"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?" "Oh, yes." Ted wished he could sink through the floor. Expecting hunters, he had his hands full of what, very literally, were babes in the woods. But they had a great dream and a great hope, and regardless of who told them that not once in 1000 times will even a wounded black bear charge a hunter, they wouldn't believe it because they did not care to believe it. They had come bear hunting to live dangerously! Alex Jackson nodded happily. "Thank you very much. Now will you please show us the camp?" "Follow me." As he drove up the Lorton Road, Ted gave himself over to his own grim thoughts. Obviously, there was much more to building and renting camps than met the casual eye. One never knew who was coming or what they'd do. Now he was certain only that this crew of naive hopefuls should not venture into the Mahela alone. He wasn't even sure that they should be permitted to stay in camp without supervision, but he'd risk that much for at least one night. He parked in front of the camp, waited for his guests and admitted them. "Just what I'd hoped for!" Alex Jackson exclaimed. "Semi-primitive surroundings! Delightful!" Ted asked, "Can you handle the stoves and everything?" "Oh, yes! Oh, indeed yes! But perhaps you will tell us where we have the best chance of encountering bears?" "I'll do better than that. I'll show you." "That's good of you. Would you care to start at daylight?" "I'll be here." "We'll be ready." * * * * * On arriving at the camp a half hour before daylight the next morning, Ted saw that it was not burned down and that his young guests had made no obvious blunders. Rather, with breakfast eaten and the dishes stacked away, they seemed to be doing pretty well for themselves. But, even though they knew what to do around a camp, the fact remained that none of them had ever hunted big game. Ted exchanged greetings and looked out of the window. Renting hunting camps might be a nice way to earn a living, but there must be easier ones! The very fact that he'd rented his camp to them implied an obligation. Six hunters who knew exactly what to do had little enough chance of getting a bear. These youngsters had one in a thousand. But if there was any way to do it, Ted still had to offer them their money's worth and he considered himself responsible for them. Sending them into the Mahela alone probably, and at the least, meant that they would get lost. "Ready?" he asked. "Let's go!" Alex Jackson said happily.