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Chapter 9 continued...

"Let's play the odds," answered XL. "There are more black bears in the world than any other kind. Even brown bears are often called black bears. So black is my guess."

"That is indeed a guess," she said, "and it is a wrong guess. Before you guess the kind of bear, you need to think again where the house is located."

"I don't know where it could be," said Beeba, "but you would have to go pretty far north if everywhere else is south."

"That's it!" exclaimed XL, "There is a place where everywhere else is south of it! It's the north pole!"

"I get it!" said Beeba. "That's how all four walls of the house can face south. The house must be centred right on the pole!"

"And if a bear comes by, it must be a polar bear," added XL.

"And polar bears are white! It's a white bear!" continued Beeba.

"That's right," said the lady. "You were a bit slow to figure it out, but that's good enough. So here is my clue for finding Fred and his family. If you know Fred, you understand that he loves animals. Especially he loves marine animals, and ships, and submarines. But the ocean is far away, so instead he got a closer job fixing up submarines. Those are the same submarines that used to float in an indoor pond in the middle of a big city, as they will again when he is finished."

"Is that where we fill find Fred?" said XL.

"Yes," she replied. "And one more clue. If you can't find the submarines, look for the sea lions. You might see Fred feeding them. But remember, don't look for them near any ocean."

"There's no way that clue will give us Fred's address," said Beeba.

"True," said the lady, "but if you go to that place on a Saturday afternoon, you will find Fred. Or you could just mail him a letter, to his old address, and it will be forwarded to his house."

At that moment, Max walked in. He had been walking leisurely, so it had taken him a few minutes to catch up. "So boys, did you find out Fred's new address?"

"Not exactly," said XL, "but it sounds like he is far away. Not near this island, unless there are submarines and sea lions here."

"I don't think so," said Max.

"Would you like a map of the island and our town?" asked the woman. "We have free maps for tourists," she continued, as she picked up a map in her hand, and offered it to Max.

"Thanks very much," said Max, taking it from her. "Also we would like to buy some snacks."

Max and the boys each picked out a snack to eat, and Max paid for them. As they were leaving the store, XL asked Max, "Do you see an indoor submarine park on the map?"

"No," said Max, "but I have another use for the map. We will find Fred's house, based on the address you have for him. Let's see if he really moved away or not."

Copyright Arthur de Leyssac, 2017. All rights reserved.