.”
Sylvie's eyes lit up at the word “dinosaurs.” She pulled Nancy to the side and whispered' “I live at fifty-five Bank Street. Come to my house at three-thirty.”
“Thanks!” Nancy called as Sylvie walked away. She was about to take a sip of water when she saw Bess and George.
Nancy felt relieved when she saw George smiling. Maybe her friends weren't mad at her anymore.
“Hi, Nancy,” George said. “I remembered that I left my soccer ball in your yard last Saturday. Can I come over right after school to pick it up??
??
“Maybe we can watch Mr. Lizard together,” Bess said cheerfully.
“Great!” Nancy said. Then she remembered her meeting with Sylvie. “I mean, I can't. I'm busy after school.”
“Again?” Bess complained.
“Hey, Nancy!” a voice called out.
Nancy whirled around. She saw Jason, David, and Mike running over.
“I'll bet I know who you're busy with,” George said angrily.
“The boys,” Bess sneered.
“I can explain,” Nancy said. She shook her head. “No, I can't! I mean, I'll bring your soccer ball to school tomorrow, George. I promise!”
George didn't say a word. She and Bess huffed away just as the boys ran over.
“Hey, Nancy,” Jason said. “Did you solve the case yet?”
“It's Wednesday,” Mike pointed out. “One day closer to Friday.”
“I haven't solved the case yet,” Nancy said. “But I found someone who might be able to help us.”
“Nuh-uh,” Jason said. “You promised you wouldn't tell anyone.”
“I won't,” Nancy said “But we can still ask Sylvie about dinosaurs.”
“Who's Sylvie?” David asked.
“She's a dinosaur expert,” Nancy explained. “She invited me to her house after school. You should come, too.”
“To a girl's house?” Jason sneered.
“No way!” Mike said. He wrinkled his nose. “She might make us play with dolls.”
Nancy planted her hands on her hips. “Sylvie Arroyo is a state science fair winner!” she declared.
“Science?” Mike said. “That reminds me — they're giving away free Squirmy Wormies at the Science Nook after school.”
The boys gave each other high-fives. “Squirmy Wormies! Squirmy Wormies! Squirmy Wormies !” they sang as they ran away.
“You're not helping me!” Nancy shouted. She threw back her head and groaned. Why did she agree to take this case? Why? Why? Why?
Bess and George ignored Nancy the whole day. Nancy ate lunch and spent recess with Katie Zaleski and Rebecca Ramirez. Nancy liked Katie and Rebecca, but she still missed Bess and George.
When school was over Nancy went straight home. After a quick snack and permission from Hannah, Nancy walked the three blocks to Sylvie's house.
“Sylvie is in the backyard with her friends,” Mrs. Arroyo told Nancy. “You can go back there if you'd like.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Arroyo,” Nancy said. She walked around the house. She expected to find Sylvie and her friends playing ball or a board game, but she was wrong.
“Dig faster!” Sylvie shouted.
Nancy gasped. Six kids were digging through Sylvie's backyard with plastic shovels and spoons.
“I'm going to find a dinosaur if it's the last thing I do!” Sylvie wailed to herself. “A Stegasaurus! A Kentrosaurus! I'll even settle for a puny Mussaurus!”
“Hi, Sylvie,” Nancy called.
Sylvie whirled around. “You want to join the Dino Squad, don't you?” she asked.
“What's the Dino Squad?” Nancy asked.
“I thought you knew,” Sylvie said, surprised. She turned to a boy digging nearby. “Tell her, Jared.”
Jared took a deep breath. “Members of the Dino Squad share one important goal — to find the ultimate fossiL”
“Sylvie, I found something!” a red-haired boy with a plastic shovel called. “I think it's an egg!”
“An egg!” Sylvie shrieked.
The boy ran over. He was holding a white oval-shaped object covered with dirt. “It's probably from a duck-billed Edmontosaurus,” he said.
“That's the best kind, Marty!” Sylvie exclaimed. She carefully took the object in her hands.
“I have to tap it,” Sylvie said. “There might be a fossil inside.”
Excited whispers filled the yard.
“Will somebody please hold the egg while I tap it?” Sylvie asked.
Hmm, Nancy thought. Maybe if I do something nice for Sylvie, she'll tell me all about dinosaurs.
“I will,” Nancy offered.
“Okay, but be very careful,” Sylvie said. “Fossils are very delicate.”
Nancy carefully took the earth-covered object. It didn't feel like a real egg — more like plastic.
Sylvie raised a spoon. She was about to tap when Nancy noticed something gross. A tiny worm had crawled from the dirt-covered egg and onto Nancy's hand.
“Gross!” Nancy cried, She wiggled her fingers and — CRASH — the egg fell to the ground!
“You ruined it!” Sylvie shrieked. “Now my dinosaur egg is cracked in half!”
“Um, Sylvie?” a girl with black hair said. “I don't think it's a dinosaur egg.”
Nancy peered down at the egg. Instead of a fossil spilling out, there was brightly wrapped candy.
“Did you once have an Easter egg hunt in your backyard?” Marty asked.
Sylvie blushed a deep shade of red.
“Okay, so it's not a dinosaur egg,” she said. “But at least we won't have to sit on it and hatch it. Right?”
The kids mumbled in agreement as they returned to their digging.
“Sylvie?” Nancy asked. “Do you think dinosaurs roamed here in River Heights?”
Sylvie's eyes flashed. “Dinosaurs roamed everywhere!” she exclaimed.
“And they were all gigantic, right?” Nancy asked. “Like hundreds of feet high?”
“Not all,” Sylvie said. “Some were as small as dogs. Even as small as chickens.”
“No way!” Nancy gasped.
“Why do you want to know?” Sylvie asked Nancy. She seemed worried. “Did you find something? A bone? A dinosaur tooth?”
The other kids began surrounding Nancy. It made her a bit nervous.
“Because if you found a fossil,” Marty said, “we want to know about it.”
Nancy gulped. The last thing she could tell them was about the footprint.
“I have got to go now,” Nancy said quickly. She gave a little wave. “Bye!”
All eyes were on Nancy as she left the yard. When she was a block away she took out her detective notebook.
“If dinosaurs came in all sizes,” Nancy said to herself. “Then maybe the boys are right. Maybe the footprint is a dinosaur's!”
5
Tooth or Dare
Nancy sat in the den after dinner. She flipped through a colorful book about dinosaurs. The book had belonged to her dad when he was in the third grade.
“Wow!” Nancy said to herself. “Look at the size of that!”
She placed her finger on a picture of a dinosaur jaw. The fossil had big curved and pointy teeth.
I'll bet Sylvie would love to find that, Nancy thought.
Just then Nancy heard Chip barking in the yard. She ran outside and found her puppy holding something between her teeth.
“Not now, girl,” Nancy said with a smile. “It's too late to play catch.”
Chip dropped the object at Nancy's feet. She picked it up. The object was big and curved. At one end it was pointy. At the other end it was flat.
Just like —
“A dinosaur tooth?” Nancy gasped. She carried the object into the house and compared it to the picture. They were almost exactly alike!
Wait, Nancy told herself. A good detective never jumps to conclusions. That's what Daddy always says.
Nancy opened her detective notebook. In the Dinosaur column she drew a tiny picture of the object. Then she wrote the word “Tooth” with a question mark.
Was it a dinosaur tooth or not? Nancy didn't know. That's why she had to show it to someone — and fast.
The River Heights Museum, Nancy thought. I'll bring the tooth there.
Nancy shut her notebook and smiled. The boys said she couldn't show the footprint to the museum. But they never said anything about a tooth.
That night Nancy was so excited about the tooth that she could hardly sleep. When she went to school the next morning she tried hard to keep her new secret.
br /> I'm not telling anyone yet, Nancy thought on her way to her classroom. Not even the boys.
“Hey, Nancy!” Mike called in the hallway. “Check it out!”
Nancy whirled around. Jason was holding a bulky plastic garbage bag.
“What's that?” Nancy asked.
“Dirt,” Jason said. “You told us that dinosaur hunters sift through dirt for fossils. So we dug this up from around the footprint”
“In case there are any dinosaur bones or something,” David added.
Nancy smiled. The boys were finally doing some work for a change.
“Good,” Nancy said “We can sift through it during recess.”
“Recess — no way!” David cried. “We're supposed to play dodge ball today.”
“But tell us what you find,” Jason said. He shoved the bag into Nancy's arms.
“Wait!” Nancy shouted as the boys ran down the hallway. “You can't leave me with this!”
Nancy groaned as she lugged the bag over to her cubby. She was about to shove it inside when she felt George tap her shoulder. Bess was with her.
“Did you bring in my soccer ball?” George asked Nancy.
Nancy bit her lip. She had been so busy thinking about the tooth that she had forgotten all about George's soccer ball.
“George, I —” Nancy started to say.
Bess pointed to the bag in Nancy's hands. “That's probably it,” she said.
George reached for the plastic bag in Nancy's hands. “Thanks. I'll take it.”
The dirt, Nancy thought. Oh, no!
“You can't have it, George,” Nancy said. Bess jumped back as George began to tug at the bag. “Why not? It's mine and I need it for soccer practice!”
“George, it's not your soccer ball!” Nancy insisted. Other kids were gathering around to watch the tug-of-war.
“It is my soccer ball. Give it tome!” George demanded. She gave the bag one hard pull.
RRRRRRRIP!! The bag tore. Dirt poured all over the floor and George's sneakers.
“Yuck!” George cried. She wiggled her feet to shake off the dirt. “Was this your idea, Nancy?”
“No,” Nancy said “It was the boys' idea. I mean —”