“MARLIN!” called Fiona so sharply that Marlin came at a run from where she was baking the chocolate chip cookies.

Fiona pointed at the bear.

Marlin gasped. “Where are the girls? Where are Charlie and Ashley?”

Fiona pointed again. “In that tree. The one not ten feet from where the bear has settled.”

“Oh no!” said Marlin. “Do you think they know the bear is there?”

“How could they not?” said Fiona. “They must be terrified. They must be keeping still hoping the bear doesn’t notice them. I’ve got to go out and scare it away.”

“Here,” said Marlin, running back to the kitchen and grabbing pots and spoons. “We’ll bang on these.”

They ran to the back-porch steps and started banging away. The bear looked thunderstruck for a second and in a panic left his pile of garbage and began to run around and around the meadow but the wind must have blown the gate to the meadow shut. The bear had no way out.

“We have to open the gate,” said Fiona.

“You can’t, the bear is too close,” said Marlin, for the bear had decided there was no immediate threat, gone back for his garbage, and settled himself right next to the gate.

They stared at him for another moment silently.

“What are we going to do?” whispered Marlin, terrified.

“Call Miss Webster,” said Fiona decisively.

She ran for the phone and dialed Miss Webster’s number. When Miss Webster heard Fiona’s voice squeaking, “Miss Webster?” she barked, “What’s wrong?”

Fiona told her about the bear and Miss Webster, who didn’t seem to feel like Al that bears were more afraid of you than you were of them, said, “I’m calling the conservation officer. Keep an eye on things and if Ashley and Charlie try to get out of the tree, yell to them to stay in it.”

“Yes, we’ve done that,” said Fiona.

Natasha, who had joined them at this point and was listening, said, “Bears can climb trees.”

“Bears can climb trees,” relayed Fiona.

“Well, he’s got garbage,” said Miss Webster. “If the girls don’t threaten him, he has no reason to go after them. Now hang up. I’ll be over as soon as I’ve made the call.”

Fiona ran outside again to tell the girls Miss Webster was calling the conservation officer and then coming over.

Miss Webster arrived minutes later and very shortly after, a tall handsome man in his thirties wearing a khaki uniform showed up. He had a flatbed truck with a crane and a bear cage on it and he carried a rifle.

Miss Webster and the girls stood on the back porch biting their knuckles while the conservation officer introduced himself as Donald Pettinger before walking in a relaxed way to the meadow as if it were a squirrel he was going after.

“Isn’t he afraid?” breathed Natasha.

“He does this all the time,” said Miss Webster, putting her hands on Natasha’s shoulders.

“Girls,” he called from the fence to Ashley and Charlie. “We’ve got a bit of a bear situation here.”