"No," Joan reassured him. "They like it. We didn't know if they would or if they would abandon the wired trees. But they seem to actually prefer them. See the tracks?"

Worn into the moss from the paws of many bears following the same path from the rubbing tree to the trail were two prints made larger by repeated use.

"Cool, huh?"

Anna agreed it was cool.

Rory asked, "Does pepper spray really work?"

"It's the same stuff we use in law enforcement," Anna told him. "It's made from the essence of red-hot peppers. I guess it would work on bears. Unless they've developed a taste for Mexican food. Then I think it would only serve to whet their appetites."

Joan shot her a look that was not without humor but made it clear that tormenting Rory was not an acceptable form of entertainment. "We're not going to get ourselves into a situation where we have to find out," Joan said firmly.

"Rory, you're an exception to the rule. Most boys love bears. I actually get fan mail because I am the Bear Lady at Glacier." Joan's voice was pleasant as ever, but it was clear that in harboring fear of bears, Rory had impugned them and the researcher's feelings were hurt. "One boy e-mails me every couple of days. He's drawing a map and has to know where the bears go to eat at any given time."

"I like bears," Rory said defensively.

"You will," Joan promised.

"They would certainly like you," Anna said ominously.

To distract the children from their squabbles, Joan made the mistake of introducing Anna to huckleberries. Arm in arm with thimbleberries and bearberries, they grew wild over much of the park. In late summer and fall, when they were at their peak, they were the favored food of bears, both black and grizzly. They consumed them by the ton as they stored up as much sugar and fat as they could for a long winter spent curled in dens at the higher elevations.