Down below in the streets of the town all had been noise and bustle, but here Jon and Penny were in a strange world. The houses on each side were crowded together, but were all different - little white houses with black doors were squeezed between bigger houses whose fronts were crisscrossed with beams.

"Oh, Jon!" Penny whispered, "I believe that's it. That's the Dolphin, I'm sure."

Jon smiled down at her.

"Look, Penny. This street is rather like that in Winchelsea. It seems to stop at the end, and as we are on the top of a hill I expect there's a cliff there, too. We should be able to see the marshes and the sea when we get there."

"Now look at the wicked old Dolphin," Penny interrupted. "Look at the look in his eye, Jon. No wonder they call him gay."

While they were looking up at the sign Mrs. Warrender came out to greet them. When she had disengaged herself from Penny and given Jon a hug she slipped an arm through each of theirs and led them a few steps to the end of the street, which was guarded by an old wall.

"Look at this first," she said, "and then you can explore the Dolphin later. Did Fred tell you something about Rye and Winchelsea as you came along?... He doesn't talk very much, but he's a splendid person and a great help to me. I think you'll like him... There! Look! Here we are at the very edge of the cliff, and from Jon's window, as I think I said, you can look out to sea. Across the river and away to the east is Romney Marsh, and to the right a little behind us is Winchelsea on her hill."

As Jon had said, it was like Winchelsea in a way, for both towns stood on their rocky hills and faced the sea which had long since deserted them. But here the cliff face was rocky and glowed with colour.

Penny leaned over the wall and grabbed a cluster of tiny pink flowerets waving among the delicate green, feathery leaves of a bush.

"It's tamarisk," Mrs. Warrender explained. "I believe you see it only at seaside places. I love it."

"There's a way down here," Jon said, pointing to some shallow steps that led down by the side of the houses on their right.

"It's called Trader's Passage - after the Freetraders or smugglers, I expect - and you can get down to the road and river that way, but it's hard work coming up... Now let's go in and you can see your rooms and explore before we have some tea..."

They turned out of the sunshine into the shadow of the archway. On the left was a door marked "Hotel Only", and opposite another door, newly painted white, with "Private" on it.