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 ofcontentment. The door of her treasure-box stood open and beside herwere the sheets of her neglected manuscript. She had stolen out for anhour'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 atHappy House seemed to be back on what Nancy called a "peace-basis." "Imust go down to the village and tell Webb what a dear he was to makethis seat," she had thought, as she climbed into it.
Then, just as her inspired pencil had written "Act 4" across the top ofa clean sheet, had come the strange words, seemingly out of nowhere.
"Well, I _never_!" Nancy peeped all around. The sound came apparentlyfrom 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 shore, marched andcounter-marched a small boy, quite alone. He was a funny, snub-nosed,tousled headed boy in ragged blouse and blue jeans--and, clearly, verymuch in earnest, for a deep scowl wrinkled his freckled face.
"At-ten-shun! Shoulder arms--right face--forward, march." Three feetlength of bare-footed manliness stepped briskly across the sand. "Stepup, you Dick Snead," and a domineering arm swept out toward animaginary lagger in the rear.
"Was there _ever_ anything so funny?" giggled Nancy, crouching in thetall grass at the top of the cliff. "And what is it? Fairies don'tcome 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, theyoungster lifted his glance to the top of the bank.
"Hello," 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 wasunwelcome. "Least I ain't doin' nothin' that's hurtin'."
"Of course not! It sounded nice. I didn't even know there was a beachdown there! How did you ever get down?"
The boy grew crafty--the haste with which he answered said plainly thathe 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 upat 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 wouldbe no danger of her discovering the way down to the beach.
"All right, I'll come up." He disappeared for a moment in the tangleof growth that fringed the foot of the cliff to bob up close at Nancy'sside.
"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 evenguess 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 sheremembered was how Webb had called them the "no-good Hopworths."
"And that there's my club," finished Davy, gravely. "Only the otherfellers couldn't sneak away today."
"I--understand," Nancy nodded, hugging her knees with her arms. "Whata jolly place to meet. It's so--so secret."
Davy grinned. "You bet. That's a pirate's cove. I guess mebbethere'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! Ithink your club's very jolly, too."
Davy, won by Nancy's disarming friendliness, produced from a raggedpocket 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. Noswaring. 2. No back talk. 3. No smokin nothin. 4. No lis. 5. Nosteling birds eggs. 6. No hurtin dume anmals. 7. Eviry boys goter nohow to swim and lick eviry boy thats an enmy to the culb. 8. To kilpirats. 9. To fite for ar contry.
While Nancy was trying to control her lips so that she could saysomething, Davy added proudly, "I wrote 'em."
"They're--splendid! But _why_ in the world should the other boys haveto sneak away?"
"Liz says folks don't think a Hopworth's good 'nough. I guess no onethinks a feller oughta have any fun, either. Liz don't. I wait 'tilshe cleans the meetin' house--ev'ry Monday and after there's socialsand things. We sneak. Jim and Dick get a lickin' if they get caught,"Davy explained without the slightest embarrassment.
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 downthere--drill and--swim, can't you? And have jolly fires and roastpotatoes and weiners and corn?"
"Gee--I wish you were a boy."
"Why, can't I join anyway?" cried Nancy, inspired. "Some clubs havehonorary members who do nice things for them. Can't I?"
Davy did not know what an "honorary member" was, and an instincttrained 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 swimhalf a mile--I've done it! I can play ball, too and--and--why I won amedal for a high pole-vault! I'll bet I can beat you right now in arace!"
Davy regarded her with wide eyes.
"Bet you can't!"
Nancy sprang to her feet.
"Let's race from--here--to that big elm way down there." She indicatedwith her finger a giant elm in the "ten-acre strip."
"How you goin' to get over that stone fence?" And Davy pointed out thelow stretch of stones that marked the dividing line between the orchardand the ten-acre strip.
"Oh, _that_! That's easy!"
Plainly Davy's respect was growing. He danced first on one foot andthen on the other. "You are a sport. If you can beat I'll let youjoin the club. I'll count! One--two--three!"
They were off over the stubby grass. Nancy, longer-limbed, caught thelead. She vaulted the fence with agile ease. But Davy soon caught upto her and in the last few yards passed her. Laughing, breathless,Nancy reached the tree and clung to it.
"Hurray," came from behind them.
There, approaching them, was the "hired man." He had seemingly sprungfrom nowhere.
Flushed and disheveled by the race, an intruder on the enemy's ownground, Nancy was at a disarming disadvantage. Besides, Davy greetedthe newcomer rapturously.
"Say, she's as good's a boy. She's goin' to join the club!" heannounced, with triumph. "As honery member," he added.
Peter Hyde held out a brown hand.
"Congratulations! And to the club, too!"
Nancy was conscious that he was staring at her in a perplexed way. Hercheeks already red from running took on an added color under hisglance. But there was a friendliness in his, eyes that won, her inspite of her resolve to avenge at every opportunity her injured dignity.
"I'd have won," she retorted laughingly, "if it hadn't beenfor--these," and she swished her white skirts. "But I don't care aslong as Davy says I may join the club. Meetings whenever Liz cleansthe meeting-house," she repeated.
"And she can swim and she can play ball and says we can make fires andthings," cried Davy to Peter Hyde.
"Then you won't need me anymore?"
"You can be a honery member, too. She says they do nice things forclubs."
Peter Hyde put an arm across Davy's shoulder. "I think we could do alot of nice things for Davy and his club," he said, directly to Nancy."Seems to me there's energy and enthusiasm
here that's being sort ofwasted. What do you say--shall we be honery members?"
Nancy nodded. "I swear to keep all the rules."
Davy hopped with joy. "Wait 'til I tell the fellers. I guess you'llsee 'em round, even if they do get a lickin'! But, say," he stoppedshort, inspired by a sudden thought, "mebbe now Mis' Leavitt's nieceb'longs they won't _have_ to sneak!"
Peter Hyde walked back with Nancy and Davy as far as the stone wall.From, the corner of her eye Nancy was, quite against her will, admiringthe straight figure whose strength was only made more evident by therough working clothes.
"He seems _nice_--for a hired man," she was thinking, all the while shewas answering Davy's boyish questions.
And more than once, as he watched Nancy, that first perplexing lookcame back into Peter Hyde's eyes.
"Why, she _isn't_ a kid, after all!"