Flemming acted promptly. Spinning the wheel hard over, and shouting to his chum, Roche, to slow down, he brought the _Olivette's_ bows on to the spot where the glisseur had disappeared on an unpremeditated submarine excursion. The owner of the vanished craft was with difficulty swimming towards his mechanic, who, unable to keep afloat, had sunk for the second time. The Frenchman was obviously handicapped, because he made no attempt to use his left arm, but, arriving over the place where the air-bubbles marked the presence of the unfortunate mechanic, he dived to the latter's rescue. The pair reappeared together, the mechanic desperately grasping his master round the neck. With a sudden wrench the latter shook himself partly clear, then, with a short quick jab with his right fist, the Frenchman hit the struggling man a stunning blow on the left temple, grasped him by the collar of his overalls, and waited the arrival of the _Olivette_. Quickly the pair were hauled on board. Three of the Sea Scouts immediately set to work to resuscitate the half-drowned mechanic, while the others, in their imperfect French, offered their services to the owner of the lost craft. The Frenchman bowed. He had lost his hat. "_Permettez-moi, messieurs!_" he exclaimed, and gravely produced a saturated visiting-card on which were the words "Raoul de la Voie, Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur". Mr. Armitage suggested to his involuntary guest that perhaps the crew of the _Olivette_ might conduct salvage operations. The boat had stopped, with her engines running well throttled down, close to the place where the hydro-glisseur had disappeared, a ready clue being afforded by the oil rising in a steady, far-spreading stream to the surface. Monsieur de la Voie listened with perfect gravity to the Scoutmaster's halting attempt to put his thoughts into words in the French language. Mr. Armitage "stuck" badly. His vocabulary was usually good, but at the present time he had the greatest difficulty in finding his words, and his dictionary was in one of his portmanteaux in the after-cabin. "Excuse me," remarked the Frenchman, with an almost perfect English accent, "but if you will kindly talk in English, no doubt I will be able to follow you better." "Thanks awfully," replied Mr. Armitage, falling back upon his mother-tongue. Then he added gravely, "I hope you are feeling quite chirpy now." "Chirpy?" queried the Frenchman. "Chirpy--bucked," prompted the Scoutmaster. Monsieur de la Voie's face wore a puzzled expression. But he would not admit defeat, for, producing a saturated pocket-dictionary, he looked up the perplexing words.