"The muscles of his brawny arms Are strong as iron bands,"
jeered Cora.
"Guess there"s nothing to do," continued Walter, "but take the engine down and see what"s wrong. It feels as though the parts had grown together."
"Must be if you couldn"t move it," said Jack scathingly. "But let"s get busy, fellows. I suppose the first thing to do is to get the cylinders off."
They fell to with a will, and soon had the smaller fittings dismounted.
The motor was of the two-cylinder, two-cycle type, and according to the makers" plate was rated at six horse power. The exterior was in fairly good condition, only a few patches of rust showing here and there where the paint had been chipped off, leaving the metal exposed.
With some difficulty, the boys got the cylinders off. As they removed the front one, Jack gave a long whistle.
"I"ll bet there"s the cause of the trouble," he said, pointing to the front cylinder.
The others examined it and Paul remarked:
"Guess it"s a case of broken piston ring, eh, Jack?"
"No doubt of it," was the response.
And indeed this would have been plain even to the most inexperienced eye.
One of the grooves cut in the piston to receive a compression ring was packed with broken bits of metal and metallic dust, many of the fragments having actually been reduced to powder.
"That"s a bad job," remarked Walter, shaking his head. "I wonder if the cylinder itself is damaged much."
"Easy to find out," said Jack. "Let"s have a look."
They were relieved to find that the cylinder was very little scored, considering the condition of the piston.
"Looks to me as if a new set of piston rings would be necessary," judged Paul.
"That"s what," replied Jack. "But it would probably take a week to get them from the manufacturers."
Cora gave a little exclamation of dismay.
"And wait all that time before we can have a ride in the _Water Sprite_?"
she asked.
"Unless you can wave a magic wand and make the pistons come running,"
said Jack.
"I"m going to rummage through these lockers," declared Cora, jumping up and going into the little cabin. "Perhaps there are some spare parts on hand."
A moment later she gave an exclamation of triumph.
"Here they are!" she cried, holding up a pair of the much desired rings.
"Oh, I"m so glad!" exclaimed Bess.
"Takes a woman to do things," said Belle in a superior way.
The boys looked a little sheepish, but at the same time delighted.
"She"s a fairy all right," conceded Walter.
"You"re the real thing, sis," beamed Jack, as he held out his hand for the rings. "And now for the dirty work."
They adjusted the rings and overhauled the rest of the engine, which proved to be in fairly good condition. There were no radical defects, and by dint of hard work they soon had the entire machinery in what seemed to be good working order.
"There," panted Jack, as he straightened up, "I guess we"re some little machinists, all right."
"We ought to be able to get a union card," said Walter.
"Toil has no terror for us!" declared Paul, striking an att.i.tude.
"Those boys just hate themselves, don"t they?" laughed Bess.
"They"ve worked pretty hard-for them," admitted Cora. "And as a special reward, boys," she added generously, "we"ll let you take us for our first ride in the _Water Sprite_ this afternoon."
CHAPTER X SPRINGING A LEAK
"You do us too much honor," said Paul, making a low bow in his best Chesterfieldian manner.
"I know that perfectly well," replied Cora; "but I happen to feel in a condescending mood."
"Good gracious, girls!" exclaimed Belle, consulting her watch, "do you know that it"s nearly twelve o"clock? We"ve been working here all the morning."
"_We"ve_ been working!" repeated Jack with marked emphasis. "I can see that you"re all out of breath."
""Those also serve who only stand and wait.""
"That"s the kind of job I"d like," said Walter, wiping the perspiration from his face.
"No chance," opined Paul. "The girls have got in ahead of us."
"Well, I notice you wouldn"t have been very far ahead if Cora hadn"t found those rings," retorted Bess.
"You boys are well enough where only muscle is concerned," said Belle patronizingly, "but when it comes to a matter of brains you"re not in the same cla.s.s with us."
They hurried back to the house, where they found a substantial meal ready for them. Then the girls put on their boating togs, and they started out to try the sailing qualities of the rejuvenated _Water Sprite_.
The boys cast off the moorings, and Cora, who could run a boat as well as any one, took her place at the wheel. Jack stayed near the engine, where he could keep an eye on its workings, and the rest disposed themselves wherever they could be most comfortable.
There was hardly any wind blowing and the water was scarcely stirred by a ripple. It was an ideal day for boating and they were prepared to enjoy it to the full.