The bear at the garbage pit stood up, but stayed where it was. It looked as large as a house to Bill, so he stopped in his tracks wondering whether to run toward or away from the bear. The other bear ambled off a few feet and then turned around to watch the proceedings. For a long time both Bill and the bear stood watching each other.
Bill again started shouting and then made another short dash after the nearest bear. It walked slowly away for a few more feet and then stopped and turned around. Bill began to lose his bravery just then, for the bear seemed to look him straight in the eye. The effect on the second bear was entirely different, for it made a dash to get away. The direction it took was rather unfortunate for Bob, for the bear headed right at Bob.
Evidently it did not see Bob stretched out on the ground, but Bob saw the bear coming and dropped down flat in his blankets. The bear did not have any designs against Bob, however, for it cleared him with a bound and was off in the woods. The shout that Bob gave as the bear reached his blankets was too much for the first one and it ambled off and disappeared in the thickets.
“This is no place for a white man,” said Bob after the bears had both gone. “I am in favor of packing up and getting out right now.”
“That’s all right with me,” replied Bill. “But I don’t think that they will come back. I think that they are gone for the night.”
“You can stay here if you want to, but not for mine; I’m on my way,” said Bob.
“Well, we might as well move on,” said Bill after looking at his watch. “It’s only a couple of hours until daylight and that will give us a good start.”
“Our vacation in the woods is over,” said Bob “Now we go back to our routine flying.”
“We have had a wonderful time, though, and I am coming back,” said Bill. “I am going to find out from Sam the next time, though, what to do when bears invade our camp.”
They started back to San Francisco very much impressed with the life in the forests. Each was determined to return as soon as he could, but neither realized that they would return almost as soon as they joined their squadron, but with an entirely different reason for the visit.