"Wait till we get back to the ship or to a camp," scoffed Jack; "it's my belief that we will be prisoners here till winter."
"Nonsense," said Tom sharply. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Jack Dacre, for talking like that. It's no use giving way to despair. Maybe we'll hit on some way of getting out before long."
"Not unless those bears change their minds and go back to their happy mountain home," said Jack positively.
They sat in silence for a while.
"If it would only get dark up here like it does in more southerly latitudes, we could take a chance on sneaking down to the dory and getting away to some other part of the coast," said Tom at length.
"Couldn't we make it anyhow?" inquired Sandy.
Tom shook his head.
"I don't see how. The minute we came out of the hut one of the bears would be bound to see us and take after us. They can run mighty fast, too, in spite of their clumsy forms."
Another silence ensued. All the boys were thinking hard, from time to time approaching the peephole to watch the bears.