"Quick!" yelled Bill.
"They'll all be killed!" cried Tom.
"Who?" asked the professor, dropping his tools.
Rapidly the two helpers told what had occurred, and how they had left Andy and the boys as the bear was rushing at them, the hunter having no more cartridges in his gun.
"Take two rifles from the chest!" exclaimed the inventor. "Washington and I will follow as soon as we get our furs on! Hurry now!"
Tom and Bill needed no second bidding. Seeing that the magazines of the rifles they took were filled, they hastened again over the ice and snow in the direction of Sudds and the boys. As they hustled along, the sun, which had been hidden by clouds, emerged and shone with dazzling splendor on the ice fields. It almost blinded the men.
As they ran on they heard a shout behind them. Turning, they saw Washington and the professor, each with a gun, following. They waited for the pair to come up.
"How far away is the place?" asked Mr. Henderson.
"We must be close to it now," said Bill. "Yes, there is the bear Andy killed," pointing to where the dead animal was stretched on the ice. "But where are the boys?"
"And where is Andy?" asked Amos Henderson.