"Will you hit him back?" asked they, eagerly.
"Who knows?" said Thorvald, nodding, and went away.
They thought it best to study while he was gone, but none of them were able to do so,—they had to keep talking about the bear. They began guessing how the affair would turn out. Hans bet with Ole that Lars's rifle had missed fire, and that the bear had sprung at him. Little Knud Pladsen thought they had all fared badly, and the girls took his side. But there came Thorvald.
"Let us go," said he, as he pulled open the door, so excited that he could scarcely speak.
"But the school-master?" asked some of the children.
"The deuce take the school-master! The bear! The bear!" cried Thorvald, and could say no more.
"Is it shot?" asked one, very softly, and the others dared not draw their breath.
Thorvald sat panting for a while, finally he got up, mounted one of the benches, swung his cap, and shouted,—
"Let us go, I say. I will take all the responsibility."
"But where shall we go?" asked Hans.