The guard blew a whistle and waved a green flag.
That was what the knowing dog was waiting for. With a flying leap Bruin jumped through the open window of the compartment where Peter was, landing on the knees of the astonished Patrol Leader.
"It's too late to chuck me out now," said Bruin, in doggie language. "But, after all, you don't mind, do you?"
Peter patted the dog's head with one hand, while with the other he felt for his purse, making a mental calculation of the fare for a dog from Milton (the nearest railway station to Milford) to Weymouth.
When at length the Sea Scouts detrained at their destination, they quickly realized that they were not strangers in a strange land, for they were met by a number of Scouts, whose shoulder badges announced them as belonging to the 5th Weymouth Troop.
"Awfully good of you to take charge of the Olivette," said Mr. Armitage to the Weymouth Scoutmaster.
"Not at all," protested the other. "All in a day's work, so to speak. No; the thieves are not yet in custody, but the police have several very good clues. The rascals apparently couldn't manage the motor, or, rather, they ran short of fuel; because they hailed a motor-boat off Christchurch Head and borrowed a couple of tins of petrol. They left the compass—your compass—as a security for payment. The crew of the boat supplying the petrol read of the robbery and the disappearance of the Olivette when they returned to Poole, and they immediately reported the matter of the meeting at sea to the police."
"That solves the mystery of how they carried on so far," said Roche. "I know they had only enough petrol for about an hour's run. But our compass?"
"You'll get that back all right," declared the Weymouth Scoutmaster. "It will probably cost you the price of two tins of petrol, but it will be worth it. They left you your magneto, remember."
Scouts and Sea Scouts wended their way to the long narrow harbour. There, moored alongside a steam yacht, lay the Olivette, looking, outwardly at least, none the worse for her unauthorized jaunt.