"Was there _ever_ anything so funny?" giggled Nancy, crouching in the tall grass 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. "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 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?"