But B"lindy ""lowed" she was, for Nancy seized her by the shoulders and kissed first one cheek and then the other, and uttered the perfectly incomprehensible--to B"lindy--remark; "Webb was right!"
CHAPTER IX
DAVY"S CLUB
"The next thing we do is to s"lute the flag of our country. Now, one, two, three--after me!"
The shrill command floated up to Nancy in her tree-top.
She had just snuggled back against her seat with a long sigh of contentment. The door of her treasure-box stood open and beside her were the sheets of her neglected ma.n.u.script. She had stolen out for an hour"s uninterrupted work.
"How _heavenly_ quiet," she had been saying to the rustling leaves.
"_Now_ I am going to work and make up for lost time." Everything at Happy House seemed to be back on what Nancy called a "peace-basis." "I must go down to the village and tell Webb what a dear he was to make this seat," she had thought, as she climbed into it.
Then, just as her inspired pencil had written "Act 4" across the top of a clean sheet, had come the strange words, seemingly out of nowhere.
"Well, I _never_!" Nancy peeped all around. The sound came apparently from under the cliff. "Who _is_ it? And how could _anyone_ get there."
The voice--a boy"s--was rattling on in a succession of sharp commands.
Nancy crept toward the edge and peeped over. There, to her amazement, on a strip of sand beach in an indentation of the sh.o.r.e, marched and counter-marched a small boy, quite alone. He was a funny, snub-nosed, tousled headed boy in ragged blouse and blue jeans--and, clearly, very much in earnest, for a deep scowl wrinkled his freckled face.
"At-ten-shun! Shoulder arms--right face--forward, march." Three feet length of bare-footed manliness stepped briskly across the sand. "Step up, you d.i.c.k Snead," and a domineering arm swept out toward an imaginary lagger in the rear.
"Was there _ever_ anything so funny?" giggled Nancy, crouching in the tall gra.s.s at the top of the cliff. "And what is it? Fairies don"t come in over-alls, and I don"t think they ever liked military drill, either."
She loosened a stone and let it roll down the bank. Startled, the youngster lifted his glance to the top of the bank.
"h.e.l.lo," called Nancy.
A heavy scowl answered her friendly greeting.
"What are you doing?"
"I ain"t doin" nothin"." It was clear that Nancy"s interruption was unwelcome. "Least I ain"t doin" nothin" that"s hurtin"."
"Of course not! It sounded nice. I didn"t even know there was a beach down there! How did you ever get down?"
The boy grew crafty--the haste with which he answered said plainly that he did not _want_ Nancy to know how.
"Girls can"t get down--it"s awful dang"rous!"
"Then won"t you come up?"
The boy considered this. He had guessed that this must be the "girl up at the Happy House." She seemed friendly and not at all disposed to "chase a feller away." And if he climbed up to her, then there would be no danger of her discovering the way down to the beach.
"All right, I"ll come up." He disappeared for a moment in the tangle of growth that fringed the foot of the cliff to bob up close at Nancy"s side.
"My goodness--it"s just as though you came up by magic," she cried.
"It _must_ be dang"rous. I"m Nancy Leavitt. Who are you?"
The boy gave Nancy a suspicious look.
"Mebbe you"ll tell!" he muttered, doubtingly.
"Oh, no, I _wouldn"t_! Besides, what can I tell? And I can"t even guess who you are because you see I don"t know anyone in Freedom."
"I"m Davy Hopworth."
"Of course, I remember,--" But Nancy stopped short for what she remembered was how Webb had called them the "no-good Hopworths."
"And that there"s my club," finished Davy, gravely. "Only the other fellers couldn"t sneak away today."
"I--understand," Nancy nodded, hugging her knees with her arms. "What a jolly place to meet. It"s so--so secret."
Davy grinned. "You bet. That"s a pirate"s cove. I guess mebbe there"s a treasure buried there. All us boys knows where to get down, too."
"I"m so glad you let me know your secret! I won"t tell a soul! I think your club"s very jolly, too."
Davy, won by Nancy"s disarming friendliness, produced from a ragged pocket a dirty piece of paper and handed it to her.
"Them"s the Rules," he said, briefly.
At the top was printed "Cove Culb." And below were the rules: 1. No swaring. 2. No back talk. 3. No smokin nothin. 4. No lis. 5. No steling birds eggs. 6. No hurtin dume anmals. 7. Eviry boys goter no how to swim and lick eviry boy thats an enmy to the culb. 8. To kil pirats. 9. To fite for ar contry.
While Nancy was trying to control her lips so that she could say something, Davy added proudly, "I wrote "em."
"They"re--splendid! But _why_ in the world should the other boys have to sneak away?"
"Liz says folks don"t think a Hopworth"s good "nough. I guess no one thinks a feller oughta have any fun, either. Liz don"t. I wait "til she cleans the meetin" house--ev"ry Monday and after there"s socials and things. We sneak. Jim and d.i.c.k get a lickin" if they get caught,"
Davy explained without the slightest embarra.s.sment.
Nancy"s indignation was sincere. "What a _shame_! I wish I was a boy, I"d join your club in a moment. Why, you can do so many things down there--drill and--swim, can"t you? And have jolly fires and roast potatoes and weiners and corn?"
"Gee--I wish you were a boy."
"Why, can"t I join anyway?" cried Nancy, inspired. "Some clubs have honorary members who do nice things for them. Can"t I?"
Davy did not know what an "honorary member" was, and an instinct trained to suspicion warned him now.
"Girls ain"t any fun."
"Oh, some girls aren"t, I know! But I"m a lot like a boy. I can swim half a mile--I"ve done it! I can play ball, too and--and--why I won a medal for a high pole-vault! I"ll bet I can beat you right now in a race!"
Davy regarded her with wide eyes.
"Bet you can"t!"