It was tedious but fairly easy work to man the winch and haul the yacht off to the buoy. The process was repeated until the Rosalie touched the ground on a mud-bank that occupies a fair portion of the eastern part of Ramsgate Harbour.
"This has been a night," declared Mr. Armitage wearily. "Now we can stand easy till the tide leaves her. How about some tea?"
During the preliminary breakfast the Scoutmaster made inquiries of the boys, but they could give no information as to what had occurred. They were in complete ignorance of everything until they found themselves coming-to on the deck.
"We're all right now, sir," declared Hepburn. "Ready to start work on the propeller as soon as you like."
"You'll have to take things easily to-day, Alan," said Mr. Armitage. "I don't propose getting under way until to-morrow. We all need a rest."
While the tide was still ebbing, the fore-hatch was removed and the foul air allowed to escape from the fo'c'sle and the motor-room. Then the two Scoutmasters went below to investigate.
The fire had originated, they discovered, in a heap of cotton waste over which the overalls of the two engineers had been thrown. Some of the woodwork of the adjacent locker was charred and the paintwork blistered, but otherwise the damage was negligible. But whether the fire was caused by spontaneous combustion or from a spark from the pipe of one of the crew of the drifter remained an unsolved mystery.
"It's fortunate we don't rely on petrol for the motors," observed Mr. Armitage. "Otherwise it would have been all up with the Rosalie. Paraffin's bad enough, but petrol—I saw a petrol-driven boat blow up once. It was a sight that one doesn't wish to see again. Now, I think the tide's ebbed sufficiently. We'll get to work."
A couple of large gratings were lowered over the stern. On these Mr. Armitage dropped cautiously, until he found that they were amply large enough to prevent his sinking into the mud.
"Now a mallet and chisel!" he called out. "The rope's wound round the boss as tight as a wire hawser. There's no clearing it except by cutting it through."