by Ada Hopper
Chapter 7
Into the Pterosaur’s Lair
* * *
Far across the valley, the DATA Set stood at the base of the rock face. It hadn’t been easy getting there. They’d snuck around a group of Brachiosaurs, and they’d run for cover when a quick-footed Dryosaurus nearly spotted them. Gabe was 99.9 percent sure it was an herbivore, but no one really wanted to stick around to find out. They’d even passed by a peaceful herd of Stegosauruses: the perfect family for Stego!
But now they faced their latest challenge: sneaking into the Pterosaur’s lair.
“Remember the plan,” Gabe said. “When we get to the top, we wait until the Pterosaur flies away. Then we grab Stego and get out.”
“Got it,” replied Laura and Cesar.
Stealthily, the friends climbed up the rock face.
“Where’s the Pterosaur?” Cesar asked when they reached the top.
“I don’t know,” Gabe said. “Maybe it already left?”
THWOOP! THWOOP! THWOOP! THWOOP!
The friends dove behind a rock just as the Pterosaur swooped from the cave. It flew down, gliding deep into the valley.
“Now’s our chance!” urged Gabe.
The friends raced inside the dark cavern. The Pterosaur’s nest was surrounded by leaves, branches, and small bones. Suddenly, something moved at the back of the cave. . . . “Stego!” Gabe cried.
The friends rushed forward and embraced the little dinosaur. He was safe and sound!
“I knew you hadn’t been eaten, buddy,” Gabe said, his voice breaking with relief. “I just knew it.”
“You were right.” Laura smiled happily. “Quick, let’s get out of here before the Pterosaur comes back.”
The friends tried to leave, but Stego wouldn’t follow.
“Come on, buddy.” Gabe tugged at the little dino’s tail. “Time to go!”
But Stego remained stubborn. He grunted, nosing a crack in the cave wall.
“He’s trying to tell us something,” said Gabe. He went over and peered through the crack. Something round was wedged inside the cave wall.
“It’s an egg!” Gabe exclaimed. “A Pterosaur egg! It must have rolled in here and gotten stuck.” Gabe glanced toward the creature’s nest. “The Pterosaur must have thought the egg was stolen. Or . . . that it hatched. That’s why the Pterosaur grabbed Stego! It thought he was its baby! It’s a mother Pterosaur!”
“That means we really need to go,” Laura insisted. “If it’s a mother Pterosaur, she’s going to be supermad if she thinks we’re taking her baby.”
“But we can’t just leave the egg trapped,” said Gabe. “Quick. Can you put together some sort of lasso or stick to reach it?”
That definitely got Laura’s attention. Inventions were her specialty, especially inventions using whatever materials happened to be lying around.
Moving lightning fast, Laura grabbed large, hollow reeds and vine bits from around the Pterosaur’s nest. In no time at all, she had built a stick with a vine loop attached to the end that could reach well inside the crack.
Together, the friends used the lasso stick to carefully maneuver the Pterosaur egg out. They gently placed it back inside the nest.
“Mission accomplished,” said Gabe.
“Let’s get out of here,” said Cesar. “I have a feeling our time is almost—”
THWOOP! THWOOP!
The Pterosaur had returned. It screeched furiously.
“—up,” finished Cesar.
Chapter 8
Prehistoric Showdown
* * *
The Pterosaur snapped its long beak savagely at the DATA Set.
“Uh . . . I know they only eat fish,” said Cesar. “But she looks pretty hungry.”
“What do we do?” Laura asked.
Gabe had gone pale. “I don’t know. We’re trapped.”
The Pterosaur came closer. There was nothing separating it from the DATA Set!
Suddenly, Stego moved between the friends and the angry creature.
“Stego, no!” exclaimed Gabe.
The tiny Stegosaurus grunted and let out dinosaur roars that sounded like barking. Now the Pterosaur was confused. It was unsure what to do with its “baby” blocking it from the intruders.
“He’s protecting us!” cried Cesar. “Way to go, Stego!”
Just then, a loud craaaaaaaaack got everyone’s attention.
Inside the nest, the Pterosaur egg was rolling and breaking.
“It’s hatching!” exclaimed Laura.
Distracted, the Pterosaur watched as its egg hatched, revealing a small, screechy, and very slimy baby Pterosaur!
“Incredible,” breathed Gabe.
“Awesome!” said Laura.
“Our ticket out!” cried Cesar. “Come on!”
While the Pterosaur was distracted, the friends and Stego escaped. They half climbed, half slid down the mountain. Before they knew it, they were on the ground.
“We did it, DATA Set!” Gabe beamed and gave Stego a big hug. “We saved you, buddy. Now let’s find you a new home.”
As the sun sank low on the horizon, the DATA Set and Stego hid in a thick bramble of bushes. The Stegosaurus herd was not far away.
“There they are, buddy,” said Gabe. “You ready?”
The little dino grunted, staring intently out at the herd.
Gabe patted Stego’s nose. “I’m going to miss you. Thanks for saving us. And for being such a great friend.”
Stego’s gaze shifted to Gabe while he continued to pet him.
“I wish I knew if he understood us,” Gabe said a bit sadly.
Suddenly, Stego gave Gabe a great big lick! Then, before the kids could react, the happy little dino bounded out of the bushes toward the herd. When he reached them, the adult Stegosauruses looked at him for a long while. Slowly, three moved forward. They protectively surrounded the little dinosaur, and one guided Stego into the center of the pack with its tail. Together, the herd moved off toward the setting sun.
Laura placed a hand on Gabe’s shoulder. “He understood.”
Chapter 9
Nightfall
* * *
A few hours later the DATA Set sat huddled in a jungle clearing. With night setting in and still no sign of Dr. Bunsen, the kids needed to find shelter until morning.
Laura built a tent out of sturdy tree limbs and leaves while Cesar hunched over a small pit filled with dry twigs. He rubbed two sticks together, trying to get a fire going.
Meanwhile, Gabe wrapped his arms around himself and gazed up at the night sky. Millions of stars twinkled—more brightly than he’d ever seen at home. Gabe wondered how many of them were still shining back in present-day Newtonburg and how many had burned out millions of years earlier.
“It’s amazing,” he said. He looked out over the horizon to where a cluster of volcanoes glowed red with smoldering lava. Shadows of giant flying creatures appeared and vanished among the peaks. It was all so incredible. And scary.
“I wonder what they’re doing at home,” he said.
“Me too,” said Laura. “Do you think Dr. B. will come soon?”
“He’d better,” piped up Cesar. “It’s pizza night at my house. I haven’t eaten all day! When we get home, you guys can have a slice.”
“If we get home,” Gabe said quietly.
The friends fell silent. None of them knew what would happen if Dr. Bunsen didn’t come for them.
“I’m sorry I put us in danger before,” Gabe said. “I was so excited to see real dinosaurs and then worried about Stego. I didn’t think—”
“It’s okay,” Laura interrupted him. “We’re a team. We stick together. No matter what.”
Gabe smiled at Laura appreciatively, and she smiled back. Then Laura turned to Cesar. “How’s the fire going?”
“Almost . . . got . . . it . . .” Cesar was rubbing the two sticks together. Suddenly, a tiny spark caught on the dried twigs. It ignited!
“I did it, guys!” Cesar crie
d. He jumped up and did a silly little dance.
The flickering light from the fire quickly illuminated the entire clearing. Suddenly, Gabe’s and Laura’s eyes grew wide.
“Cesar,” Laura hissed. She motioned for him to come toward them.
Cesar stopped dancing. “There’s something really scary behind me, isn’t there?”
He turned. . . .
The Allosaurus from before was there! It opened its mouth and let out a huge ROOOOOAR, ready to chomp Cesar!
“Oh no. Not this time!” Cesar grabbed a fiery stick from the pit and waved it at the dinosaur. “Huzzah!” he cried, just like the doctor.
A spark jumped and struck the Allosaurus on the nose! Scorched, the dinosaur howled. It took a few steps back before thundering off into the jungle, frightened away.
“Did you see that?” Cesar cried in disbelief. “Please tell me you saw that!”
“I most certainly did!” a voice cheered through the darkness.
The friends couldn’t believe their ears. Dr. Bunsen was standing at the edge of the clearing, holding the remote control for his once-again-operational time machine. They were saved!
Chapter 10
Not So Far Away
* * *
Dr. Bunsen had returned the children home in time for dinner. Once the three friends and the doctor had blasted back to the present day, they’d told him all about their prehistoric adventure. The doctor was delighted that their mission had been a success! But he also realized how dangerous his time machine could be. The doctor had removed the motor gears from the machine on the spot, so it would never accidently transport someone again.
Then Dr. Bunsen had turned to Gabriel. “By the way, your mother stopped by. She said something about a ‘special surprise.’ I believe you’ll want to hurry home.”
“Mom, I’m home!” Gabe had never been happier to open his own front door. He was back, and it was dinnertime at the Martinez household.
Now Gabe stood in his family’s kitchen. Juanita bounced in her high chair. His father sat at the table, working on his laptop. And his mother was by the sink.
Everything was back to normal. Just as it should be.
“There you are, mi hijo,” Gabe’s mom said. “Did you have fun today?”
Gabe smiled. “You have no idea.”
“Well, I have a special surprise for you.” Gabe’s mom picked up an envelope and handed it to him. “Open it, sweetie!”
Gabe tore open the envelope and pulled out . . . three tickets to the Newtonburg Museum’s dino exhibit.
“I know how much you love dinosaurs.” Gabe’s mother pinched his cheek. “I thought you might like to go with your friends.”
Gabe wasn’t sure if he should laugh or cry. He opted for an awkward smile instead. “Gee . . . umm, thanks, Mom. I can’t wait to show Laura and Cesar. I’m sure they’ll think it’s . . . dino-tastic.”
Later that night, in his pajamas and ready for bed, Gabe lined up his plastic dinosaur figurines on the windowsill. He had a T. rex, a Triceratops, and even an Allosaurus. But no Stego.
“I hope you’re having fun, buddy, wherever you are.”
He looked out the window and up at the night sky. The stars were shining brightly overhead. They may not have been shining as brightly as in the Jurassic period, but they were shining all the same.
Maybe Stego was even looking at the same stars, millions of years in the past.
Who knows? Gabe thought with a smile. He could be thinking about me, too.
Of course, there was no way of knowing. But somehow, realizing that the stars had existed through millions of years in the universe made Gabe feel like his dinosaur pal wasn’t so far away after all.
CHECK OUT THE NEXT DATA SET ADVENTURE!
It was a bright and early Monday morning in Newtonburg. The sun was shining. The birds were chirping. Rush-hour traffic was backing up. The start to a perfectly ordinary day.
Except it wasn’t.
“Where in the world is Laura?” Gabe and Cesar pedaled their bikes at top speed. “We’re going to be late!”
They ditched their bikes in Gabe’s parents’ driveway and raced to the backyard. Normally, the three friends known as the DATA Set (Danger! Action! Trouble! Adventure!) would already be on their way to school. But Laura hadn’t shown up at the corner as usual.
Something was up.
Ada Hopper has been extremely inventive ever since she was little. There was nothing that a rubber band and some tweezers couldn’t fix, no question that couldn’t be answered by scouring the library, and no way she wasn’t escaping over that backyard fence! When not working, Ada enjoys karaoke, spending time with her family, and going on the occasional adventure.
Sam Ricks grew up creating stories about toxic fruitcakes and peanut butter–snatching aliens. He is the illustrator of several books for young readers, including the DATA Set series. Sam earned his BA from Brigham Young University and his MA from the University of Baltimore. He, his wife, and their five children live in Salt Lake City, Utah. Visit Sam at SamRicks.com.
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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First Little Simon paperback edition April 2016
Copyright © 2016 by Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. LITTLE SIMON is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and associated colophon is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc. For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected]. The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Designed by John Daly. The text of this book was set in Serifa.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hopper, Ada. Don’t disturb the dinosaurs / by Ada Hopper ; illustrated by Sam Ricks. — First Little Simon paperback edition. pages cm. — (The DATA Set ; #2) Summary: Thanks to Dr. Bunsen’s latest wacky invention, second-graders Gabriel, Laura, and Cesar, aka the DATA Set, are blasted back to the prehistoric era, where they quickly find themselves dashing from flying pterosaurs, stomping stegosaurus stampedes, and a sharp-toothed T. rex.
ISBN 978-1-4814-5731-6 (pbk) — ISBN 978-1-4814-5732-3 (hardback) — ISBN 978-1-4814-5733-0 (eBook) [1. Time travel—Fiction. 2. Dinosaurs—Fiction. 3. Clubs—Fiction. 4. Adventure and adventurers—Fiction.] I. Ricks, Sam, illustrator. II. Title. III. Title: Do not disturb the dinosaurs. PZ7.1.H66Do 2016 [Fic]—dc23 2015018119