“Bill! Who’s he?” Lawrence asked. “Oh!” he exclaimed. “He’s the man who built the shelter and left a note saying he was coming back. Let me see—”
“Today,” said the Professor. “And here he is now.” A smiling young giant with a full red beard came tramping down the road.
“Bill, did you get one?” the Professor demanded.
“No,” Bill’s smile faded. “I did my best. I got the head and hide of one, that’s all. Had to kill him, or lose him. I—I’m sorry.”
“A whole year,” the Professor groaned. “And never a bear.”
“A bear!” Johnny exclaimed. “Surely there are bears a-plenty.”
“Not that kind,” the Professor corrected. “I want the kind we talked about once, a glacier bear. Nothing else counts.”
“Oh, a glacier bear!” Lawrence laughed happily. “Is that all you want? I have one coming up on a truck from Seward. It should be here any time.”
“Just like that!” Bill dropped weakly down upon a stump. “A whole year. Ice, snow, blizzards, glaciers, hunger, a whole year. Never a bear. And now this boy calmly says, ‘I’ve got one coming up.’”
“Such,” said the professor, “is the luck of the chase.”