three cubs.
“Bears!”
“Excellent guess,” he said. “ Ursus Horribilis, to be exact, and family. Grizzlies, mother and children—triplets, from the look and size of them. Probably from last year.”
“But, we’re safe in here, aren’t we?” she asked nervously. “The plane is like, solid steel or something, right?”
He chuckled. “Would you like to know how many tax dollars the Canadian government spends each year, trying to devise steel buildings that can deter hungry bears?”
“Do you think she knows we’re here?”
“Probably not. The wind is in our favor. Besides, we‘re far enough away not to be a threat to her. She‘ll probably move off if she gets wind of us.”
“What do they eat, usually?”
“Bears will eat almost anything. At the moment, our guests appear to be enjoying that three pound bag of marshmallows you had in your backpack.”
“Too bad I didn’t bring Graham crackers and Hershey Bars, too,” Anne grumbled. “That’s a joke, Sarge. In the United States, we…”
“Canadians aren’t savages, Miss Wilson. We know all about S’mores.”
Anne moved closer to the side window, for a better view of the picnicking bears. “She’s kind of a pig, your mother bear. The marshmallows are the only thing sweet we have—or had , anyway. I hope all that sugar goes straight to her hips.”
Cameron smiled. “She’ll still be one of the most beautiful five hundred pound females on earth.”
Anne sighed. “It makes you wonder about people, doesn’t it? What kind of moron would want to shoot such a wonderful creature?”
He turned to her and smiled, again. “I believe there may be hope for you, yet, Miss Wilson.”
“If the females are that large, how big do the males get?“ she asked.
“Up to eight hundred pounds, and nine feet tall.”
“Do you think he’s around, somewhere, too? The father bear, I mean?”
Cameron shook his head. “Not if she can help it. That may be why she seems nervous. There may be a male around somewhere.”
“Don’t the females stay with the males, for protection?”
“The male grizzly makes a very poor husband, I’m afraid, and a worse father. His family duties appear to last only as long as his erection does.”
“I never thought of a bear having an erection,” she mused. “Have you ever seen…”
“No, I haven’t. And in any case, I wouldn’t think that would be the ideal moment to investigate, would you?”
They watched for close to an hour, while the mother grizzly and her cubs essentially decimated their remaining food supply, even ripping open a few of the expired cans.
“So much for breakfast,” she sighed. “Maybe there’s a few fish left in the lake?”
“I’ll try for a rabbit, later. I’ve seen a few tracks up on the ridge.”
“Rabbits are too cute,” she said miserably. “I don’t think I could eat a rabbit.”
He grinned. “You didn’t think you could eat fish, either.”
She groaned. “I know. And before I got here, I was a vegetarian.”
* * * * *
When rescue didn’t come after almost two weeks, and the weather kept getting colder, Anne’s anxiety got worse by the day. She could tell that Cameron was trying to remain cheerful in order to keep her spirits up, but with the canned food almost gone, the fish apparently a thing of the past, and rabbits rarer than he’d hoped for, she knew it was becoming harder for him every day.
“Look at the bright side,” she quipped on the thirteenth afternoon, while they were finishing off the last of the small rabbit he’d bagged the day before. “For the first time in my life, I’m actually losing weight without spending money on a gym. Roasted rabbit must be very low in calories, and I’m even beginning to like it.”
He pointed to the rabbit’s picked-over skeleton, and tried to smile “There certainly weren’t many calories in that one. I probably used more getting the fire going than we took in. I hope you’ll like raw rabbit as well
“Bears!”
“Excellent guess,” he said. “ Ursus Horribilis, to be exact, and family. Grizzlies, mother and children—triplets, from the look and size of them. Probably from last year.”
“But, we’re safe in here, aren’t we?” she asked nervously. “The plane is like, solid steel or something, right?”
He chuckled. “Would you like to know how many tax dollars the Canadian government spends each year, trying to devise steel buildings that can deter hungry bears?”
“Do you think she knows we’re here?”
“Probably not. The wind is in our favor. Besides, we‘re far enough away not to be a threat to her. She‘ll probably move off if she gets wind of us.”
“What do they eat, usually?”
“Bears will eat almost anything. At the moment, our guests appear to be enjoying that three pound bag of marshmallows you had in your backpack.”
“Too bad I didn’t bring Graham crackers and Hershey Bars, too,” Anne grumbled. “That’s a joke, Sarge. In the United States, we…”
“Canadians aren’t savages, Miss Wilson. We know all about S’mores.”
Anne moved closer to the side window, for a better view of the picnicking bears. “She’s kind of a pig, your mother bear. The marshmallows are the only thing sweet we have—or had , anyway. I hope all that sugar goes straight to her hips.”
Cameron smiled. “She’ll still be one of the most beautiful five hundred pound females on earth.”
Anne sighed. “It makes you wonder about people, doesn’t it? What kind of moron would want to shoot such a wonderful creature?”
He turned to her and smiled, again. “I believe there may be hope for you, yet, Miss Wilson.”
“If the females are that large, how big do the males get?“ she asked.
“Up to eight hundred pounds, and nine feet tall.”
“Do you think he’s around, somewhere, too? The father bear, I mean?”
Cameron shook his head. “Not if she can help it. That may be why she seems nervous. There may be a male around somewhere.”
“Don’t the females stay with the males, for protection?”
“The male grizzly makes a very poor husband, I’m afraid, and a worse father. His family duties appear to last only as long as his erection does.”
“I never thought of a bear having an erection,” she mused. “Have you ever seen…”
“No, I haven’t. And in any case, I wouldn’t think that would be the ideal moment to investigate, would you?”
They watched for close to an hour, while the mother grizzly and her cubs essentially decimated their remaining food supply, even ripping open a few of the expired cans.
“So much for breakfast,” she sighed. “Maybe there’s a few fish left in the lake?”
“I’ll try for a rabbit, later. I’ve seen a few tracks up on the ridge.”
“Rabbits are too cute,” she said miserably. “I don’t think I could eat a rabbit.”
He grinned. “You didn’t think you could eat fish, either.”
She groaned. “I know. And before I got here, I was a vegetarian.”
* * * * *
When rescue didn’t come after almost two weeks, and the weather kept getting colder, Anne’s anxiety got worse by the day. She could tell that Cameron was trying to remain cheerful in order to keep her spirits up, but with the canned food almost gone, the fish apparently a thing of the past, and rabbits rarer than he’d hoped for, she knew it was becoming harder for him every day.
“Look at the bright side,” she quipped on the thirteenth afternoon, while they were finishing off the last of the small rabbit he’d bagged the day before. “For the first time in my life, I’m actually losing weight without spending money on a gym. Roasted rabbit must be very low in calories, and I’m even beginning to like it.”
He pointed to the rabbit’s picked-over skeleton, and tried to smile “There certainly weren’t many calories in that one. I probably used more getting the fire going than we took in. I hope you’ll like raw rabbit as well
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