The Berenstain Bears Chapter Book: The G-Rex Bones by Stan Berenstain, Jan Berenstain Page A

said Ralph, holding his arms out wide. “The Department of Swindles—Ralph Ripoff, director, at your service. Let’s hear your plan.”
    Dr. Bearish relaxed his gaze and leaned back in his chair. “You may know,” he began, “that the professor-who-shall-remain-nameless has long sought a particular fossil skeleton to complete his collection in the Bearsonian Hall of Dinosaurs.”
    “You mean a T-rex skeleton?” said Ralph. “Sure, everyone in Beartown knows that. He even built that special room to put it in when he finds one.”
    “The rotunda,” said Bearish.
    Ralph had never heard the word before but thought it was a perfect one for the big circular room with the high domed ceiling that Actual Factual had built.

    “After five long years of experiments in my private laboratory in Big Bear City,” continued Bearish, “I have at last produced a substance that can be shaped into perfect fake fossils. It can be made cheaply and in large amounts. And chemical analysis will reveal no difference between it and real fossil material, which I had a chance to study in detail in the Bearsonian lab.”
    “Don’t tell me,” said Ralph. “You want to make a fake T-rex skeleton and sell it to the Bearsonian for a million dollars. See, I’m one step ahead of you, Doctor.”

    “More like half a step,” said Bearish. “Because I’ve already had the fossil bones made—by a sculptor who is tired of being poor. And they aren’t T-rex bones. They are the bones of a similar but as yet undiscovered species twice the size of T-rex . Imagine: twice the size! It will barely fit into the rotunda of the Hall of Dinosaurs. I figure this skeleton will bring at least five times as much money as a T-rex skeleton.”
    “What do you call this new dinosaur species?” asked Ralph.
    “I don’t,” said Bearish. “We’ll sweeten the deal by allowing the professor to name it himself.”
    “He oughta love that,” said Ralph. “Get his name into the National Bearographic again. But there’s one thing I don’t understand, Doctor. How exactly would you get back at the professor with this swindle? You’ll make a lot of money, of course, but the professor will make an even bigger name for himself in the science world than he has already.”
    Dr. Bearish smiled an evil little smile. “Very simple,” he said. “Exactly one year after the sale of the fossil skeleton to the Bearsonian, I shall go to the media and reveal the hoax. The professor will be completely humiliated over having been tricked in a matter of science. His reputation will be stained forever.”

    Now, most bears wouldn’t have understood why Dr. Bearish could reveal the hoax after a year without fear of being arrested and thrown in jail. But no one was better versed in the ins and outs of hoaxes, swindles, and other kinds of fraud than Ralph Ripoff. He knew that a victim of fraud had to report the crime to the police within one year of the commission of the crime. If the victim failed to do so, the swindler could not be arrested and tried in a court of law for the crime—ever. It was called a “statute of limitations”—a law limiting the amount of time for reporting a crime. And to Ralph Ripoff, statutes of limitations were the most beautiful laws in all the land.
    “As far as it goes,” said Ralph, “it’s ingenious. But if your fake fossils are as good as you say they are, why would anyone believe you about the hoax?”
    “Ah,” said Bearish. “I have marked one of the fossil leg bones with a chemical symbol known only to me. A kind of chemical signature. I will direct the media to examine and identify it with the help of chemists.”
    Dr. Bearish’s penetrating gaze bore into Ralph’s eyes. He’s trying to hypnotize me , thought Ralph. This mad scientist is trying to trick me into helping him with his evil plan!
    And evil it was. Cheating the Bearsonian out of millions of dollars wasn’t what was bothering Ralph, of course. After all, taking