“I—I nearly got my hands on one little beggar, when all at once out of the nowhere, that old she bear and her mate came at me with all sails set. Then I legged it for home.”
“You poor fish! Didn’t you know any better than to fool with a bear cub?” demanded Lieutenant Wingate. “You might have known that the mother bear was not far away.”
“I—I didn’t think there were any old bears about the place. I lost my clothes, too. Mebby the bears ate them. If they did who is going to pay me for my ‘pants’ and the rest of the stuff? Will you answer me that question, Uncle Hip?”
“Your clothes are distributed along the way where you dropped them. You may go get them now with perfect safety,” Tom told him. “The bears have taken to the timber with their cubs long before this.”
“Too bad we can’t shoot them,” muttered Stacy.
“You can, but it’ll cost you money if you’re caught at it,” said the guide.
“One experience in that direction is enough,” answered Stacy.
“I thought you were going to do your family washing,” reminded Emma.
“Well, I reckon I will if I can find my shirts and the rest of the outfit, but I won’t go out alone. You folks have got to come with me. Emma, you stand around and chase the bears away. All you have to do is just to look at ’em and they’ll run.”
“Humph! After once setting eyes on you, the rest of the world would be altogether lovely,” retorted Emma, elevating her chin disdainfully.