“Ten, in all,” he told her and drew the last aboard.
“Hooray! We’ve done it!” cried Dorothy exultantly.
“We sure have. You just said it all—” His tone was sarcastic. “The boat is leaking like a sieve. That lateral wrench started it. The propeller’s jammed. It’s beginning to blow a gale and there isn’t enough gas to run us out of it. Three cheers and a tiger! Also, hooray!”
Dorothy’s enthusiasm evaporated. “Gee, I’m sorry. I’m always such a blooming optimist—I didn’t think about our real difficulties.”
“O. K. kid. I apologize for being cross. That water in the cabin kind of got me for the moment. Let’s see what it looks like here.”
He wrenched up the flooring and flashed his torch.
Dorothy gave a gasp of dismay. The boat was filling rapidly.
“I’ll get that bucket from the cabin,” she said at once.
“Good girl! I’ve just got to get this coffee mill grinding again, or we’ll be out of luck good and plenty.”
Dorothy fetched the bucket and began to bail. She saw that Bill was trying to start the engine.