The graceful craft was lying on its side so that the interior was exposed more to their view than the sides.
"I'll identify it," said Ruth, undaunted. "There's a long scratch in the paint, about an inch from the keel, near the middle—we got stuck on a rock one day."
"You could find that on most any canoe," replied the man.
"Well—let me see—oh, there's candle grease on the inside, at each end! That's from the Japanese lanterns we had there, the night of the water-picnic," she told the boys. "And the name was painted on it in red letters—The Scout!"
At this, the old man's eyes opened wide.
"I guess you're right, lady," he said. "She's called The Scout, all right; but I don't know about the scratch and the candle grease—I never noticed that!"
"Will you sell it back to me, if you're convinced?" asked Jack.
"Gimme what I paid for it, and she's your'n. Never was much good to me, anyhow; I never hired it onc't—mostly too rough for a canoe in the river."
"Will it be all right if I pay you five dollars now, and return with the rest, say to-morrow, and get the canoe?"