They found that Bob Sutter was resting easily on his bed. The doctor had set the broken ankle, and put it in plaster, and he had told Bob that he must keep quiet for several weeks.
"This ends that yacht trip, so far as I am concerned," said Bob ruefully.
"Never mind, we can wait until you get well," said Dick cheerfully, although he did not expect' to remain at Santa Barbara more than ten days longer.
"No, I don't want you to wait," answered Bob Sutter. "My cousin won't be well, so they tell me, for several months, and I won't want to go without her. I've been thinking that you had better take the trip without us. Captain Jerry can easily run the yacht with your aid."
"That's very kind of you," said Tom. "But we'd rather have you along."
The matter was talked over for an hour. The Rover boys knew that Dora, Nellie, and Grace would be sorely disappointed if the yacht trip was given up. At last they decided to accept Bob Sutter's kind suggestion and make the trip without the company of the young owner and his cousin; and then they withdrew, wishing Bob a speedy recovery.
CHAPTER V
ON BOARD OF THE YACHT
"What a glorious day for the trip!"
"We are going to turn real sailors, aren't we?"