ould die!
After that he didn't spout his wise stuff to any more Greasers."

"I shouldn't think he would."

But on this occasion Professor Wright had a ranch more receptive and
intelligent audience. For, as I have said, overhearing Dick and Bud
discussing the "jaw-breaking names," as the boys termed them, the
scientist approached them with a reassuring smile on his face and said:

"You are somewhat like the old lady, told of in the book written by
Professor Lucas of the American Museum of Natural History. In his
introduction he speaks of the necessity for using what are termed 'big'
words--that is scientific terms, and he mentions an old lady who said
she wasn't so surprised at the discovery of all these strange animals,
as she was at the fact that someone knew their names when they were
found."

"But you don't know the names when you find them; do you?" asked Dick.
"Don't you name them after they are found?"

"In a way we do, yes," answered the scientist. "But in the case of
those already found--and I am searching for specimens of some extinct
animals already identified--we have settled upon names.

"As Professor Lucas remarks, the real trouble is that there are no
common names for these animals. As a matter of fact, when they existed
there were no people on earth to name them, or, if there were, the
names given by prehistoric man were not preserved, since they wrote no
histories.

"And, as a matter of fact, those who complain that these names are hard
to pronounce do not stop to think that, in many cases, the names of the
Dinosaurs are no harder than others. They are simply less familiar and
not so often used. You wouldn't call hippopotamus a hard word; would
you, boys?" he asked.

"It isn't hard to pronounce, but I'd hate to have to spell it,"
chuckled Bud.

"It's easy if you take it slow," declared Dick, and, then and there he
spelled it.

"Well, you've been to more circuses than I have," countered Bud.

"That's it!" cried the professor, seizing on the opportunity to impart
a little information. "The word hippopotamus is familiar to you--and
even to small children--because it has often been used, and because you
have seen circus pictures of it. Well, if we had Brontotheriums on
earth now, everyone would be using the name without stopping to think
how to pronounce it, and they could spell it as easily as you can spell
hippopotamus. Most words of Latin or Greek derivation are easy to
pronounce o