“I say! This sounds exciting,” said Jack. “Smugglers - and towers - and flashing lights - and I suppose there are caves too.”

“Scores of them,” said the lad, grinning. “You mind you don’t get lost in some of them, or get caught by the tide. This is a rare dangerous coast for children.”

“Here’s the Peep-Hole,” cried Nora, as they drew up outside the funny house with its one tall tower. “And look - that must be Miss Dimity at the door! And she’s just as mouse-like as you said, Peggy!”

All the children looked at Miss Dimity. She was a small, oldish woman, with neat grey hair, a little smiling face, and big grey eyes that looked timid and kind.

“Welcome to the Peep-Hole, children!” she cried in a little bird-like voice.

“Thank you, Miss Dimity!” said the children, and they each shook hands politely.

“I hope you’ll have a good-time here,” said Miss Dimity, leading the way indoors. “Your rooms are in the tower. I thought you would like that.”

“In the tower!” cried Nora. With a squeal that made Miss Dimity jump. “Oh, how lovely, lovely, lovely!”

Miss Dimity led the way to a funny little spiral staircase that went up and up and round and round to the top of the tower. In the tower were two rooms, one above the other. They were not very large and were perfectly round.

“Now you can wash and brush your hair and then come down to tea,” said Miss Dimity, in her firm, gentle voice. And she added again, “I do hope you will have a good time here.”

She didn’t guess what a strange time the children would have - poor Miss Dimity!

The children washed and tidied themselves. They chattered loudly all the time. The boys had the top room, and as it had four windows, one on each side of the round tower, they had four different views.

“This window looks over the sea for a long way,” said Jack, peering out. “And the next one looks on the cliffs - and this one looks overland and has a jolly good view of that old house up there - and this one just looks over the roofs of Peep-Hole.”

“That old house looks rather interesting and mysterious,” said Mike. “It’s very big. I wonder who lives there.”

“Come along, children!” called Miss Dimity. “Tea is ready.”

They all ran downstairs, laughing at the queer little winding staircase. They felt so happy. It was such fun to be all together again, after three months at school - it was nice to think of the lovely long weeks stretching before them, full of sunshine and fun.

There was a splendid tea, with three kinds of homemade cakes, and some delicious honey made by Miss Dimity’s own bees. There was no tea to drink - just big mugs of cold creamy milk.

Miss Dimity sat at the head of the table, and asked them about their journey down. The children liked her. She laughed at their jokes, and didn’t seem to mind how many cakes they ate.

“I made them all,” she said. “So it’s nice to see them being eaten. I know you like them then.”

“We certainly do, Dimmy,” said Nora. The others giggled and looked at Miss Dimity. Was she going to be cross at being called Dimmy?

“Dear me,” she said, “that’s what I was called at school. It is nice to hear that old name again!”

So after that they all called her Dimmy, and the name suited her beautifully.

When they had eaten their tea Dimmy got up to clear away. She did all the cooking and housework herself.

“Would you like us to help you?” asked Peggy politely.

“Oh no, thank you,” said Dimmy, stacking up the cups and saucers. “You’ve come here to have a holiday, not to help me. But there are one or two rules I want you to keep, all of you.”

“What are they?” asked Mike, rather alarmed. This sounded a bit like school to him.

“Oh, nothing very much,” said Dimmy, smiling. “You must make your own beds each morning. You must be in good time for meals - though if you want to picnic out of doors you can tell me and I’ll put you up lunch or tea any time you like. And the third thing is something your mother asked me - that is, you must be in bed by half-past eight.”

“All right, Dimmy.” said Mike. “We’ll keep the rules. We’ve all got watches, so we know the time. Now can we go and explore a bit?”

“Yes - go out for an hour, then come back in time for bed,” said Dimmy. “I’ll unpack for you, if you like.”

“Oh goody!” said Peggy, pleased. “Thanks very much. Come on, you others!”

They all trooped out of the house and ran to the path that led down to the beach. It was a steep path, made of steps that were cut into the rock itself.

“It winds down like our tower staircase!” said Mike. “Isn’t it a steep cliff - and I say, just look at the colour of the sea! I’ve never seen such a blue.”

The sun was sinking in the west. To the east the sea was deep blue and calm. To the west it was full of a dancing golden light. The children laughed for joy and jumped down the last steps to the golden sand. It was studded with shells of all sorts.

“I’ll be able to make a fine collection of shells,” said Mike, who loved to make collections of all kinds of things.

“I say! Look at those caves!” suddenly said Jack, and he pointed to the cliff behind them. The others looked. They saw big and small holes in the cliffs.

“Let’s go and see them,” said Nora. She ran up to the cliff and peered inside one cave.

“Oooh!” she said. “It’s cold and dark in there.” She was right. It was. The sunshine could not get inside the deep caves, and they felt damp and mysterious.

“I wonder how far they go back,” said Mike. “It would be fun to bring a torch and see.”

“We’ll do that one day,” said Peggy. “Now what about a paddle? Come on!”

They took off their sandals and splashed into the water. It was warm. They danced about in glee, and played ‘catch’ in the water. Nora fell over and wetted her frock.

Peggy squeezed it out, and then looked at her watch.

“Goodness, it’s time we went back!” she said. “We must hurry. Come on!”

They ran back to the cliff and climbed up the steep, narrow path in the rock, panting and puffing, for they were not yet used to it. Then down the garden they ran to the side-door of Peep-Hole. Miss Dimity was setting a simple supper for them of green lettuce and brown bread and butter, and barley water.

“Good old Dimmy!” cried Mike. “Oh, this is a lovely place, Dimmy. There are dozens of caves down there on the beach.”

“I know,” said Dimmy. “They are called the Spiggy Holes after a famous smuggler called Spiggy, who lived a hundred and fifty years ago. He used to live in that old house higher up the cliff. It is said that he used this house as a spy-place so that he might know when his smuggling boats were coming in.”

“Oooh! How exciting!” said Mike. “Good old Spiggy!”

“He wasn’t good,” said Miss Dimity sternly. “He was very bad.”

“I wish there were smugglers nowadays,” said Peggy. “Then perhaps we could spy on them and discover them. It would be most exciting.”

“Well, there are no smugglers in Spiggy Holes,” said Dimmy. “Have you finished your supper? It is quite time you went up to bed. I suppose you can be trusted to wash and clean your teeth and all that without me seeing that you do?”

“Dimmy dear, do you suppose our teachers at school come and see that we do all that?” said Jack. “It may surprise you to know that we are all of us over five years old.”

“It doesn’t surprise me at all, you cheeky boy,” said Dimmy, smacking him with a spoon, as he ran by her. “Go along with you!”

They all went upstairs giggling. “Dimmy is a good sort,” said Nora, as she undressed in her little round tower room with Peggy. “She likes a bit of fun. Oh, I do like this funny bedroom, with its four windows, don’t you, Peggy?”

“Yes,” said Peggy. “But the boys have got the best room - so high up like that. Let’s go and say good-night to them.”