The offer of the petrol and paraffin was gladly accepted. Already the leak in the tank had been soldered, and all that was required was to fill up and restart the engine.
"Stow your canvas, Graham," said Mr. Armitage. "You won't want that again this evening. We'll tow you into Keyhaven. That will suit, I hope?"
"Perfectly," was the reply.
The Olivette gathered way, the Spindrift following meekly at the end of a four-inch grass hawser, and well before dark both boats were safely moored in the narrow and sheltered waters of Keyhaven.
"I think we can fix you up with a spar to-morrow," said Mr. Armitage, when the Milford Sea Scouts boarded the Spindrift to see what sort of craft the Southend lads had obtained. "A yacht came ashore at Milford last month and became a total wreck. We bought a lot of her gear, including her mast. I think it would just suit you."
"Thanks awfully," replied Mr. Graham. "What do you want for it?"
"Pooh, pooh!" protested Mr. Armitage. "We are not dealers in marine stores. We bought the stick for a mere song, thinking it might come in handy for a signal mast for our hut. But it would be a jolly sight more useful in a yacht, I take it."
"And we have all the tools for the job in our boathouse," added Woodleigh. "We'll all turn out to-morrow and lend a hand. Many hands make light work."
"And too many cooks spoil the broth," laughed Flemming. "However, we'll all see if we can help without tumbling over each other."
Early next morning, as soon as the dew had vanished, the Milford Sea Scouts gathered at their boat store. The mast and a couple of stout scaffold-poles were placed on a truck and wheeled down to the quay.