"He'll be here just after twelve," said the Scoutmaster. "It's now twenty past eleven, so Warkworth and Hepburn can go to the station to meet him and bring him along. By Jove! It's piping up. We'll be lucky if we are able to start to-morrow."
CHAPTER XII
The Squall
"There are worse things than being weather-bound with a crew of Sea Scouts," observed Mr. Jackson that same evening. "You've a lively lot of lads, Armitage, and they keep you amused, I'm sure."
"They're not so dusty," admitted Mr. Armitage modestly. He was reluctant to "spout" over the merits of the lads he had himself trained. "I've had inexperienced crews in the old R.N.V.R. days, and managed to lick 'em into shape, and in their initial stages they weren't equal to these lads, yet we had to go to sea with them and stand a chance of knocking up against Fritz in addition."
"To say nothing of bumping on a mine," added the Oxford Scoutmaster.
Mr. Armitage nodded assent.
"And the danger still exists," he continued. "I haven't said anything to my youngsters, because I didn't consider it advisable. But the fact remains that there are stray floating mines that can hardly be seen owing to their being smothered with barnacles and weeds. And they'll be knocking around for years, I'm afraid."
"There wouldn't be much left of the Rosalie if she struck one," commented Mr. Jackson.