Larry was so surprised that about all he could say was "Great glory," though when the Riddle Club explained in chorus that Ella was very hungry, he hurriedly brought out the buns and crackers he had so carefully put away.
"Great glory!" he ejaculated for the twentieth time, watching the famished Ella greedily eating the crackers. "It's a mercy there wasn't a rain storm—the exposure might have given you pneumonia."
"I'm all right," Ella said sunnily. "The Riddle Club found me. But how can we get home, if your boat is broken down?"
Before Larry could answer this question, he had to hear how Ella came to be on Rattlesnake Island and how long she had been there. As soon as she told him about the spring, he declared that he must fill his barrel.
"Then we'll go," he promised. "I reckon there's some folks back at Sunrise Beach will be kind of glad to see this party coming in."
"Yes, won't Ella's father be surprised?" Artie said eagerly.
"Guess your own father will be glad to see you, too," chuckled Larry. "Well, who's coming to help me fill these two pails with water? I can find the spring all right if one of you comes along to show me where you found Ella."
The three boys volunteered to accompany Larry and the girls stayed with Ella. Larry located the spring without trouble, and on the way back he explained that he had repaired his engine.
"It was the spark plug after all," he said. "Fouled. I didn't look at it before, because I'd just cleaned it. Soon as I scraped it with my knife, everything was all right. Turned the flywheel, threw in the clutch, and she began her song like a lady."