“Grandfather,” she whispered, “where’s Jodie? Didn’t he get in?”
“Sure! Oh, sure!” the old man replied. “Of course, he lost. Three dogs went wrong, but he came in, all the way.
“When he got to the cabin,” he laughed, “he just tumbled on the cot and fell asleep. Before that, though, he said, ‘Be sure to wake me up when she comes in,’ meaning you. But, you know, I didn’t have the heart to wake him. He’s still fast asleep.”
This last was not quite true, at least they found Jodie standing just inside the door when they arrived.
“Congratulations!” he held out a hand.
“Jodie, I’m sorry you couldn’t win,” the girl’s voice was low.
“I know,” he stood silent for an instant, then a mischievous look stole into his eyes.
“Well, anyway,” he said, “we won the race. Just the way a man and his wife killed the bear. Ever hear of that?”
“No.”
“Sit down and I’ll tell you.” Florence sat down. “You see,” said Jodie, “there was a man, his wife and two children in a shack when a great big bear entered. The man went to the rafters. The woman, being hampered by children clinging to her skirts, stayed on the floor. Seizing an axe, she killed the bear. Whereupon the man climbed down shouting, ‘Mary! Mary! We killed the bear!’