"Uh--are you going bear hunting with revolvers?"
"Oh, no! Definitely not. I have my rifle, too. It's just that one must be prepared when the beasts charge."
Alex Jackson took out his wallet and counted out the thirty-five dollars still due on the camp rental. Ted tried to collect his spinning thoughts. Expecting a seasoned, experienced hunter, he'd met instead a youngster who talked seriously about black bears charging. Or hadn't Ted heard correctly? He slipped the money into his pocket and looked sidewise at his guest.
"If you'll follow me, I'll take you to the camp."
The man turned to beckon, and somebody shut off the car's idling motor and flicked off its lights. Five more hunters came into the house, and Ted was introduced as they came. None were older than Alex Jackson. Two, Alex's brother Paul and a youngster named Philip Tarbox, looked as though they should be behind their high-school desks, rather than in a hunting camp. Alex Jackson turned with a smile.
"Fine," Ted murmured. "Uh--how much bear hunting have any of you done?"
Alex Jackson's eyes were full of dreams. "None of us have ever hunted any big game, but I've read all about it."
"Not big game," Alex Jackson said modestly. "You see, I just came of age last month and thus was able to handle my own affairs. But I've always wanted to hunt big game, especially bears."
"Paul and I haven't any, and I am now Paul's guardian. But the other fellows' parents do. Yes, of course, and they were glad to have them in my charge. I've been counsellor for three summers at Camp Monawami. You needn't worry about our ability to handle firearms. We've all hunted rabbits. But I would like to ask your advice."
"Philip, Steve, Arnold and Wilson are armed with nothing but shotguns. Do you think I should return to the town through which we just passed and buy them rifles and revolvers?"
"I'm worried," Alex Jackson said seriously. "Grimshaw, in his _Bears of the North_, says that when the beasts charge--"
"Grimshaw was writing about grizzlies. These are black bears."
"Oh!" Alex Jackson elevated his brows. "You can say definitely that they will not charge?"
"Nobody can say that. They're wild animals."
"I thought so!" Alex Jackson seemed vastly relieved. "Will a shotgun halt them when they charge?"