He led the boys off through the compound. Tom and Bud watched furtively for chances to escape, but the giant native followed close behind them. Presently they came in view of a group of huge dinosaurs, resting quietly among the trees. The beasts blinked in the light as Professor Eldreth raised the lantern proudly.
“There are the results of my years of work!”
“I still don’t see how you managed to get your results so quickly,” Tom said. “Even twenty years seems too short a time to retrace so much of the evolutionary process.”
Eldreth’s face took on a sarcastic smile. “My scientific colleagues jeered when I reported finding a growth hormone in a jungle bog.”
“My father has analyzed that compound,” Tom said. “It just causes giantism.”
“By itself, yes,” Eldreth replied. “But with other chemicals added, it also speeds up growth to a startling degree. By injecting the formula into an egg embryo, one of these creatures can be raised to full size in two months!”
Tom gasped. The news of Professor Eldreth’s work would hit the scientific world like a bombshell-if he and Bud returned to tell the story. What was behind tonight’s raid? Had Eldreth masterminded all the moves to block the skyway project?
THE MONSTER MAKER 165
“I’m sure I’ll learn more if I can gain the professor’s confidence,” Tom thought.
As they walked back toward the bungalow, he remarked, “The theropod dinosaurs, like the tyrannosaurus, were supposed to be quite fierce. How have you managed to control them?”
“When raised by humans and treated kindly, they are easily managed,” Eldreth replied.